Dec. 15, 1:11 PM: The club has officially announced the signing.
Dec. 12, 7:37 PM: The Angels have struck a deal with first baseman Justin Bour, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The ACES client will receive a $2.5MM salary, presumably on a one-year deal, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
Bour is an interesting addition for the Halos, who already have aging first baseman Albert Pujols (a right-handed hitter) and two-way star Shohei Ohtani (a lefty) on hand as DH options. It seems likely that Bour will take a significant share of the time at first base against right-handed pitching, perhaps squeezing Pujols out of regular plate appearances — at least, that is, if and when Ohtani is ready to return to action at the plate.
The 30-year-old Bour is an intriguing power option, having launched at least twenty long balls in three of the past four seasons. He has generally been quite a high-level offensive producer, though his numbers dipped in 2018 and he doesn’t add value with the other aspects of his game. Though Bour has at times graded as an average defender at first, he’s limited to that position defensively and is an abysmal baserunner.
Of course, this move is about the bat — particularly as it plays against right-handed pitching. In 1,248 career plate appearances with the platoon advantage, Bour carries an impressive .271/.355/.500 slash. It’s worth noting, too, that while his power fell off last year, and he struck out more than ever, Bour also boosted his walk rate to a career-best 14.6%.
Bour’s late-season swoon in 2018 surely did not help his cause, as he batted a lowly .224/.296/.347 in 54 plate appearances down the stretch for the Phillies after coming over from the Marlins. Of course, he also ran into a market situation that has generally been quite poor for lumbering sluggers.
There could certainly be some nice value here for the Halos, who needed to find a way to increase their offensive productivity as Pujols continues to trail off at this late stage of his career. The opportunity could be a good one for Bour as well, if he’s able to force his way into a major role with a Los Angeles club that is trying to capitalize on its remaining two years of control over superstar Mike Trout.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
why?
Because you can’t spell Bourjos with Bour.
All seriousness if this turns out to be a 1yr deal $3-$4mil and he produces close to what he did in 2016/2017 then it’s a win. Ohtani will be recovering from TJ and last I check you swing with your arms, so I imagine they will take it easy considering they need him to pitch in 2020 in beyond.
Hahahaha
Not sarcastically?
Interesting.. pujols and otani there. Whos getting the at bats
Otani can’t play in the field next year
He will DH though
Neither can Pujols.
actually Pujols is a better fielder than batter… though I guess that isn’t saying much.
As long as he doesn’t have to take more than two steps, sure.
Pujols can play first. He did fine last year. He hits the ball hard, but can’t run. If they do away with the shift, his BA will jump 30 points.
Pujols is a part time first baseman and a part time DH. This is a good move for the Angels.
Two points here, one is Albert the Hall of Famer can’t hit going the other way instead choosing the DP ball and second he is costing the Arte l3d Angels the lifetime sevices of The Kid. No Championships with the former “Roider”. BTW where is Billyboy and his big trade or signing? Angels truly just stuck in “freeze” mode. Signing more .230 hitters. Cut Pujolis now and/or move him into the front office.
Expensive platoon player that is….
They ease Otani back. He’s an insurance policy.
bouring
lett,
hahaha
Good one!
How many DHs do they really need?
Somewhere, Jack Zduriencik is smiling
^ truth
Hahahaha
Sigh
But hey, Angels fans seem to love the idea of rostering 3 guys who are limited to 1B/DH and cant hit Lefties. Maybe they have advanced knowledge of their being 28 men rosters in 2018? Zduriencik’s plan redeemed!
He is a good obp guy. Now please release Pujols.
Bour being on first base is an advantage to the opposition. It takes a home run or 3 hits for his team to score. I’d pitch around him just to let him clog the bases.
lol
Good deal. Makes perfect sense too. No way i’d be okay with Pujols being my every day 1B.
They must be concerned that Ohtani won’t be able to DH much this year as he recovers from TJ surgery. Or they think Pujols is going to break something. I’m surprised Bour didn’t receive interest elsewhere for DH.
ohtani will be the full time DH which means if Pujols needs a rest from the field then bour can handle it
Great point. With no Ohtani to play the field they have to keep Albert from falling apart. The length of the contract will show how much sense this makes.
