The Miami Marlins have traded slugging first baseman Justin Bour to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor-league pitcher McKenzie Mills.
Bour, 30, is the latest Marlins veteran to be shipped elsewhere in the midst of their rebuilding effort. Just hours before last month's trade deadline, they traded veteran reliever Brad Ziegler to Arizona and sent veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin to Seattle. The slugger joins a Phillies team that currently sits first in the NL East standings.
Bour hit .227 with 19 home runs and 54 RBIs in 112 games for the Marlins this season.
"He was a great teammate," veteran catcher Bryan Holaday said. "He's always there for you and he's a joy to have in the locker room. He's definitely going to be missed here, but I'm happy for him and wish him the best of luck.
"It's never easy saying bye to teammate, but it's part of the game and it's the way it goes. I think we're making the necessary moves to put us _ build us in the right direction."
During the offseason, Bour won his salary arbitration case that landed him $3.4 million this season, instead of $3 million.
Bour, who became the Marlins' top remaining power-hitting threat after the offseason trades of Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, hit 25 homers and drove in 83 runs last season.
The 6-foot-3, 265-pound lefty spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with the Marlins. After being selected by Miami in the Rule 5 Draft in 2013, he made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2014.
During his five years with Miami, he hit .262 with 83 home runs and 272 RBIs.
Also on Friday, the Marlins selected the contract of OF Rafael Ortega from Triple-A New Orleans, placed RHP Kyle Barraclough on the 10-day disabled list with low back stiffness, and returned RHP Drew Rucinski from rehab and reinstated him from the 10-day disabled list.
