Addition by subtraction: The Braves trade Yunel Escobar
It wasn’t just that Yunel Escobar was slow to learn a second language. He was slow to learn to be a professional. How many times do you have to be told to hustle — a concept that should be universal — before it’s clear you just don’t care to do it?
No one can suggest the Braves didn’t give him a fair chance. He played 446 big-league games for this club, and his excesses worsened over time. And it’s one thing to hang on to a problem if the problem is hitting and driving in runs, but at age 27 Escobar had ceased doing that. He has no home runs, 19 RBIs.
Even with the Braves in first place, this was the right move at the right time. We shouldn’t worry about the absence of Escobar roiling the waters. He was always the guy most apt to upset the others with his disregard for the game and its conventions. He was always the Brave the others could count on to carry himself least like a Brave.
Escobar’s defenders believed the language barrier — he defected from Cuba — led him to misunderstand and be misunderstood. Coaches Chino Cadahia and Eddie Perez, each of whom acted as interpreters, told me as much last season. But should a big-league player fail so repeatedly to perform the basic task of playing hard? The message seems to get through to Omar Infante, a Venezuelan who also uses translators.
A tiny example: On a Sunday afternoon earlier this season, Escobar drove a ball in the gap in left-center. His hit brought home the go-ahead run, but somehow he managed to get thrown out at second base on a ball so perfectly placed that it would have been a double for anybody else in the big leagues. (Put it this way: Sid Bream would have made it.)
Escobar got thrown out because he watched the flight of the ball and admired his work, as opposed to running hard. The Braves noticed. The Braves always noticed. As one man in the clubhouse said afterward, exasperation in his voice: “He has been told time and time again.”
About the trade: This isn’t an exchange of equal talent. Alex Gonzalez is a serviceable big-league shortstop who played on a World Series winner with Florida in 2003 and delivered the biggest hit — a walk-off homer in Game 4 — of the Series. He’s 33, which means he’s not a long-term answer. (Inside baseball: As a Marlin, Gonzalez was known as “Sea Bass.”)
Loading ...Perhaps Tyler Pastornicky, the minor-league shortstop also acquired in this deal, will develop. But what Frank Wren suggested Wednesday was that the Braves aren’t much worried about tomorrow. “We’re two years away from having to worry about that,” the general manager said. “After the 2011 season … we’ll cross that bridge at that time.”
This trade tells us the Braves no longer saw Escobar as a long-term answer, either, and they were justified in that conclusion. “He’s a talented guy,” Wren said of Escobar, “but we needed to make some adjustments on our ballclub. It just wasn’t happening here.”
This is a happier clubhouse than it has been in years, and not just because the team is in first place. Because these guys like and respect one another. The one guy who didn’t fit — and who was never going to fit, no matter how many chances the Braves offered — just got traded. “In the short term, this really improves our ballclub,” Wren said, and it improves it not because Gonzalez is a greater talent but because he’s a real pro.
Addition by subtraction, I believe it’s called.
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438 comments Add your comment
RM
July 14th, 2010
1:35 pm
His bat is a little cold??? Redd, you have as many HR’s as Escobar… Last year is in the past and not gonna help with a pennant this year. Go Bravos!
Fed Up With Wren (Again)
July 14th, 2010
1:36 pm
I have to add, Frank did a good job picking up two minor league players for a pitcher that was never going to pan out for the Braves. I liked Jo-Jo, but he had his chances, too.
Jeff
July 14th, 2010
1:36 pm
Birmingham Bob and Johnnyd…. both EXCELLENT points. You said it all… no reason for anybody to argue for keeping Yunel or Jo-Jo after reading those. Looking foward to the 2nd half of the season!
Keith
July 14th, 2010
1:37 pm
Not hustling, making bad throws on normal plays, not tagging at 3rd….wait, is this little league??? Oh, I’m sorry, it’s the Major Leagues.
Last week when he hit the ball to the left side of the field with Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs…that was the worst possible place he could have hit it. His nonverbal facial expressions in the dugout all scream that he is not into the game.