Wouldn’t they want him to recover fully from Tommy john? Granted it is his weak arm in batting is the arm he just had work on, but I would prefer protect the investment.
The Angels have been talking about getting a LH hitting part time first baseman for months.
Bour is a very nice addition.
I think it’s a great addition and something I was thinking about last week! Now we just need a catcher, starters & bullpen guys.
Why would there be a lot of interest in a DH who hit .around .220 this past season and adds little value other than an occasional long ball?
Well this will take time to figure out unless Otani isn’t ready for next season
Angels need a lefty bat
What’s his fastball like?!
Not a bad career for a 25th round pick…..
Nice. A less versatile CJ Cron. Celebrating…
Yea… If only Cron were left handed and had plate discipline.
How can one be less versatile than C.J. cron?
Great point. With no Ohtani to play the field they have to keep Albert from falling apart. The length of the contract will show how much sense this makes.
now they need to get pitching
.227 with 124 Ks to go with 20 HR. I read a prediction that he might get up to $30 million over 3 years. I hope Billy strikes a better deal than that.
I’d be surprised if it’s for more than 1 year with Thiass just about ready to give it a go. And I doubt they give him significant money. 1-2 mil?
In absolutely no world – this, or alternate reality – would Bour get 3/30.
Need him to spot start
This might be signaling that they don’t expect to play Pujols much. This comment might be signaling that I hope we don’t play Pujols much.
Ohtani will be handled with kid gloves next year and Albert is like 50 years old
I’ve met him on more than one occasion. In theory, we’re the same age. No. Way. He has to be over 40. I know a lot of South American players have a tendency to lie about their age to increase their value when coming to the MLB. Not saying I know for a fact Albert is one of em but… yeahhhhh lol
I’d bet heavily on the over. Albert has slipped up in multiple interviews and given away his actual age
Pujols deserves the Tulowitzki treatment. He’s too popular for the Angels to cut him though
Thank God. he did some mean things to my Braves
Good sign, we needed a lefty bat for 1st base
This just in, Justin Bour has been placed on the 60-Day DL and will require Tommy John Surgery.
Ha. This.
Has the – “they can flip at the trading deadline” – comment been written here yet? There’s at least one under every article of a signing this offseason…..sometimes even in the article.
lol
Pujols is going to play less than half the games at first next year. If people look at Bour in context, he’s OPS against RH pitching is 853. He’s not going to face LH pitching.
Ohtani is going to get 500+ ABs at DH next year.
This is a good move by the Angels. They said they were looking for a LH bat that can play first base and they got one.
Bour can and will rake.
God I hope we’re not paying this guy more than $5-7 mil a year for no more than 2 years.
Meh. Cheap insurance for:
1) Ohtani’s recovery
2) Matt Thaiss 2019 development
3) Pujols overall health
Not unexpected. Bour has some pop and historically a decent OBP. Nice place holder for Thaiss. He’ll make less than Valbuena did with better contact. Don’t expect more than a year with a club option for a contract.
-0.1 war in ’18? typical eppler waste of money. though it’s not yet known how much is going to be wasted.
would love to hear why it’s a waste
I wouldn’t. Please don’t ask for things you don’t actually want
I didn’t, my point is it’s not a waste lol
the pitchers angels wanted are going, going, gone! then who?
You Angel fans are funny because you are acting as if this organization has a plan. They are trying to be the Yankees of the West. Keep signing hitters even though pitching & defense wins. Boston had a miracle season where they had it all; hitting pitching and defense. However, the Angels keeping digging a bigger hole by signing more sluggers that they do not need. Still happy they traded for Upton that helped the rebuild immensely!
lol what? so you think Pujols can play 162 games at first base? Boston had depth, which is exactly why the angels signed bour
LOL. There definitely is a plan. Eppler seems to be very calculated. Now, perhaps some of his plans are hit and miss but you can’t say he has no clue as to what he is doing. And BTW, the Angels have one of the best defenses in the game. Simmons, Trout, Calhoun, Fletcher… and there was Maldonado and Kinsler for most of the season.
