Why the Edgar Renteria Deal is a Litmus Test for Baseball Fans

The Braves opened the Hot Stove league by trading shortstop Edgar Renteria to the Detroit Tigers for RHP Jair Jurrjens and Single-A Midwest League MVP Gorkys Hernandez. This is a great baseball trade that also serves as a litmus test. You can immediately tell how much of a baseball fan someone is by how they react to this deal.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a blog entry devoted to the trade where it solicits user feedback. Here's a typical response:

"Is this a freaking joke??? A .300-hitting allstar shortshop for a couple of prospects?"

In 2007, Edgar Renteria enjoyed the second-best season of his 12-year career. He batted .332/.390/.470 which was good for a 125 OPS+, a tremendous offensive season for a shortstop.

Edgar Renteria had his monster year thanks to an unsustainable Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP). This stat is a player's batting average but the at-bats portion of the equation is minus strikeouts and home runs. It shows what he did when he hit the ball when fielders had a chance to record an out. Most players record a BABIP of around .300 and any number substantially greater or lesser than this can usually be attributed to luck.

In 2007, Edgar Renteria posted a .375 BABIP, easily the highest of his 12-year career. It was 50 points higher than his BABIP mark in 2006 and was 27 points higher than his BABIP mark in 2003, his age 27 season when he made the All-Star team and was a fringe MVP candidate.

While he was an offensive force in 2007, Edgar Renteria was a below-average defensive shortstop. Among full-time National League shortstops, Edgar Renteria was eighth in fielding percentage (.977), 10th in Zone Rating (.800) and 11th in Range Factor (4.14).

So, we have a player on the wrong side of 30, who enjoyed a fluke offensive season due to an unsustainable BABIP and who is no threat to win a Gold Glove Award.

Furthermore, Edgar Renteria made $9 million last season and is due a similar amount in 2008. The Braves have rookie Yunel Escobar, whose best position is shortstop. In his rookie season last year, Yunel Escobar had 319 at-bats and hit .326/.385/.451 for a 119 OPS+ as a 24-year old. While Yunel Escobar has his own BABIP issues, would you rather have someone entering his age 25 season or his age 32 season, especially given that Yunel Escobar will be a better fielder (higher Zone Rating and Range Factor last season) plus the fact that Yunel Escobar will be paid minimum wage?

From both a talent standpoint and on a cost-basis, getting rid of Edgar Renteria to play Yunel Escobar is a good idea for the Braves. And this does not even address the players Atlanta received in return from Detroit.

While some internet blowhards may dismiss the haul as "a couple of prospects" real fans know that good prospects are a precious commodity. Atlanta can keep the two prospects and watch them develop or they can package them for a front-line starter. Because despite what fans of the Braves might think, Edgar Renteria was not going to bring back a number-two type starter. Anyone willing to deal a pitcher like that will certainly expect pitching of some sort in return. Having Jurrjens as a trade chit is a major plus. Or perhaps Jurrjens allows the club to include Jo-Jo Reyes.

And Jurrjens is a nice pitcher already. As a 21-year old in Double-A this past season, the Curacao native had a 3:1 strikeout:walk ratio with almost a strikeout per inning pitched. He had seven starts in Detroit and went 3-1 with a 4.70 ERA. The scouting report shows he has a fastball that reaches 95.

And Gorkys Hernandez is a nice player, too. Baseball America ranked him as the fourth-best prospect in the Midwest League and said this about him:

"No one in the league could match Hernandez' total package of tools. Besides winning a championship ring, he also captured the MVP award, the stolen base title (54 in 65 attempts) and accolades as the MWL's fastest baserunner and most exciting player."

So, by trading Edgar Renteria, the Braves save nearly $9 million in payroll, open up the shortstop position for a younger player in Yunel Escobar, who has an excellent chance of matching Edgar Renteria offensively while being an upgrade on defense and also acquire two prospects, one of which (Jurrjens) can make an immediate impact and another (Hernandez) who could be a factor in two years and who both can be used as trade chits in a larger deal. Any way you slice it, this is a great deal for the Braves.

And if your buddy does not like this trade because they got rid of an All-Star for a couple of prospects, you know he is not a serious baseball fan.

Sources

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Your thoughts on Renteria trade

Baseball-reference.com: Edgar Renteria

Fangraphs: Edgar Renteria

ESPN: MLB Player Fielding Stats: 2007

Baseball-reference.com: Yunel Escobar

MiLB.com: Jair Jurrjens

Baseball America: Midwest League Top 20 Prospects