The Nationals are interested in outfielder Jason Bourgeois and have asked the Astros about him at least three times since the Winter Meetings took place in December, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports. The two clubs are not close to a deal and one of Ladson’s sources suggests there’s no more than a 50% chance of a trade.
Bourgeois would be a ‘stopgap’ solution for Washington, according to Ladson. However, GM Mike Rizzo said last week that he's looking for a long-term solution in center field. “We won’t make the change for a short-term answer,” he told Adam Kilgore.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson has been pleased with internal candidates for the center field job such as Roger Bernadina, Brett Carroll and Rick Ankiel, according to Ladson. Jayson Werth could also play center for Washington.
Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.
I didn’t catch many Nats games last year; but that one Bernadina catch made me a believer. Easily one of the ten best plays of the year.
I wish the Nats front office had the same opinion as you! I think he can do it too! They just need to give him an extended chance. Like they did Morse, and look how that worked out!
He got his extended chance in 2010. He played in 134 games for the Nats. Those are going to be his numbers. His minor league track record isn’t that great.
He did quite well for 2 or 3 months..
.288 AVG, .794 OPS,
Pace Per 600 AB during that stretch: 18 HR + 18 SB,
(From May 9, 2010 to July 31, 2010, 198 At Bats)
But, obviously you could find a good stretch for any player that played all year…
e.g. Rick Ankiel is awesome because he had a .979 OPS from July 1st to August 5th.
Looking at any of his numbers, minor or major league, what makes you think he can be anything more then a 4th outfielder?
Bourgeois can absolutely fly. Love him in Strat – 17 runner, AA SB guy. Too bad he’s more of a backup than a starting OF.
Don’t Bourgeois shmougeois me, OK?
If the Stros get offered Lannan straight up I would take it in a heart beat. Guy is a decent 5 starter and obviously the Stros could use him.
Astros have so many decent 5 starters that they moved Brett Myers to the bullpen to make room for another one in the rotation. They don’t need barely-adequate starting pitchers, they need upside
You are selling Lannan short here. Why wouldnt the astros want a starter with a sub 4.00 era three of the last four seasons? His record hasn’t been good because he’s pitched out of the top spot in the rotation. Luhnow has been stockpiling legit mlb players at every position he can. Coming off a 106 loss season you can’t afford to think you can just roll with what you’ve been doing. Haap has been in the minors recently and Lyles probably isn’t ready. Depth at SP is more important than OF. Shafer, Bogu, F Mart, and Jd Martinez make Bourgeois expendable.
Wouldn’t Lannan only having two years of control left be a pretty big deterrent considering they are looking much more long-term then that? Seems like they would value a AA or AAA starting pitching prospect moreso then a guy like Lannan. Not that he couldn’t be a good flip candidate at the deadline..
Stros keep Bourgeois, why trade speed? He could be a fan favorite which is what Crane needs. First year arb. will be cheap. Why not show him off for another year and re-evaluate? He should fetch more than a stinkin #5, You Nats should be trying to pry Wandy away if you were serious about keeping up with the Braves & Marlins this year.. 0% chance Bourgeois gets traded tho.
Don’t think the Nationals need pitching mate….
You mean Braves and Phils? Marlins will be a disaster this year
Disaster? I’m a Braves fan, but there’s a lot of potential on the club. I don’t think ego’s are going to be as big of a factor as some think. Johnson has to stay healthy and Hanley needs to bounce back though….
If teams were built on potential “ifs” succeeding, us Met fans would be pretty damn happy right now. “If” Santana came back to ace form, “if” Ike doesn’t get hurt, “if” Bay and Wright hit like they were once able to, and “if” the young kids step up tremendously the Mets will be a contender in the NL East. If.
Every team can do that, though.
Getting pretty bored of this argument. Do you know how many ‘ifs’ the Braves, Marlins, AND Nationals have? A ton of them. My point is that Hanley and Johnson are two VERY important pieces that need to produce for them to contend.
Every team has their ‘ifs.’
Getting pretty bored of this argument. Do you know how many ‘ifs’ the Braves, Marlins, AND Nationals have? A ton of them. My point is that Hanley and Johnson are two VERY important pieces that need to produce for them to contend.
Every team has their ‘ifs.’
The Marlins look like a pretty good team to me. A lineup headed by Reyes, Bonafacio, Stanton, Ramirez, Morrison & Sanchez has a ton of potential for the immediate year. Think they will have no problem winning north of 85 games unless countless injuries pave the way.
You think a 31-y/o 4th outfielder who relies on speed for value (meaning anything past 32-33 years old is uncertain) is worth more than a #5? OK…
Terrible idea. Ankiel is the cf in Washington. Another week of the way he is playing and it’s official. He looks awesome at the plate. In game and BP everything is hit hard. Did pop one up today but I guess that happens.
Ankiel is borderline useless at the plate at this point, and there’s not much room for improvement.
Mike Rizzo is obsessed with acquiring a CF. Since they’ve seemingly inquired about every major league CF and a few who are but quite possibly shouldn’t be, it seems they don’t care who they get just as long as they’re not named Ankiel or Bernadinia…
They should look into peter bourjous as the long time answer. Angels are going to have no room for him with trout coming up
I think the Astros won’t trade Bourgeois until they are sure that Jordan Schafer can really do the job in CF and Brian Bogusevic in RF. Both Schafer and Bogusevic have a lot of upside, but Schafer has been inconsistent in his career to date and Bogusevic only had 1/3 of a season last year as a rookie. Left field is pinned down with J.D. Martinez, and it appears Fernando Martinez is looking like a keeper at least as a backup. But, they still need Bourgeois right now.
Wishful thinknig on my part but I would love to give up venable to the Nats for something
maybe they thought it was “bourjos”
I don’t see how this benefits the Astros. Why trade away a cheap, controllable, known player for another cheap, unknown player. Wandy, Myers, Snyder, Lee should be traded if possible, not the cheap guys.
Who are you referring to them trading for? Bourgeois is a 30 something speedster with no power. It’s unlikely he’ll be a part of the next contending astros team. If you can add talent, why not? Pedro Feliz for David Carpenter type trades can be crucial, especially if you find a team that is willing to give something up. Teams aren’t going to give you much talent for Wandy, Myers, or Carlos -if they even pick up the phone at all.
I agree on Myers and Carlos. Wandy will net a couple of prospects. I know we can go back and forth all day about it. Just be sure to check back near the trade deadline and see. He is a very underrated pitcher.