Jose Bautista's return to the Toronto Blue Jays means the heart of the batting order heading into 2017 will be very reminiscent to the one that has led the team to back-to-back American League Championship Series.

Except for one glaring replacement.

With the status of first-baseman Edwin Encarnacion still very much up in the air at the time, the Blue Jays shot out of the gate early in the off-season and inked free-agent designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a 3-year, $33-million contract.

Management insisted that the move did not necessarily spell the end for Encarnacion in a Blue Jays uniform, but that was ultimately proven to be the case, as Encarnacion later signed with the Cleveland Indians.

Morales, who is expected to serve primarily as designated hitter, will be expected to slide into the middle third of the Blue Jays' batting order come opening day, and Bautista is one man who is giving the 33-year-old a vote of confidence. Bautista called Morales a "very capable replacement" during his press conference Saturday, according to Arash Madani of Sportsnet.ca.

Here's an in-depth look at a direct comparison between Morales and Encarnacion over their last five MLB seasons, from 2012-16.

Statistic Kendrys Morales Edwin Encarnacion Games Played 700 727 At-Bats 2580 2678 Runs Scored 299 451 Hits 691 728 Doubles 145 145 Home Runs 105 193 Runs Batted In 394 550 Walks 213 392 Strikeouts 521 474 Total Bases 1157 1458 Batting Average 0.268 0.272 On-Base Percentage 0.328 0.368 Slugging Percentage 0.448 0.544 On-Base+Slugging 0.776 0.912

A couple of things to note, Morales only managed to appear in 98 games split between the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners in 2014 after starting the season without a contract, and Kaufman Stadium, Morales' home field for the past two seasons, is notorious for being a pitcher's park.

With these numbers in mind, do you agree with Bautista in saying that Morales will fit in nicely as a replacement for Encarnacion?