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Peter Bourjos

Coaching Notes: Royals, Cubs, D-Backs

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The Royals announced two additions to their coaching staff last night. Keoni DeRenne is being hired as assistant hitting coach, while Damon Hollins will join the staff as first base coach. DeRenne, who previously spent time in the Pirates and Cubs organizations, has spent the past two seasons as Kansas City’s assistant hitting coordinator. Hollins, who appeared in parts of four big league seasons between 1998-2006, has been in the organization for more than a decade. He served as interim first base coach in 2020.

The latest on some other coaching situations around the game:

  • The Cubs are expected to hire Johnny Washington as assistant hitting coach, reports Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic. He’ll replace Chris Valaika, who was hired as Guardians’ hitting coach last week. Washington spent a few seasons coaching with the Padres when current Cubs’ bench coach Andy Green was San Diego’s manager. Sharma notes that he spent the 2021 campaign as the hitting coach with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Washington also garnered some consideration during the Angels’ 2019-20 managerial search, a job that eventually went to former Cubs’ skipper Joe Maddon.
  • Former big league outfielder Peter Bourjos has moved into coaching, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks have hired the 34-year-old as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator. Bourjos appeared in parts of ten major league seasons as a player, suiting up for the Angels, Cardinals, Phillies, Rays and Braves between 2010-19. He has spent the past two years doing advance scouting work with the Rockies.

Rockies Hire Peter Bourjos As Advance Scout

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The Rockies have hired longtime outfielder Peter Bourjos as an advance scout, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  The hiring would seem to indicate that Bourjos, who turns 33 in March, is hanging up the cleats after a 14-year professional playing career that included 10 years in the majors.

Bourjos both began and ended his career with the Angels, who originally selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft.  He spent his first four MLB seasons with the Halos before moving on to stints with the Cardinals, Phillies, Rays, and Braves before once again landing back in Anaheim on a minor league contract last offseason.  After appearing in 26 MLB games for the Angels last season, Bourjos was released in May.

Best known for his quickness and defense, Bourjos was an often-outstanding center fielder, posting +40 Defensive Runs Saved and +11.9 UZR/150 over 4080 1/3 career innings up the middle.  This glovework made him a valuable part-time and bench commodity for teams looking for backup at all three outfield positions.  Bourjos hit .237/.293/.376 over 2334 plate appearances, and his offensive resume includes an AL-leading 11 triples during the 2011 season.

We at MLBTR wish Bourjos all the best as he moves into this new phase of his baseball career, and congratulate him on a successful decade on the field.

Angels Release Peter Bourjos

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May 12: The Angels announced that Bourjos has cleared waivers and has been unconditionally released.

May 10: The Angels announced today that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Peter Bourjos, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. Playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate. A career .237/.296/.376 hitter (2334 plate appearances) who can handle all three outfield positions, Bourjos will head back to the open market in search of another opportunity with a club seeking some veteran depth.

Angels Activate Ohtani, Designate Bourjos, Stratton For Assignment

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The Angels have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos and righty Chris Stratton for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ll make way for a trio of newly activated players: designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, infielder Zack Cozart, and reliever Cody Allen. Infielder Luis Rengifo was optioned out for active roster space.

Notably, it sounds as though Ohtani will step in as the Angels’ everyday designated hitter, regardless of whether the team is facing a right- or left-handed starter (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times), which will cut into the playing time of both Justin Bour and Albert Pujols. Ohtani is in the lineup hitting third tonight, and if he can come anywhere near last season’s .285/.361/.64 slash line, he’ll provide a massive boost.

Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. His playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate.

Stratton, meanwhile, was acquired in Spring Training in the hopes of providing another arm in a perennially injured rotation mix, but the former Giants first-rounder has struggled enormously in his brief tenure with the Angels. In 29 1/3 innings, Stratton has been tattooed for 28 runs on 43 hits (six home runs) and 18 walks with 22 strikeouts. He’s out of minor league options, so the Angels didn’t have the choice of simply sending him to Triple-A.

The Angels will have a week to trade, release or outright Bourjos and Stratton, though the former isn’t likely to generate much trade interest. If the Angels hope to keep him in the organization in Triple-A, they can send Bourjos through outright waivers, though a veteran with his service time has the right to reject any such assignment. That’s not the case with Stratton, so if the Angels don’t find a trade partner, they could run him through outright waivers and retain him if he clears.

Angels Select Peter Bourjos

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The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Peter Bourjos. He’ll take the club’s remaining open 40-man roster spot.

As he closes in on his 32nd birthday, Bourjos returns to the place he broke into the majors and found his most notable success. When he was shipped out of Los Angeles in the 2013-14 offseason, he had a track record of approximately league-average hitting with quality glovework and baserunning. Bourjos compiled 8.2 rWAR in just 1,136 plate appearances with the Halos.

Things have soured since. In the intervening seasons, Bourjos has mustered a meager .229/.286/.366 batting line in 1,152 total plate appearances. While his other skills seem largely to be intact, that’s just not enough bat to create many opportunities.

Bourjos came into camp battling for a reserve role or a spot on the depth chart in Triple-A. As it turns out, his strong showing and the Angels’ injury situation have conspired to open the door for significant playing time at the start of the year. Bourjos popped three long balls and slashed .288/.339/.558 in 56 plate appearances this spring; Justin Upton is headed to the injured list along with several other outfield options.

