The Philadelphia Phillies have claimed former Cardinals outfielder Peter Bourjos off waivers, officially severing his ties with baseball in St. Louis.
Bourjos appeared in 236 games (519 plate appearances) over the course of 2 seasons for the Cardinals. He produced exactly 100 hits (33 of the extra variety) with a .218 batting average and 37 RBIs. He also recorded 14 stolen bases in 25 attempts (56%).
ICYMI, Peter Bourjos talks about joining the Phillies' outfield. https://t.co/LCsOX63DpT pic.twitter.com/5I1B3uxtuq
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) December 3, 2015
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Mr. Bourjos was acquired along with Randal Grichuk on NOV 22 2013 in exchange for David Freese and Fernando Salas.
For most Cardinals fans, he was the centerpiece of a trade that not only shored up CF, but also freed room for Matt Carpenter to be the full time 3B (who became an All-Star the following year). Randal Grichuk was a curiosity – at most – for a vast majority of Cardinals Nation.
A little over 2 years later, this trade is proof of two things:
1) We probably don’t know as much as we think we know. 2 years on and Randal Grichuk is probably the only one of the four players involved that will make a real impact on a contending MLB team in 2016 and beyond. At the very least, he’s the one guy other teams still would covet.
2) Things happen fast. Feels like 5 years ago David Freese left and Matt Carpenter took the reins at 3B.
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It didn’t work out as planned.
Mr. Bourjos wasn’t the answer in CF. Between sporadic injuries and manager Mike Matheny’s preference to go with Jon Jay, he never found consistent playing time.
Further, his unused speed was probably a mitigating factor in his failure to gain much outrage from fans when he rode the pine.
As fast a runner as the Cardinals have probably ever had, Bourjos wasn’t particularly adept at base stealing (only attempting to swipe a base 25 times over 2 seasons and getting caught 11 times) or getting on base (languishing below .300 OBP).
We’ve witnessed first hand the havoc that a player like Billy Hamilton can cause in a game and hoped Bourjos could provide the same for the Cardinals. Candidly? He just didn’t.
Doesn’t mean he didn’t have some high moments:
Best of luck in Philly, Peter.
Photo: MLB
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