Toronto Blue Jays get infielder Luis Valbuena from Cleveland Indians for Cash -MLB Update
The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians made their first official trade of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) offseason as the former received experienced infielder, Luis Valbuena in exchange for cash on Saturday, November 26, 2011.
Trading Valbuena to the Blue Jays obviously showed that the Indians were not satisfied with his performance at second base ever since they traded Brandon Phillips and were looking to fill in his gap, which will make them on the lookout for other SB players.
The cash amount is yet to be decided and has not been announced officially by the club, which is considered to be still under negotiation by both teams.
The 25-year-olds best season was during 2009 when he played in 103 games and hit .250 with 25 doubles and 10 home runs. Ever since then, the player has not been able to achieve the same momentum he used to play with, which we witnessed during the 2010 and
2011 season.
Kelly Johnson, Toronto’s free agent second baseman, could be facing tough times ahead as the Blue Jays now have their hands on Valbuena and gives off the view that the Blue Jays might not be re-signing Johnson.
The other scenario might be that both players will be tested during training and either one could strike a deal with the team, forcing the other to possible go into the minors.
It is still unclear how Valbuena could possibly be useful for the Toronto Blue Jays at the moment if they wish to use him immediately as soon as the 2012 season kicks off. It has also been learned that Toronto has spot for a utility player, which could give
Valbuena the spot on the team which could keep him in the major league.
Seeing how the past two seasons have been downhill for Valbuena, it is still unsure whether he will be able to have a breakthrough next year, if not, it will certainly hurt his career, forcing him to play in the minors for a season or more, but that too
depends on whether he makes it in the Blue Jays or not.
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