Outfielder Jason Bourgeois has elected free agency after clearing waivers and rejecting his outright assignment to Triple-A from the Royals, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Bourgeois appeared in 30 games with the Royals in 2012, posting a .258/.303/.323 batting line in 66 plate appearances. He was acquired from the Astros along with Humberto Quintero in exchange for a player to be named later (Kevin Chapman).
The speedster has a .261/.304/.326 batting line in 497 career plate appearances to go along with 51 steals in 65 attempts (80 percent success rate). He's appeared at all three outfield positions over the course of his career, posting a 7.0 UZR/150. Both UZR and the Fielding Bible both agree that he's better suited to appear at a corner outfield position. His speed and experience should give him a chance to crack a Major League team as a reserve outfielder next season, though he'll likely have to do so on a minor league deal.
