Starting the 2009 season on the bench, manager Cito Gaston assigned Bautista to back up Rolen and outfielders Alex Ríos and Adam Lind.
Bautista started the season with a .317 batting average, .404 on-base percentage (OBP) and .463 slugging percentage (SLG) in 49 plate appearances in April.
 However, his numbers fell off, as he batted between .167 and .231 each month from May through August with two total home runs.
At times he showed marked plate discipline; in the month of May, he walked 14 times for a .403 OBP despite batting just .231.
 Eventually, the Chicago White Sox claimed Rios off waivers, the Blue Jays assigned Lind to the role of designated hitter, and an injury to Marco Scutaro led to an increase in Bautista's playing time and making him the leadoff hitter.

As the season drew to a close, the Blue Jays made changes to their coaching staff.
 One was to move first base coach Dwayne Murphy to replace the retiring Gene Tenace as hitting coach.
 Formerly a Blue Jays' minor league roving hitting instructor and hitting coach, Murphy had already spent nearly one year working with Bautista, teaching him to leverage his pull power by starting his swing with his now-familiar high leg kick.
 In September, he finally broke through, hitting 10 home runs with 21 RBI, a .257 batting average and a .606 slugging percentage (SLG).
 He hit 13 total HR in 2009 with 40 RBI, a batting average of .235, and 79 hits in 113 games.
 Originally considered to be a non-tender candidate, he re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $2.4 million US contract for the 2010 season.
Starting the 2009 season on the bench, manager Cito Gaston assigned Bautista to back up Rolen and outfielders Alex Ríos and Adam Lind. Bautista started the season with a .317 batting average, .404 on-base percentage (OBP) and .463 slugging percentage (SLG) in 49 plate appearances in April.  However, his numbers fell off, as he batted between .167 and .231 each month from May through August with two total home runs. At times he showed marked plate discipline; in the month of May, he walked 14 times for a .403 OBP despite batting just .231.  Eventually, the Chicago White Sox claimed Rios off waivers, the Blue Jays assigned Lind to the role of designated hitter, and an injury to Marco Scutaro led to an increase in Bautista's playing time and making him the leadoff hitter.
As the season drew to a close, the Blue Jays made changes to their coaching staff.  One was to move first base coach Dwayne Murphy to replace the retiring Gene Tenace as hitting coach.  Formerly a Blue Jays' minor league roving hitting instructor and hitting coach, Murphy had already spent nearly one year working with Bautista, teaching him to leverage his pull power by starting his swing with his now-familiar high leg kick.  In September, he finally broke through, hitting 10 home runs with 21 RBI, a .257 batting average and a .606 slugging percentage (SLG).  He hit 13 total HR in 2009 with 40 RBI, a batting average of .235, and 79 hits in 113 games.  Originally considered to be a non-tender candidate, he re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $2.4 million US contract for the 2010 season.
José Bautista