7:35pm: Bour will not be in MLB camp, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. He’ll report to minor league camp April 1.
5:03pm: The Giants have agreed to a contract with Justin Bour, the first baseman himself posted in his Instagram profile. It’s a minor-league contract, reports Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic (Twitter link).
Bour is probably best known for a solid four-year run with the Marlins. He peaked in 2017, when he hit a robust .289/.366/.536 with 25 home runs in just 429 plate appearances. Bour’s offensive production tailed off in 2018, though, particularly after an August trade to the Phillies. He couldn’t right the ship in 2019, where he slumped to a .172/.259/.364 mark after signing with the Angels.
After being outrighted off Los Angeles’ 40-man roster, Bour signed a one-year contract with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. While there had been some hope he’d rediscover his power stroke in NPB, Bour slashed an unspectacular .243/.338/.422 with 17 homers across 379 plate appearances.
It has now been three years since we’ve seen Bour at peak form, but there’s no risk for San Francisco in bringing him in as depth. First base is sure to belong to Brandon Belt when he’s healthy, but the longtime Giant underwent heel surgery last October and might not be ready for Opening Day. Each of Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf and Jason Vosler is on the 40-man roster as a potential replacement if Belt can’t go at the start of the season. Among them, only Vosler (who has yet to make his MLB debut at age 27) hits left-handed, so Bour’s lefty bat helps balance the group.
Better to keep Vosler than to have Bour on the opening day roster.
This move is bouring
Another Zaidi dumpster dive
Why wouldn’t he “dumpster dive” when it comes to 1B seeing as Belt is solidified at the position? Not sure the move you would’ve preferred, redwolves
Agreed. Seems like a lot of people don’t understand the current situation nor the strategic gameplan for long term sustainable success. There is a litany of talented baseball players that are ripe for the picking and hungry for an opportunity to play passionate baseball.
We’re talking Brandon Belt here. He might not be ready until Oct. I’ll be so happy when he’s gone.
And they would have been picked up. It’s Zaidi’s bargain basement mentality. That’s all he knows. Where’s s our franchise player?
So…youre mad because Zaidi didnt find a franchise player on the waiver wire at the beginning of march?
You have one. Marco Luciano. Won’t be ready for another year or 2, though. But franchise players don’t come around every year.
Wow, Red, did you think of that all by yourself or have you heard it before…
It’s not really a dumpster dive when Bour doesn’t even get a ST invite. Only the most obtuse among us can’t see this is pure MiLB depth.
Right? What acute observation.
Obviously he’s minor league depth, just not good depth.
is Boof Bonser available?
For every 5-10 low risk low reward signings, there’s been one Alex Dickerson, one Yaz, one Wilmer Flores, one Donovan Solano.
I think that’s definitely worth it.
I’d rather try out 15 options for three positions than pray for 3 guys who haven’t been good in a long time to suddenly revert to their age 26 self/become something they’re not. Yaz was 8th in MVP voting, while Dickerson wasn’t far behind that either and Donny Barrels won the Silver Slugger at 2B! Just give Farhan some time, this lineup is a lot better than it’s been in the last 8 or 9 years, and that’s just fact. I don’t understand why there’s still so many fans that dislike him/his strategy. He’s opened up salary while still being stuck with Posey/Crawford/Belt/Samardzija/Cueto/Melancon/Longoria contracts, which would usually and HAS often severely crippled other front office leading men. I know he’s not Sabean, but Sabean’s No. 2 got us into this mess to begin with, not Farhan. Yaz is the best player we’ve had since MVP Posey, and we should be happy to have some talent again.
I guess he is having trouble getting back to Japan.
Zaidi going all in on the ‘Battle for 4th place” in NL West…..Hahahahaha
More like 3rd place… but all it takes is an injry bug to bite one of the top 2 teams in the division. Haters gonna hate. Gotta be primed for a playoff run with ample depth for cheap. No harm in taking flyers on role players until the systems youth is mlb ready and our salary at a manageable level to make big splash moves in free agency(next season).
Other teams may have the cream it seems but where would we be without those deemed unworthy of being given a chance. Farhan is to be admired for his penchant for dumpster diving. You don’t know what’s in there if you don’t look..
They got rid of a lot of big contracts. They have the money. Got to make sure there’s money for Johnson’s political contributions.
Orange and Black, with that name you need to follow the Orioles cuz you are ignorant regarding the Giants.
And San Diego is never going to beat the Giants or the dodgers! Looks like they spent all that money for nothing!
