Will the Braves look to trade Escobar this offsseason?

By Sep 21, 2009, 3:02 PM EDT
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Yunel Escobar is having a very good season, hitting .303/.380/.445 while rating slightly below average defensively according to Ultimate Zone Rating, which makes him one of the half-dozen most valuable shortstops in all of baseball as a 26-year-old.
However, he continues to frustrate manager Bobby Cox and the Braves with what Mark Bowman of MLB.com portrays as “a lackadaisical” attitude and “mental lapses.” Over the weekend he was benched mid-game for the second time this season, and here’s how Bowman described the scene:

Escobar moved gingerly out of the box when he grounded out to end the first inning. His slow approach might have prevented him from taking advantage of Chase Utley’s errant throw, which slightly pulled Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard off the bag.

Cox inserted Omar Infante to play shortstop before the start of the third inning. He said his decision to wait an inning was based on his desire to allow Infante to get loose. “I didn’t want to put anybody in just off the bench on the third out not loose,” Cox said.

Escobar’s name has been attached to various trade rumors for the past year or so, and if the Braves are truly tiring of his act there should be no shortage of teams lining up to take him off their hands. Among all big-league shortstops with at least 1,000 plate appearances during the past three seasons, here’s how Escobar ranks in batting average, on-base percentage, and adjusted OPS+:

                   AVG                         OBP                        OPS+
Hanley Ramirez    .327      Hanley Ramirez    .400      Hanley Ramirez    148
Derek Jeter       .317      Derek Jeter       .383      Derek Jeter       117
Cristian Guzman   .306      YUNEL ESCOBAR     .376      YUNEL ESCOBAR     112
YUNEL ESCOBAR     .303      Jose Reyes        .356      Troy Tulowitzki   110
Miguel Tejada     .293      Troy Tulowitzki   .356      Jose Reyes        109


Couple things. First, Hanley Ramirez is really good. Second, since his 2007 debut Escobar has hit .303 with a .376 on-base percentage and .429 slugging percentage. During that same time Derek Jeter has hit .317 with a .383 on-base percentage and .442 slugging percentage. Escobar is also a decade younger than Jeter, won’t even be eligible for salary arbitration until 2011, and is under team control for another four seasons.
He’s a 26-year-old career .303 hitter with a .376 OBP who’s averaged 12 homers and 31 doubles per 150 games, draws plenty of walks while rarely striking out, has sure hands and decent range at shortstop, and won’t be a free agent until after 2013. All of which is why when it comes to long-term, team-building assets there aren’t five more valuable shortstops in baseball, annoying but ultimately mild transgressions included.

Olson blasts two HRs, Acuña has 4 hits as Strider, Braves overpower Phillies 11-4

Associated PressMay 29, 2023, 12:12 AM EDT
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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ATLANTA – Given a seven-run lead in the first inning, Atlanta right-hander Spencer Strider could relax and keep adding to his majors-leading strikeout total.

“That game felt like it was over pretty quick,” Strider said.

Ronald Acuña Jr. drove in three runs with four hits, including a two-run single in Atlanta’s seven-run first inning, and the Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 on Sunday night to split the four-game series.

“Getting a lead first is big, especially when you get that big of a lead,” Strider said. “… When we’re putting up runs, my job isn’t to be perfect. My job is to get outs.”

Following the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker announced right-hander Michael Soroka will be recalled to make his first start since the 2020 season on Monday night at Oakland.

Matt Olson hit a pair of two-run homers for Atlanta, and Strider became the fastest pitcher in modern history to reach 100 strikeouts in a season.

“It’s incredible,” said Acuña through a translator of Strider. “Every time he goes out to pitch it seems like he’s going to strike everybody out.”

Acuña hit a run-scoring triple in the fifth before Olson’s second homer to center. Acuña had two singles in the first when the Braves sent 11 batters to the plate, collected seven hits and opened a 7-0 lead. Led by Acuña and Olson, who had three hits, the Braves set a season high with 20 hits.

Strider (5-2) struck out nine while pitching six innings of two-run ball. The right-hander fired a called third strike past Nick Castellanos for the first out of the fourth, giving him 100 strikeouts in 61 innings and topping Jacob deGrom‘s 61 2/3 innings in 2021 as the fastest to 100 in the modern era.

“It’s cool,” Strider said, adding “hopefully it’ll keep going.”

Olson followed Acuña’s leadoff single with a 464-foot homer to right-center. Austin Riley added another homer before Ozzie Albies and Acuña had two-run singles in the long first inning.

Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and left fielder Kyle Schwarber each committed an error on a grounder by Orlando Arcia, setting up two unearned runs in the inning.

Strider walked Kody Clemens to open the third. Brandon Marsh followed with a two-run homer for the Phillies’ first hit. Schwarber hit a two-run homer off Collin McHugh in the seventh.

LEAPING CATCH

Michael Harris II celebrated the one-year anniversary of his major league debut by robbing Schwarber of a homer with a leaping catch at the center-field wall in the second. As Harris shook his head to say “No!” after coming down with the ball on the warning track, Strider pumped his fist in approval on the mound – after realizing Harris had the ball.

“He put me through an emotional roller coaster for a moment,” Strider said.

SOROKA RETURNING TO ROTATION

Soroka was scratched from his scheduled start at Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, setting the stage for his final step in his comeback from two torn Achilles tendons.

“To get back is really a feather in that kid’s cap,” Snitker said.

Soroka will be making his first start in the majors since Aug. 3, 2020, against the New York Mets when he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon. Following a setback which required a follow-up surgery, he suffered another tear of the same Achilles tendon midway through the 2021 season.

Soroka suffered another complication in his comeback when a hamstring injury slowed his progress this spring.

Acuña said he was “super happy, super excited for him, super proud of him” and added “I’m just hoping for continued good health.”

Soroka looked like an emerging ace when he finished 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 2019 and placed second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in the NL Cy Young voting.

The Braves are 0-3 in bullpen committee games as they attempt to overcome losing two key starters, Max Fried (strained left forearm) and Kyle Wright (right shoulder inflammation) to the injured list in early May. Each is expected to miss at least two months.

RHP Dereck Rodriguez, who gave up one hit in two scoreless innings, was optioned to Gwinnett after the game to clear a roster spot for Soroka.

QUICK EXIT

Phillies right-hander Dylan Covey (0-1), claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 20, didn’t make it through the first inning. Covey allowed seven runs, five earned, and six hits, including the homers by Olson and Riley.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: 3B Alex Bohm was held out with hamstring tightness. … LHP José Alvarado (left elbow inflammation) threw the bullpen session originally scheduled for Saturday. Manager Rob Thomson said there was no report that Alvarado, who was placed on the injured list on May 10, had any difficulty.

UP NEXT

Phillies: Following an off day, LHP Ranger Suárez (0-1, 9.82 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets RHP Kodai Senga (4-3, 3.94 ERA) in Tuesday night’s opener of a three-game series in New York.

Braves: Soroka was 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA in eight games with Triple-A Gwinnett. He allowed a combined four hits and two runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two starts. RHP Paul Blackburn (7-6, 4.28 ERA in 2022) is scheduled to make his 2023 debut for Oakland as he returns from a finger injury.