With the Los Angeles Dodgers in their sights atop the National League West standings, the Arizona Diamondbacks have made an addition before the July 31 trade deadline.
The D-Backs have acquired infielder Eduardo Escobar from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-hander Jhoan Duran, outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad, and outfielder Gabriel Maciel, the team announced.
Maciel (No. 11) and Duran (No. 19) were among the D-Backs' top-30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Escobar is a versatile 29-year-old Venezuelan, who has played mostly at third base this season for the Twins while also logging time at second and shortstop.
Arizona famously acquired outfielder J.D. Martinez prior to the 2017 trade deadline and rode his heroics at the plate to a postseason appearance, so perhaps it is looking to strike gold once again with Escobar.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise to some, considering the Twins have won four straight and are seven back of the Cleveland Indians for the top spot in the AL Central. It even caught Twins manager Paul Molitor off guard Friday.
We were in Molitor’s office when it flashed across the screen the Twins had agreed to deal Eduardo Escobar to the D-backs. It was the first Molitor had heard of it. Still hasn’t changed lineup yet.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 27, 2018
In his eight seasons in the bigs, Escobar evolved from a part-time utility player with the Chicago White Sox into one of the Twins' best hitters.
He leads the majors with 37 doubles and has displayed the most power of his career, as is evidenced by his 15 home runs and .514 slugging percentage.
| PA | HR | RBI | SLG | OPS | ISO | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 408 | 15 | 63 | .514 | .852 | .239 | 2.5 |
Escobar is eligible for free agency at season's end.
