Braves Trade Jeff Francoeur to Mets for Ryan Church

Sports Betting News - July 12th, 2009 - Written by Bruce

The Atlanta Braves have traded Jeff Francoeur plus cash to the New York Mets for Ryan Church. Both teams have struggled so far this season which led to this surprising trade between division rivals. The Mets received about $270,000 to equal the salaries between Francoeur and Church. Francoeur was regarded as one the top prospects for the Braves and became widely popular with Atlanta fans when he hit 29 home runs and had 103 RBI's in his first full season as a major league player back in 2006. He followed it up the next year with a gold glove and another solid season offensively. Since then though he has struggled quite a bit and was demoted to the Double A team for a few games last year. He was not happy about the demotion and has not been able to get back to the type of hitter he was in his first two seasons. Francoeur is hitting .250 this year with five home runs and 35 RBI's.

The Mets have been dealing with numerous injuries this season that has greatly affected their production offensively. With world series aspirations before the season the Mets are currently at a disappointing 40-45. Church had a good first season with the Mets last year but has not been as productive this year hitting .280 with only two home runs and 22 RBI's. Manager Jerry Manuel seemed to never be fond of Church which may have also had some impact on the deal. Earlier this year in a Mets loss, Church failed to tag third base before running home which really seemed to upset Manuel. The Mets are trying to do anything to inject some life into this offense which has been brutal for them so far this year.

It is rare that you see two division rivals perform a trade such as this. Both teams are hoping that a change of scenery will spark their newly acquired players and maybe help the teams make a push in the second half of the season. The Braves are hoping Church can give them a steady hitter in the line up to go along with Chipper Jones. Church also plays well defensively for them and is comfortable playing more than one position in the field. The Mets hope Francoeur can return to the form of this early years with Atlanta. They also like him defensively and are getting an outfielder who has a rocket arm in Francoeur. It will be interesting to see what these players can do after the all star break with their new teams.