I say he doesn’t need to be on THIS team, and maybe he will find his offensive groove back in the AL….but for this year, him being gone actually improves chemistry…assuming alex is an improvement over escobar.
Britany
July 14th, 2010
1:39 pm
Escobar was MVP of the team last year. How quickly they forget. Yunel will be missed.
Anon21
July 14th, 2010
1:41 pm
A terrible trade. Gonzalez is playing far over his head, and he’s 33. In all likelihood, he will be worse than Yunel *offensively* for the rest of this season, and that’s to say nothing of going forward.
Frank, I don’t care if Bobby didn’t like Yunel’s attitude. You don’t sell low on a young SS with a great glove and plenty of offensive upside. Stupid, execrable business decision which puts us further away from the playoffs this season and poorer in talent going forward.
Jeff
July 14th, 2010
1:41 pm
Britany — yes, Yunel was MVP of a team…. that lost too many close games, never had any offensive punch, and missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.
Kinda like being valedictorian at summer school isn’t it?
I’ll take Gonzalez — a proven veteran winner with World Series experience and 17 HR this year — over Yunel ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
Yunel had a great 2009, but this is 2010… good luck in Canada, my friend.
Brad in AL
July 14th, 2010
1:41 pm
Britany, last years team sucked!
Yunel
July 14th, 2010
1:42 pm
I refuse to learn how to speak Canadian!!
BaseballBuff
July 14th, 2010
1:42 pm
I sure will miss Escobar’s cannon of an arm. Let’s hope the Braves don’t miss it. We’ll see how it goes, but I think Gonzalez will do fine here.
ReddJonn68
July 14th, 2010
1:42 pm
@ RM its not about no Yunel love. Its about the fact that the previous three seasons when his avg was outstanding (never below .288). We never heard about his hustle or attitude. I beleive there may have been something else that happened behind closed doors that brought this on. So if he stinks at the plate just say so.
chin music
July 14th, 2010
1:43 pm
FEWW(A), you might have to consider changing that handle….
Puma
July 14th, 2010
1:43 pm
I don’t think anyone would ever say anything, but I would love confirmation from a player that Yunel really was a problem in the dugout. I know he had problems on the field, but he always seemed to be a nice guy to me.
One other thing, it’s not like A Gonzalez is making a ton of money, and we still have a club option for 2011. Esco is arbitration eligible soon and would probably be making somewhere near that amount. It does scare you though, if Esco ever figures this thing out, he will be one of the best SS in the league.
frank james
July 14th, 2010
1:44 pm
You kind of knew something would happen. Yunel’s body language was not good. You very seldom saw him talking to his teammates in the dugout or on the field. Bobby Cox has never kept a player with an attitude. Ask Justice, Marquis and there were others. I think it will be good for him and hopefully for the Braves.
Kris
July 14th, 2010
1:44 pm
Ok so first of all – who cares about Reyes. We could have traded him for some dirty socks and I would have said ‘that seems about right.’ He doesn’t even factor in to this discussion becuase he is a career minor leaguer who provides no value to anyone. Now had we traded Reyes for Gonzalez straight up I would have liked that trade….
In any event, I am angry with this trade because the Braves sold LOW on Escobar and bought HIGH on Gonzalez. What in his 12 year career has all of you so optimistic that he can continue the kind of offensive surge that he has had in the first half?
That being said – Escobar has clearly had a bad first half, but his track record suggests that he will play better in the second half. All you guys who love this trade are looking at one thing and that is the 17 HR’s Gonzalez has hit so far this year, you are completely ignoring that he has never in 12 YEARS (12 YEARS – said again for emphasis) had this level of success. Not to mention that Escobar plays way better defense at a position where defense is the PRIMARY responsibility. Look if we got Hanley Ramirez I would be ok with it (not that it would ever happen) because clearly his offense more than makes up for his sub-par defense, but Gonzalez is just average at SS – whereas Escobar is truly exceptional.
So you have a guy who is 33, has a career .248 batting average, has never hit more than 23 home runs (and when he did it was in Cincinnati), was unemployed until February of this year and then you have Escobar who is considered by many in the game to be a top 10 SS is 27 and is under arbitration for 3 more years.
