Phillies' Justin Bour: Outrighted from 40-man roster
Bour was cast off the 40-man roster and outrighted to the minors Wednesday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Bour is now available to be claimed off waivers after the Phillies elected to free up his 40-man spot for a younger prospect they want to protect ahead of the Rule 5 draft. The first baseman was traded to Philadelphia from Miami in mid-August, and wound up slashing just .224/.296/.347 with one home run and five RBI in his brief time on the diamond (49 plate appearances) with his new team. A disabled list stint due to an oblique injury didn't help matters, but Bour was barely utilized in Philadelphia, only making a handful of starts in his month-and-a-half stay. In 2017, Bour hit .289 with a .902 OPS, 25 home runs and 83 RBI, so he has the potential to to be a strong left-handed bat for a team in need. In the event that Bour clears waivers, expect him to reject an outright assignment to the minors and choose to become a free agent.
