What the Ryan Church-Jeff Francoeur Trade Really Means For Atlanta

So far, the analysis of today's trade of outfielders between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets has focused solely on the players exchanged—Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur. Defensively, as some other writers have noted, the trade is a wash. Francoeur has the better arm, but Church has a slight edge on range. Both have fallen out of favor with their managers, for different reasons. Church wasn't the same player after a collision and concussion last season, which coincided with the Mets' managerial change. Francoeur has been an offensive sinkhole for much of the past two years, as pitch recognition, pitch selection and hitting mechanics have him a bit messed up. Francoeur might have been non-tendered by the Braves had he not been traded. Church won't be the seemingly automatic out, but might rediscover some power now that he doesn't call Citi Field his home. A close look at Church's Home/Away splits tell part one of the story. At Citi Field, Church...