BOSTON – This trade wont knock your socks off, but its the type of deal that fits the cash-strapped Blue Jays mold at the moment. Just prior to Monday nights series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway, general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired infielder Danny Valencia from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Liam Hendriks and catcher Erik Kratz. The move works for both clubs, which makes it a good trade. “We definitely have a lot of left-handed bats on the roster right now and we certainly could use some help from the right side,” said Anthopoulos. “Weve actually inquired about him in the past; just havent been able to get anything done. Weve been really trying to find [a similar player] all year and also weve definitely given guys some opportunities from the minor leagues looking for that right-handed bat and the fact that hes had success at the big league level doing that and doing it well, its a good fit for us.” Valencia, who turns 30 on September 19, is a right-handed hitting infielder who predominantly plays third base. He has a career .879 on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handed pitching with 14 home runs. Thats in 498 plate appearances, a large enough sample size to state with certainty that Valencia is an immediate enhancement to the line-up. Hell help to cover for the remainder of Brett Lawries absence. Lawries out with a fractured right index finger and, given that second base isnt completely foreign to Valencia, he could see time there when Lawrie returns. With 21 career home runs and a .620 OPS against right-handed pitching, Valencia isnt totally a lost cause, but would be better suited to a platoon situation. Anthopoulos cautioned not to read too much into how the acquisition of Valencia could affect Lawrie and where hell play. Lawrie wants to play third base, but didnt complain when he was asked to assume a platoon role, splitting time between third and second base earlier this season. Judging by what the general manager had to say, its easy to envision Lawrie seeing plenty more time at second. “Well just see,” said Anthopoulos. “I know (manager John Gibbons) is going to mix and match. When Juans been playing, hes been playing well, hes got tremendous numbers versus right-handers, [but] obviously has not had success versus left-handers and Danny can certainly be that platoon partner for him. “With respect to Brett, sure, youd like to have any player be at one position the entire time, but, like weve done a lot of the year, wed like to have had Bautista play one position the entire time, the one thing thats been great to see is all of our players want to win and are willing to play anywhere on the diamond.” From a business perspective, and dont discount the importance of this for a second, Valencias spent enough time in pro ball (nine seasons) the big leagues (parts of five seasons) to be considered a veteran with useful experience, but hes accrued so little major league service time (two years, 118 days) that he remains under club control for the considerable future. This is something Anthopoulos greatly values. Valencia is first-year arbitration eligible this coming off-season and cant become a free agent until, at the earliest, after the 2017 season. Remember, the Blue Jays are essentially bereft of positional prospect talent at Double-A or higher. The addition of Valencia is as useful for 2015 as it is in the immediate. Out the door go two extraneous pieces. While a compelling argument could be made that Kratz should have made the club out of spring training and served as Dioner Navarros back-up, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is more comfortable with his longtime battery mate, Josh Thole. As a result, Kratz spent his second stint in the organization in three places: Toronto, Buffalo and on the QEW shuttling from one city to the other. Kratz hit .198/.226/.346 in 34 games with the Blue Jays. He showed a touch of his valued power, hitting three home runs in 81 at-bats. Hendriks, 25, is still young but didnt figure into the Blue Jays plans. He won a game in three starts with Toronto, posting a 6.08 ERA, but on a number of occasions he needed every inch of Rogers Centres dimensions to keep the ball in the park in two home starts. He was hit hard on June 20 in Cincinnati, his last start in the big leagues, in a game that will best be remembered for the Blue Jays overcoming a nine-run deficit to beat the Reds 14-9. INJURY UPDATES Anthopoulos provided updates on the status of two injured players, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind. As for the respective timetables for their returns: “You know, we really dont know," he said. "Theyre definitely moving in the right direction.” On Encarnacion (strained right quadriceps): “I know we mentioned with Encarnacion he had a bit of a setback; setback in a way that hed been improving so fast and it got slowed up. I guess the one thing to clarify on that is, yes, the way he was progressing and how fast he was progressing, all of a sudden that certainly slowed down because he had a little renewed pain when he was swinging again so we just decided to not take any chances and slow him up.” On Lind (fractured right foot): “He doesnt feel anything when he swings. He does feel it a little bit when he runs, when he has to run the bases and change directions and that can impact him when hes in the field. In terms of strictly in the box and swinging he doesnt feel it. Its going to come down to when that pain is gone when he has to run the bases and change direction and things like that. We dont know exactly when thats going to come but in the meantime at least were able to have him hit, swing and let him try to get his timing back.” Sam Dekker Jersey . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Chris Paul Jersey http://www.clippersnbateamshop.info/Customized/. CBS Sports Jon Heyman is reporting that Santana will sign a one-year deal, likely in the next two days with one of a trio of suitors, with the Toronto Blue Jays believed to be heavily involved. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Jersey . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Blake Griffin Jersey . 15-23, the Ottawa Senators will by hoping to avoid going five straight games without a victory for the first time since a 0-3-2 drought from Oct. BEIJING -- Kevin Koes curling team accomplished what has been a rare feat this season, winning its opening game at the 2014 world mens curling championship. Koes Calgary squad of third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft, and lead Nolan Thiessen methodically cruised to a 6-3 victory Saturday over Denmarks Rasmus Stjerne. "We lost the first game at the (Canadian Curling) trials, we lost our first game at the provincials and we lost our first game at the (Tim Hortons) Brier," Rycroft said, laughing. "Coach (John) Dunn said, I dont want that to happen again. "Mission accomplished: 1-and-0." It took some time for both teams to adjust to ice conditions in an arena more noted for hosting the 2008 Olympic volleyball competition. Canada pounced on Danish misses in the third end to score two, then stole single points in the following two ends to take control. Canadas airtight defence went to work the rest of the way. "If youre up, your shots are usually simpler, and with the ice being tricky, thats a big advantage," said Koe. "If youre having to play come-arounds and freezes to get back into it, those arent easy to begin with, let alone when the ice is tricky, so if you can throw them hard, which we like to do, thats always a good sign." Stjerne, who skipped the Danes to a fourth-place finish at the 2013 worlds in Victoria, said Canada is a "tough team to come back on." "They never gave us an iinch," Stjerne said.dddddddddddd "I felt like we had a couple opportunities to get a deuce, but we never took advantage and it bit us in the end." Canada returns to the ice Sunday morning against Japans Yusuke Morozumi, a 9-5 loser to Norways Thomas Ulsrud on Saturday night. "You know what? (The Danes) are a good team, they made the playoffs last year, so theyre one of the better teams here," said Koe, who was scored at 96 per cent for the night. "And weve got off to a slow start everywhere this year, so to get the win under our belt feels good." In other Saturday games, Oskar Eriksson of Sweden (2-0) topped Pete Fenson of the U.S. (0-2) 8-6, while Johnny Jahr of Germany, who was 0-9 at the Olympics, improved to 2-0 with a 9-5 win over Evgeny Arkhipov of Russia (1-1). Earlier Saturday, Russia edged Switzerlands Peter de Cruz 8-7, Jiri Snitil of the Czech Republic downed the U.S. 9-7, Germany beat Chinas Rui Liu 11-5 and Sweden doubled Scotlands Ewan MacDonald 8-4. Koe won gold in his only previous appearance at the world championship, taking top spot at the 2010 tournament in Cortina DAmpezzo, Italy. Koe had a strong performance at the Tim Hortons Brier earlier this month and is enjoying another solid year on the World Curling Tour. Canada has won gold three of the last four world championships. Jeff Stoughton was victorious in 2011 in Regina and Glenn Howard won at Basel, Switzerland in 2012. 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