It’d make quite a bit of sense for the club to add a left-handed-hitting, complementary outfield piece. Free agent Denard Span is a match on paper but wouldn’t be ready to go at the start of the season. It’s likelier that the club will look into low-cost players who lose camp battles with other teams. Brian Goodwin stands out as a hypothetical possibility, with others sure to join him in the coming days.

Angels To Sign Peter Bourjos

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The Angels have struck a deal to bring outfielder Peter Bourjos back to the organization, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter. It’ll be a minor-league pact for the 31-year-old, who is a client of the Dishman Sports Group.

Bourjos has seen action in each of the past nine MLB campaigns, the first four of those coming in Los Angeles. He has yet to produce anything approaching his exciting 2011 season, when he posted a .271/.327/.438 slash with a dozen homers and 22 steals while playing excellent center field defense for the Halos.

More recently, Bourjos has functioned in a part-time role. He still appeared in over 100 games annually in each of the four seasons following his departure from the Angels, but hasn’t shown much at the plate and struggled to gain opportunities in 2018. All told, Bourjos carries only a .229/.286/.366 with other organizations.

Bourjos did post strong numbers last year against Triple-A pitching with the Giants and Braves organizations. And he’ll figure to have at least a shot at earning a big-league job out of camp — at least, that is, supposing the Halos don’t make any other signings in the interim. The club is in need of a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder to share some time with Kole Calhoun.

Giants To Sign Peter Bourjos

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The Giants have agreed to a minors deal with outfielder Peter Bourjos, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). He’ll head to the team’s top affiliate.

Bourjos, 31, has been on and off the Braves’ MLB roster this year. He hasn’t hit much at all in limited opportunities. Neither has he done much more in recent campaigns. Since the start of 2014, Bourjos carries a .229/.286/.366 slash through 1,152 trips to the plate at the game’s highest level.

That said, the numbers have been much better this year at Triple-A, where Bourjos is a .277/.352/.511 hitter in 105 plate appearances. And the nine-year MLB veteran is much better known for his defense and baserunning. For the Giants, he’ll represent an insurance policy in center field.

Peter Bourjos Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder Peter Bourjos has elected free agency, per the MLB.com transactions page. He had recently been designated for assignment and evidently cleared waivers.

Bourjos, 31, has been on and off the MLB roster in Atlanta, providing the team with a .205/.239/.364 batting line over 47 total plate appearances. He has been quite a bit more productive at Triple-A this year, where he carries a .277/.352/.511 slash in 105 trips to the plate.

It seems that Bourjos will at least look around for another opportunity. But he already did so once earlier in the season and ended up returning to the Braves on a minor-league deal. That again seems a plausible, but by no means certain, outcome.

Braves Designate Peter Bourjos For Assignment

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The Braves have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos for assignment, the team announced on Twitter.  In a corresponding move, southpaw Max Fried has been called up from Triple-A to start tonight’s game against the Cardinals.

Signed to a minor league contract near the end of Spring Training, Bourjos was released by the Braves at the end of April and then quickly re-signed to a new minors deal.  The veteran outfielder hasn’t provided much at the plate (.205/.239/.364 slash line in 47 PA), though his primary role in Atlanta has been serving as a late-game defensive replacement, usually in left field.

With Ronald Acuna now back from the disabled list and stepping back into the starting left field role, Bourjos became expendable, though the Braves are likely hoping that he can slip from waivers and remain in the organization as center field depth.  Acuna and backups Danny Santana and Charlie Culberson are all imperfect fill-ins behind everyday center fielder Ender Inciarte, while Bourjos has long been a capable-to-very good defender throughout his career.

This is the third time Fried has been promoted to the MLB roster this season, and the left-hander has contributed a 4.09 ERA and 13 strikeouts (plus a troubling seven walks) over 11 innings of work.  He has yet to receive an extended look at the big league level either this year or after making his Major League debut in 2017, though Fried could get more of an opportunity now that Brandon McCarthy and Mike Soroka are both on the disabled list.  Fried was ranked as a top-100 prospect by Baseball America (which had him 72nd) and MLB.com (83rd) prior to the season.

Braves Select Peter Bourjos, Release Aaron Blair

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The Braves announced on Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Peter Bourjos, who’ll return for a second stint with the big league club this season. To create room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta released right-hander Aaron Blair, who’d previously undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, Dustin Peterson was optioned to Triple-A to create a spot on the 25-man roster for Bourjos’ return.

Bourjos, 31, was on the Braves’ Opening Day roster after signing a Major League deal late in Spring Training, but he received sparse playing time in Atlanta before being designated for assignment, electing free agency and returning to the organization on a new minor league contract. He enjoyed a productive 24-game run in Triple-A Gwinnett between stints with the big league club, slashing .277/.352/.511 with a pair of homers, six doubles and five triples through 105 plate appearances.

The fleet-footed Bourjos will give the Braves a backup option in center field behind Ender Inciarte — something they presently lack with Ronald Acuna on the 10-day disabled list. Preston Tucker and Charlie Culberson have been handling left field with Inciarte in center and Nick Markakis in right, and it’s not entirely clear how the Braves will adjust that mix once Acuna is able to return. Bourjos could be sent out again, but Culberson is only just now showing signs of life at the plate after a poor start, while Tucker hasn’t hit much at all since a hot first week of the season.

As for Blair, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves will continue to pay for the right-hander’s rehab from shoulder surgery. It stands to reason that there’s a fair chance he’ll re-sign with the club on a new minor league deal where he can serve as a depth option in 2019 without occupying a spot on the big league 40-man roster.

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