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Philadelphia Phillies: Who Replaces Peter Bourjos?

By George Kondoleon

Jul 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Peter Bourjos (17) runs home for a score during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Peter Bourjos (17) runs home for a score during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Peter Bourjos likely heading to the disabled list, the Philadelphia Phillies will have to find a replacement.

The Philadelphia Phillies will be losing one of their starting outfielders in Peter Bourjos, who will likely be heading to the DL with a right shoulder injury suffered in the game against the Miami Marlins Tuesday night, per CSN Philly.

Bourjos is batting .253 with 4 homeruns and 20 RBI, while manning the the right field position for the Philadelphia Phillies. After a decent start, Bourjos fell into a slump when the rest of the team did and fell to the bottom of the lineup. What the team will miss the most is his stability in the outfield. Bourjos played 87 games in right field and 8 in center field, only committing one error.

The team will have to move on from Bourjos, and they have plenty of possible suitors. The first name that comes to mind is Aaron Altherr. Altherr was primed for a big season before breaking his hand in March, costing him 4 months of baseball. Altherr has had just 142 at-bats batting .232 with 5 homeruns and 22 RBI and a .799 OPS. 

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Altherr will most likely be activated sometime Thursday due to vacancy left from Bourjos supposedly heading to the DL. If Altherr is not yet ready to step in, the Philadelphia Phillies could look towards their bench to fill in the necessary gaps. Outfielder Tyler Goedell has been on the big league roster for the majority of the season, and the although the 23-year old has struggled to hit the ball all season, it would be a good time for the Philadelphia Phillies to make a more in-depth assessment on the trajectory of his career.

If not Goedell, Jimmy Paredes could become more of an everyday player for the Philadelphia Phillies. Paredes was acquired in favor of Emmanuel Burriss and has failed to prove to be a much better option than Burriss. Paredes is hitting below .200 in his minimal opportunities, but is able to play the middle infield as well as the outfield. Paredes is a long shot to become anything productive this season, but the options are limited for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Andres Blanco, who played just 2 games in the outfield, has also been placed on the DL. This doesn’t affect the outfield too much, but he would’ve been relief in a dire situation at the corner outfield positions. The team brought up Taylor Featherston, who is primarily a third-basemen. This leaves the Philadelphia Phillies with just Goedell, Altherr, and Paredes as options to replace Bourjos, with Asche and Herrera taking their everyday roles.

The team could try to make room for Darin Ruf, Roman Quinn, or Nick Williams from AAA, but that would be more of a difficult task as Williams isn’t currently on the 40-man roster and the team would somehow have to clear space.

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As of now Altherr looks to be the more consistent option once Pete Mackanin feels he’s fully healed. Until then, Goedell will be taking the most innings on his shoulder, but Altherr in the outfield could give more of a glimpse of an outfield led by Herrera and Altherr. Bourjos moving to the DL allows the Philadelphia Phillies to call up Altherr, although making him un-tradeable until waiver wire hits.

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