Renteria to Detroit for Jurrjens, Hernandez

[General]

Tigers acquired shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Braves for RHP Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez. That was remarkably quick. That Renteria is being dealt is no surprise, and it figured that the Tigers would be high on the list of suitors. However, we don't see wht the Braves felt they had to make the move today when better offers could have come later. This simply isn't a great return for a player who was one of the best in the NL last season. Renteria hit .332/.390/.470 in 2007, and he's under control for a very reasonable $20 million over two years (the second year is at Detroit's option). The Tigers did quite well to get him now. It'll certainly head off any Alex Rodriguez speculation.

Per Rotoworld.com


Not too happy with this. Don't know much about the prospects.

[brewersfan19]

ah, this trade most definitely came as a shock to me as well.


and what were the Braves thinking here. Are they in the rebuilding mode or something?

[Saber]

Marginal? Jurrjens will step into the Braves' rotation next year, and Hernandez is a pretty sweet A-level CF prospect. Be happy with what you got.

[General]

For some reason I thought Jurrjens was a low level prospect, but I did do some reading on Jurrjens, and I like him more and more.

Here's a quote (LINK):

LAKELAND, Fla.--Jair Jurrjens can pitch in four languages. A 21-year-old righthander from Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, can also spot a fastball that tops out at 97 mph. Featuring the best control in the Tigers system, the multilingual Jurrjens has emerged as Detroit’s top pitching prospect aside from 2006 first-round pick Andrew Miller. Originally signed in 2003, Jurrjens took a big step forward last year when he went 5-0, 2.18 with high Class A Lakeland while holding hitters to a .198 average. He more than held his own after a midseason promotion to Double-A Erie, going 4-3, 3.36. On the season, the well-spoken “JJ,” as he’s known to his teammates, logged 112 strikeouts in 141 innings.

More:

A native of Curacao who signed with the Tigers in 2003, the 21-year-old Jurrjens went 7-5, 3.20 with 94-31 K-BB in 113 innings for Double-A Erie last year. He made his major league debut in August and pitched well initially (1-1, 3.60 in three August starts) before fading in September (2-0, 5.74 in four starts). Jurrjens works in the low 90s with his fastball and has impeccable control. His curveball and changeup are average. The low Class A Midwest League's MVP, Hernandez boasts well above-average speed and leadoff-hitter potential. Signed from Venezuela in 2005, the 20-year-old Hernandez hit .293/.344/.391 with a league-leading 54 steals in 2007. His gap-to-gap power and arm strength are just average, but he gets very good jumps and reads in center field.