The outfield and bench situation for the Braves was already fairly complicated as Spring Training winds down. It just got more crowded.
Source: Peter Bourjos signed an MLB deal with the #Braves for $1MM
— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) March 25, 2018
Source confirms Braves to sign Peter Bourjos to $1M deal. Physical has been completed, but deal isn’t officially done yet. @Ken_Rosenthal & @JonHeyman were first.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 25, 2018
Bourjos was a 10th-round draft pick by the Angels in 2005 who enjoyed pretty good success across parts of four seasons in Anaheim before being dealt to the Cardinals after the 2013 season. His career highlight was a 4.2 fWAR season backed by a 114 wRC+ in his sophomore season, where he knocked 12 homers and stole 22 bags. He contributed 1.7 fWAR in 294 PAs for the Cardinals, mostly through his fielding, but then began to seriously slide in effectiveness. After a poor 2015, he was waived and claimed by the Phillies, and spent last season in both the White Sox and Rays organizations.
Most recently, Bourjos signed with the Cubs and got a decent chunk of Spring Training playing time with them, batting .326/.362/.372. He was released on Friday, after the Cubs apparently decided not to carry him on their Opening Day roster.
Bourjos has put up a collective 0.0 fWAR over the past three seasons, so Braves fans shouldn’t expect much. Never (aside from 2011) a particularly good hitter, his wRC+ has been mired in the 70s in recent history. While his speed once lent him substantial defensive acumen, his defense has been decent-but-not-great as he’s aged. While he does offer the Braves an option that they can slot into center field, he’s not projected to provide positive value: ZiPS has him at worse than six runs below replacement over 600 plate appearances, while Steamer has him at about -0.1 fWAR/600, with neither system particularly excited about his offensive or defensive prospects going forward.
The Braves add another name to their outfield logjam. In addition to Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis, who are penciled in as starters for the 2018 outfield, Lane Adams, Preston Tucker, Ezequiel Carrera, and Danny Santana all now join Bourjos in vying for a third/fourth/fifth outfielder spot on the 2018 Opening Day roster for Atlanta.
The Bourjos signing reflects Atlanta’s third free agent foray this offseason, and the largest, at $1 million. They previously signed Peter Moylan and Chris Stewart for $0.575 million each.