You’re a clown. Win a World Series before you laugh at us. Before last year the Pads have been in 4th place since Y2K
Established 1969, 6 playoff appearances, 0 WS titles = Garbage
It’s a rebuild bro, this team was garbage when he got here, and now we’re at least a .500 squad, which is a big step from near-100 losses. Belt was a monster last year, as were Yaz and Dickerson. Their numbers stretched out to 150games had them all well over 30HR(as well as Flores). Of course there were NOT 162 games last year, but the fact of the matter is this team has shown it can finally score some runs, and that was a problem even when they were winning World Series. Who cares about 2021, not an even year anyway lmao.
With Darin Ruf and Justin Bour, the Giants are building a pretty good defensive line.
They got big bois
It’s a shame they let Sandoval go. That trio would have been the envy of any nfl team 🙂
Yeah now all they need is schwarber.
If he had played in LA/Boston, NY? He’d have been all hyped up, like Joc Pederson was for years, cause not 1 bit of difference. Wild hacker that hits HR, or K and not much use at anything else. Bour got a MiLB deal, making him a much better value this offseason with that big city hype still following Pederson.
Walk the plank, matey!
@Johnsilver
Except Bour hasn’t put up average production in 3 years and Joc Pederson has had slightly above average numbers the past three years with the exception of the pandemic year. Also Bour is a first baseman and they are expected to put up better offensive numbers then outfielders.
Bour peaked in 2017, declined heavily but still put up league-average numbers in 2018, was atrocious in 2019, and did not even play in the majors in 2020.
Compared to Joc, who raked in 2018 and 2019 and had a bad COVID season in 2020. He’s also four years younger than Bour. Not sure what the complaint is.
Joc also hit almost .400 in the postseason with clutch HRs and won a WS ring.
Bour can step into a few. Not a terrible option if Belt isn’t ready
Thank you. People are acting like they picked up Ishikawa or Dan Uggla. This is literally for a competition spot and he still has to go through Dickerson, Vosler, Flores, Ruf and eventually Belt for any time. Why not sign a low risk guy who was pretty solid not too long ago? Some folks act like Farhan didn’t pull a Yaz/Dickerson/Solano/Flores out of that very same scrap heaps
Boar can have his way with belt with me.
Keep Justin Bour away from Yoenis Cespedes!
I could’ve sworn he retired just a few months ago… I might be confusing him with Justin Smoak though…
Smoaked bour taste GREAT!
I have made the same mistake
Smoak went to Japan. Bour is coming back from Japan
Kind of a dull player.
Crashing Bour
Good signing for depth.
This is one of those deals you know won’t amount to anything but there is such little risk involved you can’t even argue against it.
Good guy to have for pinch running situations.
and defensive replacement for CF.
And if you bring him in as your closer he throws 102mph cutters and has a k rate of 20 SO/9
I thought he was a defense-first catcher?
He’ll definitley be pushing Rickey Henderson’s single season stolen base record.
I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Peter O’Brien.
I think I can play a better CF at 89 🙂
Hopefully Vosler keeps hitting and gets the spot if Belt can’t go.
worthington:
I would like to see Vosler as well, but I wish he threw lefthanded instead of just batting lefty. I think having a lefty throwing 1B is underrated. But, since none of the potential fill-ins does, it might as well be Vosler if Belt isn’t ready.
Worthington is a significant name in Giants history. I wonder if they had trash cans at the Polo Grounds…
See Al Worthington on SABR
If the Giants win the 2021 World Series….
And for whatever set of circumstances,
Justin Bour is a member of that team….
Will he receive a BOUR – RING ???
Bour has a pretty good nickname “Bourtabello Crushroom”.
Plus has always been a pretty good OBP guy.
Now Matt Adams and Logan Morrison are the only unemployed veteran first basemen (EE is a DH).
Gyorko?
I can’t believe no one has signed Gyorko yet. He’s primarilly a 2nd & 3rd baseman, a solid fielder, can play anywhere and had a 121 OPS+ last year
completely forgot this guy existed
Darin Ruf hit considerably better than Bour did in the NPB (102 WRC+ per 1.02 the essence of baseball for Bour vs a 141 or higher wrc+ every year in the KBO for Ruf).
Ruf was great last year. They signed Bour because he’s a lefty and was willing to play in Sacramento. The Giants did not have a AAA 1st baseman, Logan Wyatt will play at Eugene or Richmond.
Pretty good AAA depth. He might run into a few if his number is ever called.
Bour was a train wreck with the Angels.
I suspect that even if he sticks in AAA he’d be depth to the depth (way down the chart). Unless maybe they see something that they think they might be able to fix..? At any rate, it’s a no-risk proposition.
As things stand for now though (no DH) I think they would jump at the chance to get AB’s for Ruf and Flores, before giving a guy like Bour any real shot at replacing Belt.
Bourrring.Go Dodgers ^_^
Bout looks like Babe Ruth!
Came back to say Susan Schlesser just said on KNBR she doesnt think belt will be on roster this year. So bour might be insurance in case La Stella or wilmer flores get hurt as their 1B