Dude, the Angels had a very good staff opening day last year:
Ohtani
Richards
Heaney
Skaggs
Barria
but injuries decimated it. Epplers formula is defense, ground ball // high k pitching and OBP. Thats the formula. THe slugger is a 2.5m deal for a 1 year, chill bru.
exactly
everyone knew the rotation wasn’t going to last through the season last two seasons. but the gm added fielders that could play multiple positions. turned out they could but could do hardly anything with their bats.
Barria was on the opening day staff? How about shoemaker?
Pitching and defense wins? Are you stuck in the same false belief of the 60s?
Boston led baseball in runs scored, they were 6th in Runs Allowed. Houston led in pitching last year, Dodgers were second, where are their trophies?
It’s a piece that will make their team better. Pujols can’t play 100 games at first base, Bour hits RH pitching. It’s a no brainer.
So you’re saying the #1 and #2 teams in pitching were in the World Series and ALCS this year?
Not sure that’s making the “pitching doesn’t matter as much anymore” argument as well as you hoped.
I mean, slug away, yeah, for sure. You’ll win lots of games that way. But pitching still matters. A lot.
Baseball is about outscoring your opponent. It’s about Run Prevention and Run Scoring. If you are not good at one, it’s pretty hard to win. The cliche that champions are about pitching and defense is a tired and lazy. .
The Angels were 8th in run prevention and 8th in runs scored. Their pythagorean W – L record last year was 81-81. Adding a piece for 2.5 million, that will likely get 300+ ABs, that hits RH well, will help them score more runs. That’s a good thing.
To knock this move and knock the Angels direction is a non-sequitur. The Angels need pitching. The Angels need offense. This helps a little. It’s not the only move they are going to make.
Except that’s not what you said the first time. I agree a well balanced team is a necessity, but your post rather explicitly downplayed the importance of pitching while also mentioning that the 1 and 2 pitching teams in the league were among the final 4 teams left alive this year. “Where are their trophies” is a rather obvious slam on the importance of pitching, and not in line with your later clarification of “balance.” Don’t move the goal posts.
You don’t need to clarify the benefits of this Bour move, because I never spoke down on it. I agree it’s a good decision, and they need the upgrade. I don’t agree with downplaying pitching, and it’s particular dumb when done in the same breath as “well, these two really good teams were only the 2nd and 3rd best in all of the sport, so their 1 and 2 pitching failed them.” Cmon now.
So the Angels should have absolutely no back-up plan to a 38 year old first baseman and a Tommy John DH? And they definitely shouldn’t do it for really cheap?
Cool story, bro.
It’s 1 yr 2.5 million. It’s not like this is a risky signing. So chill dude
There you go. 1/$2.5mm. Nice pickup.
Shame we had to end up cutting him rather than trading him for slot money or the like.
One Year. 2.5 Million. Why would anyone think this is a bad move?
Luis Valbuena, God Rest His Soul, could not play a lick of defense, and is not as good as Bour but 15 million for two years.
I’d rather have Bour.
Things will get more exciting when they sign Harper and announce the move to Vegas.
Definitely a big bounce back candidate. For relatively cheap too I think this is a good deal for the Angels.
Pujols announces retirement in 3, 2., 1…
Love the signing. My biggest complaint about the last 5 years or so is their depth. He can step in and look the part if he needs to absorb ABs due to injury. I know the farm has a lot to do with it, but this is a solid minor league signing.
It’s not a minor league signing…
Man, I thought he’d be a great fit for the Rockies at 1B. The power is legit and would play really well in Colorado.
This organization has zero direction.
I like this move. A typical 1.5 WAR guy for a few million with a left handed bat with some pop. If Dipoto hadn’t pillaged our farm system with his awful trades, we’d have a real chance to be competitive right about now. Eppler’s guys are starting to gel in the minors, just hope it’s not too late to keep Trout. Now we need some pitching. And maybe some more pitching. And while we are at it, maybe some pitching.
Pitching would be nice
He sucks.
