The Braves released Michael Bourn yesterday, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The veteran center fielder had previously been designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day, and the Braves were unable to find a trade partner for him during the 10-day DFA window.
The outcome shouldn’t come as a great surprise, as Atlanta reportedly sought out trade partners for Bourn throughout the offseason but were never able to find a taker for the declining veteran, who is slated to earn $15MM this year in the final season of a four-year, $48MM contract originally signed with Cleveland. Bourn provided some value in the first season of that deal, but recurring hamstring issues in the second and third year of the deal (as well as a neck issue last season) chipped away at his productivity and also led to prolonged stints on the disabled list in 2014. Bourn has batted a combined .247/.312/.322 in the past two seasons, and his stolen base numbers have declined as well — both in terms of raw accumulation and his success rate. After averaging 51 steals per season from 2008-12, Bourn stole a combined 50 bases in 377 games from 2013-15.
Bourn will now be free to sign with any team, and any club that adds him to the fold would only be responsible for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, with the Braves and Indians picking up the bill for the remainder of his that $15MM figure he’s owed this season. The D-backs, who lost A.J. Pollock for a yet-undetermined amount of time due to a fractured elbow, have been linked to Bourn since he was designated for assignment, as have the Cardinals.
Not a big shock, used to be a real threat but just lost it. I bet you he was on steroids and theme his body broke down and he clasped
Or, he’s a 33 year old speed guy who’s lost his legs.
Eddie I think he just got old and his legs could not support him anymore.
Bingo.
A flyer for the Diamondbacks?
Nope.
His Bourne Identity is either retirement or independent/minors.
You could start building a halfway decent roster five years ago with players released by the Braves. There’s sure been some real rough years for a franchise that dominated for basically all of the 90s and early 00s.
Speed-only players tend to age really poorly. Vince Coleman, Willy Taveras. The above poster going on about steroids is pretty far off. Steroids make you bigger and slower, not faster.
I’m guessing Bourn is done in the majors
Tell that to Ben Johnson.
Steroids make you slower, lol. Demonstrably false. You must not follow track & field. Gatling, Jones, Johnson, Jacobs, White, on and on … there are probably 25 runners currently under international suspension. Guess what, they didn’t dope b/c they thought they would get slower. That said, I haven’t see any evidence or have any reason to believe that Bourn used steroids.
Anabolic steroids are completely different than blood doping, which is what runners and bicyclists are using. Totally different PEDs.
You’re stupid
There are multiple types of steroids. Some for strength, injury recovery, lean muscle, etc.
It’s a shame that we now assume that players that break down are/were on PED’s. “Sins of the Father” I guess. Maybe the next generation of MLB Players will not have the assumption of steroids contributing to them breaking down physically. You can’t blame today’s fan for wondering unfortunately.
Hopefully, he heals up to as close to 100% a 33 year old can, and contribute to a team. If not, $15,000,000 to sit at home isn’t too shabby.
It is a shame. But…it’s easy to wonder about when good players just fall off the map abruptly. Always crosses my mind with the fast decline players.
Nope. That’s a normal aging curve. Look at Mike Schmidt or Sandy Koufax
Or Ryne Sandberg or Dale Murphy. I don’t think anybody would accuse either of those guys of taking PEDs
“… with the Braves and Indians picking up the bill for the remainder of his that $15MM figure he’s owed this season.” This line made me a little bit confused.
When the Braves acquired Bourn and Swisher, the Indians sent the Braves cash considerations around $15MM. Ostensibly, this money was to ease the burden of bringing on those players’ contracts, but there was no language that specifically described the cash payment being meant to “cover part of the salaries” for the two players.
When a team “agrees to pay x amount of a player’s remaining salary” in a trade (for example, this wording was used when the Angels sent Josh Hamilton to Texas), is the player’s former team still literally sending the player checks, or are they just sending the money needed for the new team to cover the checks?
For all intents and purposes, the Indians and Braves paid the cost for Bourn’s 2016 salary, but technically the Braves are the only ones paying Bourn (less his possible new salary from a new team) as far as I can tell.
Well, I phrased it vaguely in part because it was never clear whether the money from Cleveland was allocated between the two players, and in part because of what you mention, and in part just because it was going to be unnecessarily complicated to write it all out otherwise (and doesn’t matter too much).
While I’m not sure on the subject, it seems plausible that the cash just landed in Atlanta, which remains the team responsible for paying the contract. So, I guess if Bourn has earnings that offset salary, it probably will redound only to the Braves’ benefit, and not the Indians.
All that being said … I think the casual phrasing is sufficient in this case. But you may well be right that, technically, the Braves are actually paying Bourn.