I will seriously bet money with anyone who wants to that Escobar has a better offensive 2nd half than Gonzalez. You people act like we signed the next Fred McGriff or Teixeria – he is a nobody who, statistically speaking, is having a year that is an anomoly from his career average.
Guthro
July 14th, 2010
1:44 pm
This year Gonzalez is better than Esco both offensively and defensively. A good move for the second half and post-season.
One more RH power bat, then the team looks set.
Braves#1
July 14th, 2010
1:44 pm
Not bad to win now….they should have thrown Mclouth in the deal too….
Jeff
July 14th, 2010
1:45 pm
Anon21 said “You don’t sell low on a young SS with a great glove and plenty of offensive upside.”
Exactly what is the upside of an immature SS who doesn’t hustle, can’t hit in the clutch, can’t hit for power, can’t move runners over, can’t remember how many outs there are, makes baserunning mistakes and a few ill-timed errors for a first place team that is FIGHTING HARD to get to the playoffs?
Yunel is 27, Anon, not 18… he has HAD his chance to prove himself, and other than some power numbers last year, he hasn’t done it.
Gonzalez is a proven winner and a veteran of World Series teams… that will help Atlanta MUCH more than Yunel’s “potential”. And I’ll take 17 HR from a one-legged 90-year-old instead of zero HR from Yunel.
GO BRAVES!
Cecil34
July 14th, 2010
1:45 pm
This was going to happen either now or at the end of the year. This player has got some personal issues, and, as you said, is addition by subtraction.
Escobar was in his own world and finally someone took notice and got rid of the problem.
bigstack19
July 14th, 2010
1:45 pm
Wren did what he had to do on this one. He rid the team of a club house cancer in Escobar and they added Gonzalez who will be here this year and next. Don’t kid yourselves, this move was made to win now. They have a real shot at the World Series and trading Escobar was necessary. I have always liked Gonzalez. He is flashy at times in the field and a professional. He also had post season experience.
RM
July 14th, 2010
1:46 pm
Anon, you make 33 sound like 43. And, I don’t see how they could possibly be worse offensively when Escobar was hitting .238 with NO homers. I’m not a professor, but just sayin…
frank james
July 14th, 2010
1:46 pm
Sounds kind of like win now situation. I just remember a Drew for Wainwright deal which I think is the worst deal the Braves have ever made.
steve
July 14th, 2010
1:47 pm
No doubt Escobar has a lot of talent but he has never learned how to play the game correctly, I think it was time to say he was never going to reach anywhere close to his potential and was becoming a major distraction due to his lack of hustle, now we need to get a right handed power hitting outfielder and we will have a chance to win it all.
chin music
July 14th, 2010
1:47 pm
ReddJonn, if you never heard about escobar’s lackadaisicality(?) before this year, you haven’t been paying attention. it’s been an issue ever since he came up. it’s just that it was more tolerable when he was 24 and had plenty of time to grow up and out of it. now he’s 27, having a terrible offensive year when he should be performing near his peak, and he hasn’t grown up a bit. he has a ton of natural ability, but he hasn’t shown the psychological fortitude to make the most of it.
reality
July 14th, 2010
1:48 pm
Escobar’s multiple brain farts and terrible play int he Mets series was the final nail in his coffin. Just in the Mets series, he did the following idiot things:
1) Inexcusably lolly popped a throw to Glaus from Short that almost broke Glaus’s arm.
2) Called off all the outfields on a short pop out that he proceeded to completely misplay and let drop at the last minute resulting in a double
3) Holding onto a ball and eating a double play opportunity that any other short stop in the league would of made the throw on because the runner from first was bearing down on him.
4) Hitting a grounder back to the pitcher and not running out the play. He stopped half way down the line and walked back to the dug out, which is one of the major taboo’s in baseball. You always run out the play to first no matter what.
blue
July 14th, 2010
1:49 pm
JF McNamara: “Production and players wins ball games.. not how good you get along. The Braves just made their team worse. There’s no way to justify that”. .259BA, 17HR, 53RBI versus .230, ZEROHR and 19RBI. Ummm…which part of ‘production’ does this NOT justify???