What dipoto trade ruined the farm system? I’ll give you trading away clevinger. Maybe trading grichuk, but that trade ended up about even. The problem was Moreno forced his hands into overpaying free agents every year and losing our first round pick. Crappy farm system was more to do with lack of top picks than it had to do with trading impactful prospects away. I actually think dipoto, as an angel, made very good trades, like Trumbo and Kendrick trades.
Traded away #1 prospect Segura for a half season of Greinke. He also wasted all our international signing bonus money on a prospect that never got past AA. His draft history outside of Sean Newcomb wasn’t impressive either. I don’t blame it all on Dipoto though. Arte was the one who set us back 3 or 4 years by signing Hamilton/Wilson/Albert and not allowing us to have first round draft picks for two consecutive years..
It was signing free agents that were attached to draft picks.
I should have called it moves. And yes Moreno had to give the okay, but it’s his job to show the owner how crazy the moves were. All anyone had to do is chart Pujols and his consistent drop in production was as obvious and predictable. Hamilton had completely lost it while still with the Rangers. Giving up Segura for Greinke’s 6 wins, – brilliant. His drafts were perhaps some of the worst in baseball as he had us ranked dead last in farm system rankings. Skaggs and Heaney for Kendrick and Trumbo. You really think we’ve gotten a lot out of those guys? Granted we would have lost them – so it was a good effort, but I’d call them both misses so far as you need players that actually stay healthy enough to play.
Secretly love this .. If he can play like 2017 , and can push pooholes out , him and Ohtani will be tattooing that short walk in right
Like this signing for that price tag. Great value. Hey we should maybe think about getting some decent pitching. Just please don’t overpay for Keuchel and ultimately cost us a draft pick.
What?!?!?
He’s got 30 HR power. But he’s also not going to hit higher than .250
typical Angel’s signing. he will be hitting well under .200 by mid-season and be released not too far after… smh..
How are angel fans complaining about this? The guy mashes righties and gets on base which is what we need… Also means less at bats for pujols which is great news. We had to watch Marte and Jose Fernandez get ABs last year but fans gonna complain about this depth move? Baffles me.
I can’t believe Angels fans are talking themselves into believing this makes any sense at all
Neither Bour nor Ohtani can hit Lefties *at all*
So all of a sudden you need to carry 2 guys just to PH for your 1B and DH late in games.
That’s 4 roster spots just to cover 1B & DH
And if Pujols isn’t released, he’s not exactly an ideal person doing it either as he doesn’t hit Lefties all that well
Only way this makes sense is if Othani is not going to be around in 2019. They would still need a guy to PH for Bour late, but at least that’s only 3 roster spots devoted to 1B/DH
But if Ohtani is going to be around then they needed an OF who hits Lefties, not yet another 1B/DH who can’t.
You know a 23 year old guy can’t hit lefties? Really? You must be the greatest scout whoever lived.
The Angels needed to give someone 300+ ABs who can hit RH pitchers and play first base, they got him.
As far as who can hit what… we don’t even know if the shift will be legal next year. Because Pujols doesn’t strike out and because he still hits the ball hard, I suspect he’s a different hitter next year with only two men on the left side of the infield. But we don’t even know that.
Agree totally. If the shift is eliminated, Pujols probably picks up 20-30 BA points. If not, we need a guy with a track record for hitting righties and we got him. If, and it’s a big, big if, Calhoun goes back to how he played in the second half and Cozart comes back reasonably well, I like our position player status other than catcher. I had given up on Calhoun and the jury is still out, but I can cross my fingers. Hope I’m not riding a unicorn. We’ll see about second base too, but there are a lot of decent guys out there. We need a big move or two on the bump and for these guys with potential to finally deliver. If Pujols struggles, I hope he doesn’t want to drift below .300 lifetime and throws in the towel. Yes, Artie may have to increase the personal service contract, but it would keep down in cap spending.
I’m more worried about 3rd base… Cozart can’t play the position. I like Fletcher, but I think that is the only position Cozart can play and he’s going to play, and if it’s third base, that’s not good news for pitchers.
Taylor Ward has a long way to go. The Cozart signing put the Angels a little behind the 8 Ball.
If you can play short, you can play third. I think the problem last year was his shoulder. Remember, he’s been a gold glove finalist at short. Let’s see what happens in the spring and how the arm looks. I personally think he’ll be fine and we’ll have a solid left side.
