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Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. may be pursuing Michael Bourn according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Passan stated, "...GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is past the tire-kicking stage with Michael Bourn and trying to gauge price."
B.J. Upton's 5-year/75 million-dollar contract with the Braves gives a pretty good indication as to the type of money and years the Phillies would have to commit to signing Bourn.
Prior to Upton's signing, it had been mentioned by several sources that he was a Philadelphia Phillies target. He even went as far as saying a team that wears pinstripes finished second on his list.
However, as Bourn is represented by Scott Boras, it can be assumed that the money and years for Bourn will be slightly inflated.
Bourn would provide the Phillies with a strong leadoff bat, lightning speed, and above-average defensive abilities. The 29 year-old enjoyed a career best 6.0 WAR in 2012 with the Braves. Although he lacks the power that B.J. Upton could have provided for the Phillies, Bourn sports a better career batting average and slightly better career on-base percentage than Upton.
The Phillies traded away center fielder Shane Victorino at the trade deadline this past season, and have been searching the market for a replacement all offseason.
