The Braves announced via twitter that they have signed journeyman outfielder Jaff Decker to a minor league deal.
Decker will be invited to spring training as part of the deal. He was removed from the 40 man roster of the Athletics in October.
The Braves are getting a veteran who has seen parts of five big league seasons across four different organizations. In 77 career games he is a .174/.274/.236 hitter in the majors with a home run and five RBI.
Decker would figure to occupy a spot at Triple-A Gwinnett but with the Braves ready to play the service time game with MLB’s top prospect Ronald Acuna it would not be a complete surprise to see Decker get shuffled back and forth between the Triple-A and big league club.
Former Angel signs with Cubs
Peter Bourjos has signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.
While Bourjos and Cubs manager Joe Maddon both have a history with the Los Angeles Angels, their times at the big league level did not overlap.
Bourjos arrived at the majors in 2010 with the Angels and spent four years with the club including a career best 2011 season that saw him hit .271/.327/.438 with 12 homeruns, 43 RBI, 72 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.
Since then Bourjos has bounced around to the Cardinals, Phillies, White Sox (minors) and Rays.
While Bourjos can play all three outfield positions, he offers little elsewhere hitting just .223/.272/.383 in 203 plate appearances last year. Once a threat to steal 20 bases, he has not reached double digits at any level since his breakout 2011 season.
His biggest asset may be as a mentor for younger players in what many analysts have considered a thin Cubs farm system. Bourjos may get some spring training at-bats but the bulk of his playing time figures to be at Iowa.
