St. Louis Cardinals: Evaluating the arbitration eligible players

Sep 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Peter Bourjos (8) reacts after striking out in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Peter Bourjos

We’ve already seen the team rid themselves of  Pete Kozma  similar t0 the way they did to Daniel Descalso last season. So, the team is not hesitant to cut potential dead weight on the roster. What has Bourjos shown us the past two season that shows he has more to offer than the likes of Tommy Pham, Stephen Piscotty, or even Charlie Tilson?

Bourjos really hasn’t gotten a fair crack at being a key player on this team.Once the month of August started, Bourjos was not in the picture much, and once Pham started hitting and Jon Jay came back, Bourjos was reduced to pinch running on most nights.

He hasn’t exactly made the most of his time or given Mike Matheny a reason to start him regularly either. In 117 games and just shy of 200 at-bats, Bourjos had a slash line of .200/.290/.333 with 15 extra-base hits. The worst statistics Bourjos owns are his base running stats, Bourjos was 5-13 in steal attempts this season. Overall, Bourjos had -0.7 baserunning runs above average.

While there is seemingly no room for the speedy center fielder on the St. Louis Cardinals’ roster, he does have value. I simply cannot see the team cutting bait with Bourjos here as they did with Kozma, but at the same time I don’t see him being with this team come March.

I believe the Cardinals will attempt to offer him a deal that would be appealing to another team, as I believe Bourjos is a prime candidate for a trade this off-season. He’s a really good defensive center fielder, who could have a shot at better offensive success on a different club.

Next: Matt Adams