Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 6:00pm

JAYS ADD VALBUENA FROM TRIBE

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired infielder Luis Valbuena from the Cleveland Indians for cash.

What does it give the Toronto Blue Jays
With Kelly Johnson not a sure thing to return to the Blue Jays, Toronto does a nice job of adding the talented (if inconsistent) Valbuena as second base insurance here. He's still fairly young (26 at the end of November) and Valbuena showed growing power during 420 at-bats at Triple-A this past season (hitting 17 homers and driving in 75 runs). That said, he's far from proven at the major league level so he will need to step up soon to compete for regular time at second base for Toronto.

What does it give the Cleveland Guardians
With Jason Kipnis emerging last season as a potential star at second base for Cleveland, Valbuena became moveable (especially after two straight struggling campaigns with the big club). Getting some cash here is a solid move for the Tribe, which clearly didn't have Valbuena in their plans anymore.

Fantasy impact

Player focus

Cleveland Guardians

cash considerations

Toronto Blue Jays

Luis Valbuena IF