The Blue Jays have acquired 27-year old righty swinging shortstop Yunel Escobar and 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes from the Braves for 33-year old righty swinging shortstop Alex Gonzalez, 20-year old lefty reliever Tim Collins and 20-year old right swinging 2B/SS Tyler Pastornicky. Escobar was struggling for the Braves this year but he has a nice upside. Escobar has played in 75 games for the Braves this year and he was 62 of 261 (.238 avg, .618 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 0 homers, 19 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 446 games in four years in the majors and he is 472 of 1,622 (.291 avg, .771 OPS) with 242 runs scored, 29 homers, 183 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Jo-Jo Reyes only pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Braves this year and he was 0-0 with a 24.30 ERA and a 3.90 WHIP for them. He has now pitched in 41 games (37 starts) in four years with the Braves and he is 5-15 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. The Blue Jays hope that Reyes can help them down the road but Escobar will be the starting shortstop going forward.

Alex Gonzalez had a outstanding year for the Blue Jays but they wanted to get younger which was the reason for this trade. Gonzalez played in 85 games for the Blue Jays this year and he was 85 of 328 (.259 avg, .793 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 17 homers and 50 RBIs. Tim Collins was the Jays’ #19 prospect heading into this season and he was showing why in AA-ball. Collins pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 1-0 with 9 saves, a 2.51 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He whiffed 73 batters while only giving up 27 hits in 43 innings in AA this year showing just how nasty he is. Tyler Pastornicky was the Jays’ #17 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 77 games in A-ball for the Jays this year and he was 74 of 287 (.258 avg, .724 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 6 homers, 35 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

If the Blue Jays can get Yunel Escobar focused and motivated I like this trade for them. But if he gets lazy, which often drove Braves’ manager Bobby Cox crazy, this trade will be a win for the Braves.