TORONTO — Yunel Escobar has quickly found acceptance with his new Toronto Blue Jays teammates, and with one dazzling display earlier this week, he seems to have won over the fans, too.
The shortstop’s jaw-dropping scoop of Jake Fox’s grounder up the middle and subsequent behind-the-back flip for a forceout at second base earned him a deserved standing ovation from Tuesday’s crowd.
Second baseman Aaron Hill gave him a big high five right after while starter Ricky Romero pointed to him in appreciation as the applause rained down.
Escobar rarely received that type of type of affection or appreciation from fellow players on the Atlanta Braves or the team’s fans, and that disconnect led to a messy parting capped by his July 15 trade to the Blue Jays.
It’s a different story in Toronto so far, and he’s embracing the love.
“It felt really good,” Escobar, speaking through interpreter Nick Leyva, the Blue Jays bench coach, said of the ovation. “It felt like I’m at home now to get a reaction like that from the crowd.”
The 27-year-old Cuban’s acquisition by the Blue Jays for fellow shortstop Alex Gonzalez and prospects Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky was panned in some circles, as Escobar’s focus and commitment were questioned by anonymous Braves players and media experts.
But Escobar’s raw talent is tantalizing and the fact that he was targeted by general manager Alex Anthopoulos offers plenty of food for thought as Saturday’s trade deadline approaches.
First, the rookie GM is not a passive player in trade talks who waits for teams to come to him. Backed by reports prepared by his vastly expanded scouting department, he initiates conversations by telling his counterparts which players he wants.
Second, he’ll accept some risk in order to get elite talent back. He showed that in the trade with Seattle for blossoming ace Brandon Morrow back in December, and again in the deal for Escobar, who struggled badly the first half of this season.
Third, he won’t horde his prospects and is more than willing to use them to make what he feels is the right deal happen.
Fourth, Anthopoulos is a patient man and won’t be rushed into a deal for the sake of making one. The Escobar deal took a month to finalize, the Morrow trade dragged out even longer.
Fifth, he’s looking for pieces to add to his core, not to simply build around it.
Sixth, Anthopoulos has an ability to insert himself into other people’s trades, as evidenced through Thursday’s acquisition of outfield prospect Anthony Gose from Houston for triple-A first baseman Brett Wallace. The Astros picked up Gose from Philadelphia earlier in the day in the Roy Oswalt deal.
Those factors are worth bearing in mind as the rumours heat up in the coming days.
Yes, Scott Downs, John Buck, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg and Lyle Overbay are all potential free agents at the end of the year, but most of them will fetch the team compensatory draft picks should they sign elsewhere, and Anthopoulos won’t take lesser value in trade because of that.
Additionally, the Blue Jays aren’t in any rush to trade Jose Bautista, despite industry chatter imploring him to sell high now. Internal signs point to him being considered part of the core, and only a hefty return will pry him loose.
One of those signs is that Anthopoulos asked Bautista to help Escobar in his adjustment to Toronto. Such a responsibility would not have been given to just anyone, especially someone the team was trying to peddle.
Either way, Bautista has embraced the challenge and believes Escobar is taking to the Blue Jays well.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Hopefully he remains happy like he is now, keep playing good ball, keep getting on base for us and making solid plays on defence.”
Escobar certainly seems to have regained his past form in Toronto. In 11 games since the trade, the 27-year-old is batting .354 with two homers and seven RBI, looking nothing like the player who struggled to a .238 average with no homers and 19 RBI in 75 games with Braves.
The difference?
“I’ve got a clear head. One hundred per cent happy,” said Escobar. “The biggest thing is that everybody is trying to help me and I appreciate that.
“I’m starting to feel a whole lot more comfortable in my new surroundings.”
Manager Cito Gaston sees that, and points out that the team is doing all in its power to keep things that way. He hit .299 with 14 homers, 76 RBIs and 89 runs in a breakout 2009 season, and there’s the potential for even better numbers.
“Nick Leyva is pretty much his translator,” said Gaston. “He’s going to be working on his English. The organization is going to help him out there. Anything he needs we are always are there for him, and let him know that we’re here to help him and encourage him to be a better player, to be the all-around player that he can be.”