Royals acquire Bourgeois, Quintero

[love_that_reefer]

Per MLBTR

The Royals have acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois and catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros for minor league left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. Both teams have announced the trade.

Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.

Quintero, 32, appeared in 79 games last year, posting a .240/.258/.317 line in 272 plate appearances. He'll earn $1MM in 2012 and hit free agency after the season. He and Brayan Pena will share the Royals' catching duties while Salvador Perez recovers from a knee operation.

“Jason and Humberto were a big part of this team last year and both will be missed,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated. “This deal gives us an opportunity to add prospect depth and we are excited about both players coming our way.”

Chapman, a fourth round selection in 2010, split last season between Class A and Double-A in the Royals' minor league system. The 6'4" 24-year-old posted a 4.94 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 62 total innings of relief in 2011.

The move likely means Jordan Schafer will assume the starting center field role in Houston. The Astros have catchers Chris Snyder and Jason Castro, so they could afford to part with Quintero and his salary. Meanwhile, projected Royals starter Lorenzo Cain could find himself on the bench or in the minors as a result of the move. The Royals placed Perez and Manny Pina on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for their new acquisitions.

I think the Royals could have done better than Quintero. Hell, I would have signed Pudge to a minor league deal.

[Witlon]

Missed this. Can someone delete my post in Royals forum?

I figure Bourgeois finds himself on the bench instead of Cain. They really need to see what they have there before Starling and Meyers starting pushing people out of their outfield.

Quintero is a pretty good defensive guy, so it works out well.

[Kingdom]

Bourgeois is fassssst.