Call it wish-full thinking, but, in my opinion, the Cubs should trade for Los Angeles Angels back-up center fielder Peter Bourjos. Bourjos is a 25-year-old outfielder drafted by the Angels in 2005 straight out of high school. He has a career batting average of .247 and an OBP of .301 in three years of MLB service. In his one (mostly) full season as an everyday player, he hit .271 with an OBP of .327 in 147 games in the 2011 season, before being replaced ny Mike Trout in 2012. Bourjos is way too good to be sitting on the bench, which is exactly what he will be doing with the recent addition of Josh Hamilton.
Bourjos is a young kid with a great upside, and, in my opinion, he will develop into a great everyday center fielder. I mean this is a guy who was put in center field as a late-game substitute for Trout. And as most Cubs fans know, we desperately need someone like him on our roster. He can swing the bat and has an outstanding glove, and at the moment, the Cubs do not have a true center fielder who is major-league ready.
The best option the Cubs have for next season, unless Team Theo trades for someone or picks up a guy on the free-agent market, would probably be Brett Jackson, who is still too young and doesn’t have the bat to face MLB pitching, especially with his propensity for strikeouts.
Bourjos would be a great addition to this young and mostly unproven Cubs team. Combined with the hopeful addition of Anibal Sanchez (fingers crossed on that one), the Cubs could have an outside chance to compete in the NL Central and maybe even steal one of the wild card slots. If the front office signs Sanchez, which looks possible at this point, and trades a few prospects for a guy like Bourjos, I believe the Cubs could put up a fight in the NL Central … or, at the very least, be competitive, which is more than I can say for the 2012 team.
Since the NL Central doesn’t have the Astros to kick around anymore, it’s more likely the Cubs will be favored by most to finish last in the division.
