A poor defensive player can make up for his defense with his bat. Bautista is a damn good hitter, even in a down year. His defense alone isn't a good enough reason not to sign him because overall he's clearly a valuable player.
We are all dicks out for Fowler but I'd like to see some sort of statistical argument that makes him that much more appealing on a 4 year deal than Bautista on a 2 or 3. Seems like the projections think they will be pretty similar, only Bautista probably has more injury risk and Fowler requires more commitment.