Michael Bourn will make $1.4 million for the rest of this season. The Astros sent some cash that will cause the Braves to pay somewhere around $600,000-$1 million for the final two months. He has one year of arbitration remaining before hitting free agency, which should hit somewhere around $7-8 million, I would guess. Bourn is a Scott Boras client, for what it's worth.
Capitol Avenue Club:
"Not only is Bourn a perfect fit for Atlanta, he came at a very reasonable price and one that allowed the Braves to keep their top 8 or so prospects. This is an extremely good deal for Atlanta. Be happy, be ecstatic. The Braves just got a whole lot better."
Bourn compared to MLB center fielders
FanGraphs:
"Outside of shortstop, where the Braves seem comfortable with the ineptitude of Alex Gonzalez, center field was hurting the Braves the most. Michael Bourn represents the best possible fit for that position, and in netting the next six-eight wins of his career without giving up blue chippers to do so, the Braves certainly win this deal in the short term, and possibly the long term as well."
SB Nation Atlanta:
"Basically, the Braves just acquired a player who has been worth $57.5 million dollars since 2009. That's more than Curtis Granderson. That's more than Shane Victorino. That's more than Josh Hamilton. To put it simply, Michael Bourn is a superstar and one of the best outfielders in baseball. And we got him for spare parts at the trade deadline."
Talking Chop:
"Bourn is under team control through next season, so this is not a rental, the Braves have acquired a leadoff man for this year and next. A true leadoff man is something the Braves have been lacking for a while, and they got one of the best in the game in Bourn."
Keith Law:
"The return for Houston however is shockingly poor -- quantity over quality, to say the least -- and can't do Ed Wade any good in extending his status as GM beyond "lame duck." It makes me wonder if Houston had a ranking of Atlanta's top 25 prospects but looked at it upside-down."
Baseball Analytics:
"Michael Bourn, recently acquired by the Atlanta Braves, is posting the best numbers of his career in 2011. His BA, OBP and slugging percentage all stand as best single season marks for the outfielder. Bourn's improved strike zone judgement stands as one reason for his progress."
Big League Stew:
"The Atlanta Braves have found their new leadoff hitter, center fielder, and base-stealing threat and — lucky for general manager Frank Wren — they're all the same guy."
Chop-N-Change:
"So overall, the Braves received a center fielder that they needed in playoff time, and they traded him for what is probably the lower end of the value of the guy coming in, which again does not include added playoff value. I think the trade was a fair one, but the Braves win out on the probability of this working out for them."
Frank Wren quotes:
"They’re really hard to find. I talked to scouts this spring, and getting a prototypical leadoff hitter who plays a premium position and plays it well – Michael is a two-time Gold Glover – and can lead off, get on base, steal bases at a high rate … they’re hard to find. There’s very few of those guys in the major leagues. We’re thrilled to get the guy who has the most stolen bases the last three years and is a Gold Glover in center field and is really growing as a leadoff hitter."
"We inquired on Pence. We inquired on everyone. And that was part of our strategy, was to inquire on everybody. We did not go to the mat to get Pence. If we had gone to the mat to get Pence, we would have got Pence. And that’s the same with all these other deals. We knew there were certain players that fit us better than others, and we’ve kind of held out to get what we thought was the right deal for our team."
Jeff Schultz
Tomahawk Take
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