Michael Bourn is Coming to Atlanta
Finally Braves fans, FINALLY. We've got a legitimate center fielder. Michael Bourn is a Brave, and the package it took was minimal. All it took for the Braves to acquire Bourn (and cash!) was Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens, and Juan Abreu. Oberholtzer was the CNC #8 prospect, Clemens was #14, Abreu was #22, and Schafer was #963. The team gave up ONE top ten prospect in the system for Bourn, which stuns the hell out of me given the rumors floating around last night about the price getting driven up.
Here's a brief primer on Bourn. He's 28 years old, and is under team control until the 2012 season...so the team is getting a year and a half worth of Bourn for that package. His line this season is .303/.363/.403, and his career line is .271/.338/.359, so he doesn't have a huge history of killing it with the lumber. But what sets Bourn apart is his speed and defense. Bourn has stolen at least 40 bases in eaach of the last three seasons, and is one away from getting to that mark again this year. Bourn's defense is also fantastic, as his UZR and DRS numbers have been above average in each of his seasons aside from this year, where he's only ranking as average.
Compare this to the Phillies trade for Hunter Pence. Philly also gave up four players, two of which were top 25 prospects. Bourn has been worth 4.9 WAR and 4.8 WAR over the past two seasons, and is worth 3.6 WAR this year. Pence on the other hand, has been worth 4.1, 3.5 and 2.5. Pence has more power, but Bourn is the better all-around player. And the Braves got him for spare parts. This is a phenomenal deal for the team, and will immediately make an impact on the lineup and defense. Brandon Beachy and Tommy Hanson are doing cartwheels right now.
Meanwhile, ESPN still has no idea how to spell check.
Here's a brief primer on Bourn. He's 28 years old, and is under team control until the 2012 season...so the team is getting a year and a half worth of Bourn for that package. His line this season is .303/.363/.403, and his career line is .271/.338/.359, so he doesn't have a huge history of killing it with the lumber. But what sets Bourn apart is his speed and defense. Bourn has stolen at least 40 bases in eaach of the last three seasons, and is one away from getting to that mark again this year. Bourn's defense is also fantastic, as his UZR and DRS numbers have been above average in each of his seasons aside from this year, where he's only ranking as average.
Compare this to the Phillies trade for Hunter Pence. Philly also gave up four players, two of which were top 25 prospects. Bourn has been worth 4.9 WAR and 4.8 WAR over the past two seasons, and is worth 3.6 WAR this year. Pence on the other hand, has been worth 4.1, 3.5 and 2.5. Pence has more power, but Bourn is the better all-around player. And the Braves got him for spare parts. This is a phenomenal deal for the team, and will immediately make an impact on the lineup and defense. Brandon Beachy and Tommy Hanson are doing cartwheels right now.
Meanwhile, ESPN still has no idea how to spell check.