Jeff
July 14th, 2010
1:49 pm
Kris — I don’t care about arbitration, about Gonzalez’ past years or anything like that. I care that Salcedo is Atlanta’s SS by 2012 or 2013 anyway, so Yunel didn’t have too many years with the Braves anyhow. The facts are: his attitude stinks, he can’t hit his weight this year, and he has zero HR. Gonzalez is a proven winner, a veteran presence in the clubhouse, and has a knack for clutch hits (see his World Series homers).
No matter how you slice it, Yunel was sub-par this year and failed to live up to his potential. Now be a big boy, suck it up, and face the facts that this happens in the business. I know Yunel was apparently your favorite player but GET OVER IT. This moves makes the Braves better than they were yesterday… go be a Toronto fan if you love Escobar so much.
reality
July 14th, 2010
1:50 pm
FYI, Escobar is 28 years old people, he isn’t a ‘young’ short stop. He’s just 5 years younger the Gonzalez, that’s not a huge difference when you factor in everything else.
charles
July 14th, 2010
1:51 pm
Yikes! Agreeing with MB twice in one day is hard to grasp. Could not agree more that this is just as he put it–but we got a talent in exchange for a problem.
jeffrey d
July 14th, 2010
1:51 pm
How can anybody say this is a good move? Escobar is only a few months removed from being out team’s MVP. Have we already forgotten about that? Alex Gonzalez is 33, and check out his career norms compared to Yunel’s
Yunel – .291 AVG, .368 OBP, .403 SLG, .771 OPS
Gonzalez – .248 AVG, .294 OBP, .402 SLG, .696 OPS
RM
July 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
This is Bobby’s swan song. This is all about making the Braves better this year and trying to get into the post-season, which hasn’t happened in a few years. I like it and appreciate Wren’s efforts to try and improve the club, both on the field and off. Go Bravos, nuff said!!!
ChillyMutt
July 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
Very well said Mark.
I am tired of seeing all those signature Esobar bonehead plays – for example almost seriously injuring Glasus with that lollipop throw the other day.
Danny
July 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
no way!
this was an awful trade!
the prospects really aren’t much to write home about!
yunel was a great defensive ss with a cannon arm that really helped our groundball pitching staff
gonzalez is having a career year that is almost certainly a fluke, because he hasn’t come close to any of his numbers this year before
i hope this means an of trade is coming, but who knows?
with wren calling the shots we may be trading heyward to get an older, not as talented player who costs more
The Silverman
July 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
Jeff you said it best. The best part of this trade is we didnt give up much to make it. If we feel we still we need to do something we still have prospects to go get some one else. And personally I dont think this will be the last move
jeffrey d
July 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
reality – because he defected from Cuba, Yunel also didn’t get into the Braves’ system until 2005 at the age of 23, about 5 years later than most other prospects.
ICEMANcometh10
July 14th, 2010
1:54 pm
Slide Yunel, run hard Yunel, use your glove Yunel, hustle Yunel and this is my 4 year old nephew.
What a joke some of these Braves fans are they would rather Whine than WIN. Bad attitudes don’t make you better they slowly destroy you from within. And then at the most vuneralbe moment it snacthes the life out of you.
GET OVER IT
jeffrey d
July 14th, 2010
1:55 pm
And what about the future at SS? With Yunel we were set for awhile. I don’t like Gonzalez and his .294 career OBP in this lineup for too long. That’s worse than Francoeur, and we ran him out of town
frank james
July 14th, 2010
1:55 pm
Reality – Derek Jeter isn’t a young shortstop, but I would take him anyday.
Bobby Cox
July 14th, 2010
1:57 pm
See ya kiddo! Maybe now I can enjoy the rest of my last season without your attitude and monumental lack of hustle. It’s one thing to stick with a guy who has limited talent and gives you all he has (i.e. Diaz) but to stick by a guy like Yunel with all the talent in the world and no desire to put forth effort is a different story. Hope this is a wake up call Yunel. Plenty of guys in the minors waiting to take your spot.
