Michael Bourn figures to be one of the most popular free-agent targets this offseason. Plenty of teams need a quality center fielder, and Bourn is having the best season of his seven-year major league career.
As of Aug. 17, Bourn is batting .290/.350/.425 with nine home runs, 22 doubles, nine triples, 51 RBI and 31 stolen bases in 547 plate appearances. He has also played excellent defense in center field. Fangraphs’ Ultimate Zone Rating places him as the best defender at that position in baseball. No one has more defensive runs saved in center field than Bourn’s 15.
Bourn has been everything the Atlanta Braves could have hoped for since acquiring him from the Houston Astros at the trade deadline last season. Yet according to the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo, the Braves don’t believe they can re-sign him as they haven’t had good luck dealing with Scott Boras’ clients.
So where will Bourn play next season? Which teams will go after him hard in free agency? Here are six teams that have the greatest need for him and will give him the five- to six-year deal worth $15 million per season that the Atlanta Journal Constitution‘s David O’Brien believes he’ll pursue.