Yunel escobar is traded to angels
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 10, 2015
Well, so long, Freese. Thanks for all the...slightly above average play. We now have another slightly above average player! Yunel Escobar offers the Angels some defensive flexibility since he's able to play 2B and 3B competently. His defense has been declining for the past two years, but hey, the Angels have Andrelton Simmons. They could put Scioscia at third and be fine.
Escobar is coming off a great year at the plate with the Nats, where he slashed .314/.375/.415. Steamer projects him to put up 1.3 fWAR next year (Freese, for comparison, is projected to put up 1.2) and baseball-reference.com has Escobar slashing .274/.338/.378. (Freese? .256/.322/.400.)
The return is apparently Trevor Gott, though nothing is confirmed at the moment. Check back for updates.
In the meanwhile, maybe we can discuss this? No? Okay then!
UPDATE: Jon Heyman is reporting that the Nats will get RHP Trevor Gott and a minor-leaguer in return for Escobar.
UPDATE TWO: The minor-leaguer in question is 28-year-old Michael Brady, who is coming off a nice year in AA. Definitely does not tip the scales in favor of one side or the other.
UPDATE THREE: From MLBTR: "The teams have announced the swap, with the Nats saying an undisclosed amount of cash will go with Escobar to Los Angeles." Well, all right then! Nice move, Billy.