And So It Begins.

Earlier today the Atlanta Braves announced that they traded shortstop Edgar Renteria, an All-Star caliber player who had to be under consideration for the team's unofficial MVP award for last season, to the Detroit Tigers. In return, the Braves acquired SP Jair Jerrjens and CF Gorkys Hernandez.

Of the two, only Jerrjens figures to be in the mix to make the big league club in 2008. He's thought of as being a middle-of-the-rotation type starter with good stuff and very good control. He pitched only a handful of times in Detroit last season, with decent results. He earned his promotion there with a brief run of incredible starts with their AA affiliate. His overall track record in the minors is very solid, if not spectacular. At only 21 years of age, he still has a ways to go before he reaches his potential. While he could benefit from more experience before making his debut in Atlanta, I would not be surprised to see him in the big league rotation from day 1.

Gorkys Hernandez is referred to as a potential five tool player, but so far he's only demonstrated the three physical ones (defense, arm and speed) and will need to work on his hitting if he is to make as big of an impact as is expected of him. 2007 was his first full season in professional baseball and the 19 year old acquitted himself quite nicely in Low-A ball. He's shown very little power as of yet and his OBP needs to be higher to offset that, but there's no reason to believe that he won't blossom into a fine outfielder. The emergence of Jordan Schafer seems to block him in CF and the competition for LF (Jeff Francouer will be a staple in RF in Atlanta for years to come) figures to be stiff as Cody Johnson had a breakout season and the franchise took Jason Heyward in the first round of the draft this year.

All in all, I think it's a fair trade for both teams. It obviously has a greater impact on the Tigers in 2008, but the Braves will reap the benefits soon thereafter. I was surprised by the type of package Atlanta accepted in return of Renteria and the quickness with which they dealt him, but I'm not disappointed with the result. Moreover, this is not the end of the line for the Braves this offseason or, potentially, for the prospects they just acquired. This is just the beginning of the Hot Stove season, but what a beginning it has been!