By: Tyler Ward
Toronto and Atlanta exchanged shortstops today, with promising player Yunel Escobar heading to the Blue Jays and Alex Gonzalez going to the Braves. Toronto also sent pitcher Tim Collins and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky to Atlanta, while receiving pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes.
The centerpiece of the deal revolves around Gonzalez, who has hit 17 home runs with 50 RBI for the Blue Jays this year. Currently, he is tied for fifth place in the American League with 43 extra base hits. He provides instant offense to the NL East-leading Braves, whose top home run hitter is Troy Glaus with 14 longballs. He is also known to be an excellent fielder, tallying a 97.1% fielding percentage in a little over 12 seasons.
Atlanta's GM, Frank Wren, said of Gonzalez, "He's an outstanding defensive shortstop and he's having a very good offensive season. We think he can improve our run production. He immediately leads our team in home runs."
Gonzalez, 33, is on track to set career highs in almost every statistical category. Through the All-Star break, he is only seven home runs away from breaking his single season home run mark (23; 2004) and thirty RBI away from breaking that mark (79; 2004). This will be his fifth team since coming to the major leagues in 1998. He has had stints with Florida, Boston, Cincinnati, Toronto, and now Atlanta.
The Braves also received two prospects in the deal, Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky. For Toronto's Double-A affiliate, New Hampshire, Collins has a 1-0 record with a 2.51 ERA and nine saves in 35 games. For Class A Dundelin, Pastornicky was batting .258 with 35 RBI, 16 doubles, and 24 stolen bases in 77 games for them. Toronto's GM Frank Wren reported that both players will be sent down to Double-A Mississippi.
For Toronto's side of the trade, they receive shortstop Yunel Escobar and pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes. Escobar was taken 75th overall by Atlanta in 2005 and slowly became one of their best farm system players. The Braves' decision to get rid of Escobar was surprising, as many scouts and analysts praised him last season and considered him a top 10 shortstop talent in the entire sport.
The 27-year old is in the prime of his career, even though he is in a bit of a slump. He has hit .238 this season with zero home runs and 19 RBI. Last year, he had a career year, hitting 14 home runs with 76 RBI.
The Blue Jays' GM, Alex Anthopoulos, thinks that Escobar will have some type of resurgence following the All-Star break. "We feel that Yunel Escobar will absolutely turn it around," Anthopoulos said. "There's certainly an element of risk there, but we feel he has a very good opportunity to turn it around. I think if Yunel Escobar was doing what he did in the past, he's not available to us and this trade does not present itself."
The addition of Jo-Jo Reyes was practically a throw-in, as he has not proved much in his MLB career. Since being called up by Atlanta in 2007, Reyes has compiled a 5-15 record, with zero wins coming the last two seasons. He also has a career ERA of 6.40. The Braves' Kris Medlen has made a solid push to be in the starting rotation, with Kenshin Kawakami (1-9) being placed in the bullpen. This further led to the demise of Reyes' time in Atlanta. The Blue Jays announced that they have optioned Reyes to Double-A New Hampshire.
The Braves are on top of their division right now, leading the New York Mets by 4 games (last year's NL champion, Philadelphia Phillies are 4.5 games behind Atlanta).
