Polling the Blogosphere about the Renteria Trade

by gondeee on Oct 31, 2007 9:07 AM EDT in Trade News Comment 5 comments

As I like to do here after trades or big moves, I'm taking a look around the web to see what others are saying about our swap of Edgar Renteria for Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez. The first stop is The Detroit Tigers Weblog (no affiliation with the actual Detroit Tigers). I really like how he feels about the two prospects they traded away. Hopefully this reassures some Braves fans that we got a good return for Rents (and it may remind many of us how we felt after the Teixeira trade):

I continue to waffle on this trade. All along I liked picking up Renteria, but was having a hard time getting comfortable with the price. Granted Jurrjens was likely a 3 or 4 guy in a rotation, but since when did that designation carry an "only" with it? Especially for someone that comes cheap for the next 6 years. But that's only half of the price.

The Tigers also shipped Gorkys Hernandez, their 2nd best positional prospect. A guy who held his own in the Midwest League at the age of 19. He's someone with Granderson's feel in the outfield with Cameron Maybin's speed. Granted he doesn't project with a ton of power, but for his age and the park he played in the .391 slugging doesn't bother me.

The guys over at Baseball Prospectus always have good analyses of trades as they relate to dollar value, and this one is no different. Their breakdown is here, but I especially like their conclusion:

To my thinking, a Renteria-Jurrjens deal (with nobody else involved) would have been a clear win for the Tigers and at least a tolerable move for the Braves.

With Hernandez involved, this deal is unambiguously a win for the Braves, especially since they dealt from a position of strength into two positions of long-term need.

The folks over at Real GM gave the Tigers a "B+" for the trade, while they gave the Braves an "A"

Pat Caputo, a Detroit sports columnist, was surprised by the take that many news outlets, including the AP had on the prospects included in the trade, and says for the Braves it was all about Gorkys Hernandez:

It's funny. The last line of the Associated Press' story on the Tigers trade Monday with Atlanta for shortstop Edgar Renteria lists Gorkys Hernandez's statistics at Class A West Michigan in 2007. It made it appear as if he was almost a throw-in in the trade when, in truth, this trade was all about him from Atlanta's standpoint. It had to be.

Jair Jurrgens, the pitcher the Tigers also sent to the Braves in the deal, had some success in the major leagues this season, but probably projects out as a fourth or fifth starter. He throws relatively hard, but doesn't have much late life on his fastball nor real good off-speed offerings. His margin for error is limited.

Hernandez is an outstanding prospect. He is one of the fastest players in organized baseball, has good tools otherwise and power potential as he grows. Sure, he was caught in a numbers game behind Curtis Granderson and Cameron Maybin in the Tigers organization, but this deal could come back to haunt the Tigers. The kid was just 19 last season playing against virtually all older and more mature players.

The overall feeling from a lot of what I've been reading, and a lot of what is posted above, is that the Braves seemed to have really gotten someone good in Jurrjens, but they got someone great in Hernandez. There's been mention of a flipping of Gorkys in another trade, but there's also been mention of the Braves really wanting to keep him and develop him into a major leaguer. We can speculate until we're blue in the face, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I still like the trade... a lot. I like it if for no other reason than it gets Yunel Escobar into a full-time role, and likely gets Kelly Johnson out of a possible platoon role with Escobar. Of course, we'll have to see how or if Brent Lillibridge fits into the infield equation, or if he becomes part of the outfield equation. We may have struck earlier in the off-season than I can remember, but there is plenty of off-season left with which moves can (and likely will) be made.

(If you're looking for more information on Jair Jurrjens, then look no further than jairjurrjens.com for anything and everything related to the Curacaoan pitcher.)

Update [2007-10-31 15:46:32 by gondeee]:

Here's one more from Ken Rosenthal over at Fox Sports. This is probably the most glowing endorsement of the trade from the Braves perspective.

The Tigers gave up better prospects for Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria than they did last winter for Yankees designated hitter Gary Sheffield. The Braves believe that that right-hander Jair Jurrjens, 21, can turn into their Yovani Gallardo and that Class A outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, 20, could be a star. The move also clears money for the Braves to re-sign left-hander Tom Glavine as a free agent. A rotation of Glavine, John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Chuck James and Jurrjens or Jo-Jo Reyes would be a significant improvement.

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I like this trade as well. And, I seem to recall another trade a few years ago where we got a 19-year old prospect from the Tigers who was playing in Class A ball for a veteran who was north of 30. That seemed to work out well for us, right Mr. Smoltz? I hope we keep Hernandez - everything points to him being the real deal.

by rweaver on Oct 31, 2007 10:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Gorkys

I had followed him a little before this trade, and he reminds me a lot of Elvis- very young, great tools, all projection. He's certainly put up better numbers than Elvis, than again he played Low A at 19, while Andrus tackeled it at 17. He avoids K's better than most young guys, but I don't see how with that fact and his speed he isn't easily over a .300 hitter right now, and that worries me a little. He still has time to develop power, but that's not a given and as is I don't think he'll hit well enough for a corner OF spot.

He's an interesting player, but gut feeling tells me Jurrjens impacts Atlanta far more. I think the Braves will be well served to use Gorkys to get more pitching, either this offseason or next.

by abravesfan on Oct 31, 2007 10:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs