On Michael Bourn
The outfielders are dropping off the free agent market and the Phillies need one. Michael Bourn is still available. But at what cost?
On Michael Bourn
Ryan Lawrence
Charlie Manuel was asked about what he thought the No.1 priority was for the Phillies this winter, a winter in which management has stood on the sidelines so far rather than aggressively attack the free agent market.
"The No. 1 priority is probably center field," Manuel said Wednesday at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.
Asked to explain what he was looking for in that player, Manuel emphasized defense. The first name he mentioned was a guy who played for him as a rookie, before he was traded away.
Michael Bourn.
Fittingly, Scott Boras, Bourn's agent, was holding court outside of the room where Manuel was holding his own press gathering.
Outfielders have been paid well this winter (see Shane Victorino, B.J. Upton and Angel Pagan). So how does that market impact Bourn?
"I think the value of a player is representative to his standing among his peers," Boras said. "So when you take out the metrics of the game and the performance… the great thing about Michael is his consistency is greater than all. His defensive acumen is, there’s just a huge separation between him and every other player at that position.
"And offensively he provides the leadoff spot. And I think if you have center field, and you have leadoff... there aren’t many of those in the game. And those all add premiums to him that most of the other players in the market don’t have."
Translation: Boras still expects Bourn to get more than the 5 years, $75.25 million that Upton received from Atlanta.
Since the Phils were outbid by the Braves for Upton, it doesn't seem likely they're a fit for Bourn either. But with two months until spring training, perhaps there is time for things to change.
"MANUEL COVETS BOURN".
Just more proof of what a dope we have running this team!— advantasux- Amaro and the Phillies, up to last year, were quick to throw big dollars at what they thought was the missing piece to another WS. Now that they're facing significant "legacy costs" and a number of holes to plug, the bravado seems to have disappeared from Ruben's game. And never trust an article in which the meat of it consists of quotes by Boras. That's a set-up. But it's MLB owners at work. Who in their right mind had Vic going for $13 mil/year? I figured 5-6, tops. Baseball's silly season....— ijj
- Trade for some 18-22 yo top minor leaguers. These young guys have been playing this game for 15 years.— phillyfan19335
- Manuel said in that interview that if it's not one of the two big free agents available, then defense in CF is his choice.— escapedcamden4monterey
- I don't think Bourn will be coming here. You have to figure he stands to get more money per year and a longer contract than Victorino. Would not make sense to a franchise that may be rebuilding after 2013 if they don't catch lightning in a bottle.
Besides, Bourn strikes out a lot. The knock on him is that he cannot hit a good fastball.Still hits for decent average despite a weak second half in 2012.
There is one scenario where I WOULD like to see Bourn here - that would be trading Jimmy Rollins and getting Dee Gordon for SS ( supposedly the Dogers are shopping Gordon around ). Gordon or Bourn could lead off, both with exceptional speed, and set the table for Utley, Howard, Ruf, Ruiz, Brown and Frandsen.— candidly - "manuel said ..." who cares about the musings of a complete nitwit?...meanwhile, considering how expensive outfielders are this winter, if instead of trading Pence for close to absolutely nothing last July, is there anyone outside of the Clueless Rube who couldn't get more for Pence this winter than a double A .250 hitting non-prospect? once again the imbecile shows how to destroy a franchise by overpaying by 200 to 500% in cash or prospects for what he thinks he needs, and getting only useless trash when he discards something or tries to get something cheap...and this winter he just sits on a 40-man roster that has basically nothing to speak of beyond 2 good starting pitchers (Hamels, Lee)..imbecile has zero ability to evaluate players or team needs and is a wonder that he still has a job as a g.m.— warbiscuit
- Lee? Nice to see you gave Hamels some company. — escapedcamden4monterey
- RAJ has no plan...that's been obvious for four years now.
— Jeff Dowder - bourn is one of best centerfielders in baseball. has all the tools. get stanton too. stanton in right. bourn in center. go phillies!!!— phillyfrank1
- Sign Hamilton, 3/75 with vesting options or just chill and wait.— CallisonTaylorRojas
- @Ghost of Callison: (By the way, great screen name!). I agree that the loss of Davey Lopes over dollars was foolish. Look across the street at the football team....when Andy Reid's first hires in the coaching ranks left for greener pastures, the results on the field today are obvious. John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, Jim Johnson (RIP) brought stability, excellence and respect to that team. The Phils have not been the same since Davey left. Jimy Williams was a perfect fit for Charlie, 2 long time coaches and managers. It seems the Phils were more fundamentally sound under Jimy. You forgot to mention the departure of Chuck LaMar, too. Another great eye for talent who was let go under questionable circumstances. But let's face it, personalities clash. Not everyone can get along. I'm trying to be open minded enough to let RAJ complete this winter's trade season before passing any judgement as a fan!— DelawareRiverRat
- A free agent should be an immediate impact player. Bourn is not even close to being an impact player.— Ron
@DLR: Thank you for the kudo on the name. I was a huge Callison fan back in the day. I did forget Chuck LaMar. I understand your desire to be open minded when it comes to RAJ. I hope I'm wrong about him, but as I said in another post on another article, Amaro doesn't have the luxury of a powerhouse team to lure free agents any longer. He was able to sign Lee the 2nd time because we WERE a powerhouse and Lee wanted to return as he saw Philly as an opportunity for a ring. Not so anymore. Now, when Amaro has to actually WORK to get talent, he invariably will come up short (Herndon, Martinez, Nix, Wigginton, Dontrelle Willis, Qualls, Danys Baez, I could go on and on). And, when he let Lopes leave over a few dollars and didn't try to appease the best bench coach (Williams) that he ever had and who was actually the real manager in 2008 by settling any differences Williams may have had, it spoke volumes about Amaro's judgment. This is why I (and a lot of other fans) have absolutely NO confidence in Amaro. Having explained where I'm coming from, I really do hope I'm wrong because all I really want is for the Phillies to win and win big. I've been a fan for over 50 years and have lived through a lot of bad times with this team, which have far outweighed the good times.- we led the entire league in attendance. we are still a destination for players and should be major spenders.