I’ve been wanting to trade you for 2 years. Should have done it last year when we could have got even more.
crackbaby
July 14th, 2010
1:58 pm
Go Braves! Only time will tell if the trade was good but give FWren credit for proactive moves.
I wish Yunel the best. Maybe he will blossom in a different setting, like Francouer. BTW MB – are you trying to suck up after dissing FWren’s off-season moves?
AJJ
July 14th, 2010
1:58 pm
I wonder if this means a trade for an OF is now out of the question, i’ve never really watched marlon Byrd that much in his career but after last night he looks like he could be a good adition to our club
Puma
July 14th, 2010
2:00 pm
Not sure why defecting from Cuba make Esco any younger??
Chris
July 14th, 2010
2:00 pm
Some of y’alls arguments don’t make sense:
You say this trade sucks b/c Gonzalez’s OBP sucks. Yunel’s was like 10 points lower.
You say Gonzelez is only hitting .259 – that’s 20 points higher than Yunel.
You say that Gonzelez isn’t a power hitter – that he’s only hit 17 homers twice before. Yunel has never hit more than 14 and has zero this year.
Listen, Yunel may have a great 2nd half & a great career. That doesn’t mean he would’ve done that here. A change of scenery helps guys out – Francouer is a great example of that.
This is a great win now trade. We are in 1st place and improved, for THIS year, the one “weak” offensive position on the team. We will deal with next year when the time comes. You can’t always play for next year – that’s what the Pirates do.
Finally – please stop complaining/blaming Frank Wren for the Tex/Andrus trade. First of all – none of you had heard of Elvis Andrus when that trade went down. You guys saw him as a scrub throw in who was playing rookie ball or A ball at the time. Salty was who you flipped out over. Never mind the fact that was Schuerholtz trade.
mikeymike
July 14th, 2010
2:01 pm
u know…everyone may be right that this is a short-term move. but if this takes us closer to a title, then i’m all for it. let’s worry about next year. we all know, there are a number of situations that could happen after 2010 and i think those will be addressed when the time comes. until then…bring that title back to atlanta!
Yunel Escobar / The Blue Jays acquired Escobar on Wednesday as part of a five-player trade with the Braves, MLB.com’s | Sporty Twits
July 14th, 2010
2:01 pm
[...] deal. …Braves get Gonzalez; Escobar to JaysESPNBlue Jays acquire Escobar for GonzalezMLB.comAddition by subtraction: The Braves trade Yunel EscobarAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Rotowire -SportingNews.com -National Post [...]
blue
July 14th, 2010
2:02 pm
jeffreyd; you make some good points…IF this was a move that was intended to be a long term fix. This was obviously a move because of the opportunity the Braves have THIS year to compete. Pretty sure they DON’T make this move if Yunel is producing this year or if the Braves were not competitive this year. So although your numbers are accurate, not really relevant to this conversation.
Gen Neyland
July 14th, 2010
2:02 pm
Toodles Escy. Hate to tell you this but the Braves official scorekeeper was traded to Toronto also…Opps
Indigo
July 14th, 2010
2:03 pm
First, bad attitude or not, the Marlins are going to keep Hanley Ramirez. You can put up with bad attitude if the guy is an all-star.
Second, it seems there is a trend of young Braves starting off really good and then running into rough times. When Escobar started, he was good and viewed as the future. Certainly no one criticizes Jeff Francouer for a bad attitude, yet he went through a similar pattern. I think Kelly Johnson also started off good. Is this a pattern? If so, why?
jeffrey d
July 14th, 2010
2:03 pm
Not sure why defecting from Cuba make Esco any younger??
Not younger, but he didn’t start playing professional baseball in America until 5 years later than most other players, meaning at 23, he was on the same track as 18-year olds on the rookie team in Danville.
JacketFan
July 14th, 2010
2:04 pm
Great trade! Wren, Cox, etc understand that this team has a real shot at the series. I hope to see A. Gonz in the lineup this weekend.