D-backs acquire David Eckstein from Blue Jays

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that they have acquired infielder David Eckstein in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chad Beck (Visalia).

Eckstein (ECK-styne), 33, is batting .277 (72-for-260) in 76 games this season for the Blue Jays with 27 runs scored, 18 doubles, a home run and 22 RBI. After today's game at Yankee Stadium, he is batting .357 (15-for-42) over his last 12 games, including Aug. 13 at Detroit when he reached base safely four times, matching his season-high with three hits (also on April 26 at Kansas City).

Eckstein has a career batting average of .285 (1151-for-4032) in 1041 games for the Angels, Cardinals and Blue Jays. He has scored 583 runs, hit 179 doubles, 18 triples, 31 home runs, 307 RBI and 112 RBI over parts of eight Major League seasons.

Eckstein has been a part of two World Series Championship teams with both the 2002 Anaheim Angels and the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, earning Series MVP honors for the Cardinals. In the 2006 series, he hit .364 (8-for-22) with four RBI and three runs scored against the Tigers, going 4-for-5 with three doubles in Game 4. The Sanford, Fla., native was selected to the 2005 and 2006 National League All-Star teams.

Beck, 23, started the season in South Bend, going 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA (4 ER in 17.2 IP) over seven games, holding opponents to a .186 average (13-for-70) with three walks and 19 strikeouts. Promoted to Visalia on May 2, appearing in his first 10 games as a reliever, going 1-0 with a save and a 1.37 ERA (4 ER in 16.1 IP). As a starter for the Oaks, he went 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA (39 ER in 78.2 IP) with 14 walks and 65 strikeouts over 13 games.

In the future, this will work out more for the Jays.