Blue Jays send Hill, MacDonald to Diamondbacks
Posted August 23, 2011 10:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, ON (NEWS1130) – The Toronto Blue Jays have traded second baseman Aaron Hill and infielder John MacDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for second baseman Kelly Johnson.
Johnson is rumoured to have been on Jays General Manager, Alex Anthopoulos’ radar for a few years now, and he finally was able to bring the 29-year-old in. Johnson has played in 114 games for Arizona this season. He’s hitting .209 with 18 home runs and 49 RBI’s.
The move gives the Jays a left-handed bat with power to all fields. Johnson has hit 89 career home runs in 758 games and was a first round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2000.
Once considered to be a top prospect of the Blue Jays, Aaron Hill has struggled the past two seasons, making him expendable. The 29-year-old is a lifetime .266 hitter and has spent his entire career in Toronto. After the trade was announced Hill said he enjoyed his time north of the border and was not ruling out a return after the season.
Hill had nothing but positive words for the organization and its fans. “This team will win. The way they’re going, the direction they’re going, with Alex and everybody, I do believe this team will win,” Hill said. “Whether I’m a part of that or not I’ll be rooting for them because this is a special place.
MacDonald has been a fan favourite in Ontario and is known best for his defensive skills. He became one of only two players to ever be traded for themselves when he was sent to the Tigers in July of 2005 for future considerations, and then returned to the Blue Jays to complete the deal in November of the same year.
