Baltimore Orioles Re-Sign Michael Bourn
The Baltimore Orioles have brought back outfielder Michael Bourn on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
The Baltimore Orioles must have liked what they saw out of outfielder Michael Bourn last season. According to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, the Orioles have re-signed Bourn to a minor league deal. The deal will earn Bourn $2 million if he can make the roster and the contract includes a camp invite, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
If the Orioles do not decide to add Bourn to the roster, he has the option to go elsewhere as a part of the deal. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has said that the date that Bourn can opt out of the deal if he is not on the roster is March 25.
Bourn, 34, was very productive after being traded to the Orioles from the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. In 55 plate appearances in his short stint with the Orioles, Bourn hit .283/.358/.435 with two home runs and eight RBI. His time with the Diamondbacks was still pretty good too, as he hit .261/.307/.362 with 43 runs scored and 30 RBI. Bourn has proven that even though he is not as good as he used to be, that he can still be a pretty productive outfielder in the majors.
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The Orioles are hoping that that they get the production out of Bourn that they got at the end of the 2016 season. While Bourn has struggled since 2012, he can still be an everyday option for the O’s. The Orioles have a plethora of options to play in their outfield next season, and Spring Training will be interesting to see who makes the Opening Day roster.
The Orioles currently have Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Joey Rickard, Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim. Bourn has a lot of options to compete with during Spring Training. The road to making the Opening Day roster for the team will not be an easy task.
The production that the Orioles received from their outfielders was very impressive last season. Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo combined for 76 home runs and 191 RBI. The other open position had many different names filling in there. Between Chris Davis, Joey Rickard, Hyun Soo Kim and Michael Bourn, the Orioles could not find an everyday right fielder.
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Bourn is still not a shade of what he was earlier in his career, but he will look to re-invent himself in his first full season with the Orioles. Bourn will be a name to watch as Spring Training gets underway in the coming weeks.