Did you know that outfielder Peter Bourjos had not one but two different stints on the Atlanta Braves’ roster in 2018? Bourjos was part of the opening day roster after he was released by the Cubs in Spring Training. He signed a major league contract with the club on March 25 adding another name to what was already a crowded outfield situation.
At that time, Atlanta had Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis penciled in as starters with Lane Adams, Preston Tucker, Ezequiel Carrera and Danny Santana all vying for spots. They opted to go with Bourjos over Carrera and Santana given his experience and good defensive reputation.
The big looming question was how long would he be there. Ronald Acuña Jr. was sent to the minors during Spring Training but everyone knew it would be a short stay. His promotion cost Bourjos his roster spot when he was designated for assignment on April 25.
During that first stint, Bourjos appeared in 18 games making two starts and was just 3-for-25 with a double to go along with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Bourjos was released on April 29 but signed a minor league deal with the club two days later. He returned to Atlanta’s 40-man roster on May 31, replacing Dustin Peterson who himself saw all of two at-bats during his short stint with the club. His return was also significant in that it was the end of Aaron Blair’s tenure with the Braves: the team released Blair to make room for Bourjos on the 40-man roster.
Bourjos’ second stint in Atlanta would last the month of June. He was designated for assignment again on June 30 and elected free agency. During his second stint, he appeared in 18 more games and made two more starts going 6-for-19 with a double, triple and a home run.
After electing free agency, Bourjos signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants where he finished the season at Sacramento. He appeared in 24 games for Gwinnett and hit .277/.352/.511 with two home runs. He appeared in 44 games after signing with Sacramento and put up decent numbers hitting .296/.335/.426. However, he didn’t make it back to the majors despite the Giants starting former Braves great Gorkys Hernandez in the outfield for much of the year, and will likely be hoping to catch on with someone when Spring Training begins next season.
Bottom line, what did he do in 2018? Earned a $1 million guaranteed salary for a 57 wRC+ and non-positive defensive metrics across 57 PAs.
Will Bourjos be on the roster next year? No, he didn’t even finish 2018 on Atlanta’s roster.
What is he going to do next year? It’s not clear. He hasn’t been a useful major leaguer since 2014, and hasn’t been a productive bat since 2013, so time may be running out, even though he’s only turning 32 next year.
Highlight of 2018: Had the game-winning hit in the 12th for the Braves on April 11, in a game that could have resulted in the Braves getting swept by the Nationals had they not pulled out a victory in extra innings. The Braves loaded the bases against then-Nat Ryan Madson with none out in the top of the 12th, but Kurt Suzuki put a damper on the proceedings by flying out without driving in a run. Bourjos had his back and hit the most seeing-eye single of all time (not really) to drive in two runs. This would prove crucial, since Dansby Swanson and Shane Carle (yes, Shane Carle batted this season) struck out. The Braves would go on to win by that same 5-3 score after Carle worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 12th.
Lowlight of 2018: The above aside, Bourjos will probably be remembered in Braves lore for his highly questionable slide on March 30. Had he succeeded, the Braves would have earned themselves a walkoff win; instead, he failed, and the Braves lost in 11.
Also, here’s Bourjos throwing out Matt Adams to keep the game tied before his game-winning hit, just because.