The Braves and Blue Jays completed a five-player deal, the center of it a swap of shortstops. Yunel Escobar heads to the great white north, while Alex Gonzalez flies south for the summer. Escobar is hitting poorly during his age 27 season, but still maintains a good OBP. Gonzalez is hitting and getting on base at his poor career norms, but hitting way above his career slugging percentage. It appears the Braves are trading times on base for power.
As far as the shortstops are concerned, I think this is a bad deal for the Braves. I doubt Gonzalez’s power will last. Looking at Escobar, he’s just going through a down year, and I suspect he’ll bounce back well either this season or next.
We’ve talked about Escobar recently. The Braves have long been sour on him, and the sense is that Bobby Cox and others in the organization don’t much care for his demeanor, effort and the cut of his gib. He’s a talented player, and has shown great ability with his bat and his glove at times in the past, but he is prone to simply disappearing on both sides of the ball for weeks on end. 2010 has been something of a disaster for him all around: no power, no on base skills and multiple fielding lapses.
That last sentence is a bit wrong, as a .334 OBP is above the NL average. The Braves really should have figured out how to deal with his attitude rather than let a good young player go to another team.
It’s possible the Braves really wanted Tim Collins. Drunk Jays Fans really like him, despite his 5′ 7″ height. That doesn’t seem to stop him from striking out a ton of batters as a 20-year-old at AA.
I think it looks like a win for the Braves right now (from those who think Gonzo’s power surge is real), but I think it’ll go as a wash. Gonzalez’s defense may improve a bit going from Toronto despite his declining range.
I think Collins might bt he key here.
I think it looks like a win for the Braves right now (from those who think Gonzo’s power surge is real), but I think it’ll go as a wash. Gonzalez’s defense may improve a bit going from Toronto despite his declining range.
I agree, I think Collins might be the key here.
I suspect Alex Gonzalez power surge is a function of whatever dust is being sprinkled on Blue Jays bats or balls. Once he becomes a Brave his hatchet will turn into a limp sausage.
I agree that the Blue Jays made the better deal. Alex Gonzalez, even having 17 HR’s, has a OPS of .793 and OBP of .296. That is horrible. Alex Gonzalez is second in WAR out of MLB shortstops though.
Tim Collins is still a 20 year old reliever in AA. And he projects as a reliever. For him to be the key… that’s awfully ambitious. And then when you consider that Escobar’s previous three seasons were arguably all better than any full season Alex has put together, and the Jays quite clearly “win” this trade.