The Phillies have claimed center fielder Peter Bourjos off waivers from the Cardinals, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (links to Twitter). The Phillies have since announced the move, adding that right-handed reliever Nefi Ogando has been claimed off waivers by the Marlins.
The claim of Bourjos gives the Phillies a defensively gifted center fielder that has a year of club control remaining at a modest (projected) salary of $1.8MM. The Phillies had the top waiver priority this offseason, meaning Bourjos was nabbed by the first team to which he was made available. That, perhaps, shouldn’t come as a total surprise considering the fact that new Phillies GM Matt Klentak was a longtime assistant GM with the organization that drafted and developed Bourjos — the Angels.
St. Louis originally acquired Bourjos and then-prospect Randal Grichuk from the Angels in a deal that sent David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels. Bourjos was deemed expendable in Anaheim due to the presence of Mike Trout in center field and Kole Calhoun and Josh Hamilton on the outfield corners. Bourjos, though, received inconsistent playing time in St. Louis and struggled to produce at the plate with the Cardinals, batting just .218/.292/.342 in 519 plate appearances. He also underwent hip surgery last offseason.
That operation may or may not have contributed to Bourjos’ uncharacteristically below-average defensive ratings in 2015. Long considered a premium defender with excellent speed, Bourjos posted Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating marks of -4 and -3.4, respectively, in 476 innings in center field. He’s been outstanding in every other season of his career, however, totaling 36 runs saved in 3761 career innings to go along with a UZR/150 of +16.1.
There’s some upside in Bourjos’ bat, as evidenced by a .271/.327/.438 batting line posted back in 2011, though he’s now four seasons removed from that type of production. A move to the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park should help his offense, though. Bourjos, who turns 29 at the end of next Spring Training, will be in the mix for considerably more at-bats than he received in St. Louis. He’ll be joined by Odubel Herrera and Cody Asche as potential starters, and young Aaron Altherr, too, figures to receive consideration as well.
In Ogando, the Phillies have lost (and the Marlins have gained) a 26-year-old righty with a blistering fastball but a questionable secondary pitch and questionable control. Ogando averaged 95.5 mph on his fastball in a brief, four-inning Major League debut last season. He did post a strong 2.86 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, but he averaged just 7.9 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in spite of his strong velocity. The Marlins will look to harness his control in an effort to better translate his heat to missed bats and, ideally, strong results at the big league level.
Darn. Would’ve been perfect for Brewers.
dayum. that was a good move.
always liked him, good move!
So long Peter! Sorry Cards didnt really have much use for ya.
*didn’t know how to use you
Kind of shocked we couldnt find a trade partner for him
So bourjos will make the team?
I would assume so, and I think that would also close the door on a Frenchy reunion.
Bourjos is one of my favorite defense outfielder to watch. Let him platoon with Darnell Sweeney in LF and use him a defensive replacement late in games.
I really like what Klentak is doing. Stock piling MLB-usable arms, now addressing the hole in LF, and picking up Hellickson as a buy-low.
“deemed expendable due to the presence of Mike Trout in centerfield”
what a universally applicable phrase
Where were the mets on this. Cheap quality player with speed of which they had none last year
Phillies have #1 priority on the waiver wire. The Mets never had the chance.
Plus, hes just a lesser version of Juan Lagares anyways.
Phillies by having the worst record last season had the first shot on the waiver wire. They were the only team to have a chance at Bourjos because they were first and nabbed him.
Was really hoping for a reunion in Anaheim. Best of luck to Borjous.
Thanks for everything you did for the St Louis Cardinals.Good luck with the Phillies.You will be missed in St Louis for your quick speed.
Sweet!! We’re turning it around. Now there is just no way we end up with the worst record in the majors two years in a row. Let the ascension begin!!
Work on your base-stealing this off-season.
Cards dumping some dead weight finally. Cruz couldn’t hit so you upgrade with a switch-hitting Pena. Bourjos couldn’t hit either so you get rid of him too. Interested to see what the next move will be..
Bourjos seems like a good fit for the Phils, he along with the other 3 outfielders mentioned above gives them 2 left bats and 2 rights in their top 4 outfielders. None of them are great so if mix and match about 500 AB each it might work.