That is a good rule of thumb, but not always accurate. Maybe the best Angel example is Jim Fregosi. He was a gold glove Shortstop, went to third at age 30 and couldn’t play 3rd base to save his life.
You need to be a little quicker with the hands at third, and while a shortstop can typically make the move, it’s not a 100% certainty. . Cozart was awful at 3rd last year and the Angels can’t give him a season there hoping he grows into the position.
Most of the problems I saw was throwing – his glove failed him a couple of times, but I still think it was his shoulder. In fact, his fielding was way below his norm at short this year too. Yes he would have been a -21 Runs over a season – and we can’t have that – I’m hoping it was just last year. Too bad Ward isn’t ready – flip Cozart over to second and we’d be solid.
What I saw was bad feet. To me he didn’t look good. Fangraphs agreed.
Fletcher was a much better third baseman, but he’s a gold glove second baseman, And I don’t say that lightly. I’m not one of these crazy people that always think our middle infield is gold glove caliber.
Tough choices for the Angels. Maybe Cozart will grow into it, but I didn’t see any hint of that last year.
Triggering out over the Ohtani meant the point flew completely over your head
They are not accounting for the possibility Ohtani shows the same exact 400 point OPS drop against Lefties. So far all he’s shown is he can’t hit LHP, and the Angels ignored that
Nope, instead of preparing for that possibility they are doubling the issue – leaving themselves in a best case scenario of needing 1 late inning replacement for Bour, or a worst case of needing 2
This isn’t an issue they needed to face – they could have signed a guy who could hit Lefties well, thereby protecting themselves against the Ohtani question. Instead they duplicated the issue they already had, wasting yet bother roster spot on a 1B/DH guy that can’t hit Lefties
You can only have 25 guys on your roster, and 12-13 of them will be pitchers. That leaves you 12-13 guys to fill the other 9 positions and their backups. As it stands, 3 of those 12-13 guys are 1B/DH types that have not shown they should be playing against Lefties – meaning the Angels left themselves merely 9-10 roster spots for 7 other fielders, 1 backup catcher, 1 or 2 backup infielders, and 1 or 2 backup outfielders. Limiting those 10-13 needed players for 9-10 roster spots are the need for PH possibilities that can hit Lefties
Simple math says that’s impossible and they will need to sacrifice Infield and Outfield depth already, and then will be limiting their options even further to protect against the Lefty issue they have ignored
Bour just makes absolutely no sense for the Angels – he makes their existing issues worse and means less depth for the club
No one with a clue is saying Ohtani can’t hit LH pitching based on 100 ABs. NO ONE.
Ohtani is unlikely to be ready when the season starts. . There is no way Pujols can play 100 games at first base.
This isn’t complex.
Salt Lake City is not far away. You can have 12 to 13 pitchers on your roster.
$5 says he’s in Japan by August.
i’ll take that bet. japanese teams usually don’t sign anyone after winter/spring. and eppler will not release his own acquisition till late in the season even if the guy is horrible.
Albert Pujols, Zack Cozart, and Mike Trout for Estevan Florial, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Andujar, and Jacoby Ellsbury.
I’d do it if I were the Angels, but not if I were the Yankees. Not enough coming back. Trout only has one more year. And the Yankees would have a hole at catcher.
“Thank you!!”
–Nats fans
From the OC Register : “This guy (Pujols) is a phenomenal talent,” Ausmus said. “But going forward, it’s just going to be his health and performance. It’s a performance-based game.”
Ohtani and Pujlos had season ending surgery. Adding a LH firstbaseman who has a lifetime OPS of 853 against RH pitchers is a no brainer. The guy could EASILY get 300 ABs.
Sure you would rather have TWO guys for 1b and DH, but that’s not possible. And a good defensive utility player who can hit RH pitchers just doesn’t grow on trees.
It looks like the Angels will open with Cozart/Simmons/Fletcher/LeStella.. That’s three people who can play 2nd and 3rd and two that can play shortstop. They don’t need a 5th infielder. If they want to get a free agent and send Fletcher down… they can.
Pujols at 3rd????