Tagged: Trade

Has the window closed for the Detroit Tigers?

Baseball is one of the few major American sports where trades are a major factor for any team, both during the season and in the off season.

Dave Dombrowski seems to have an itch to overhaul his ball club every year, but given the fact that Mr. Illitch wants to win now, you can hardly blame him for drafting talent and shipping it off almost immediately. The number of prospects that the Tigers traded away in the past year alone to get big names (David Price, Joakim Soria) down the stretch is astounding.

Since the start of the 2014 season, the Tigers have received:
Joakim Soria
David Price
Anthony Gose
Shane Greene
Alfredo Simon
Yoenis Cespedes
Alex Wilson
Gabe Speier

They traded away:
Austin Jackson (starting CF)
Drew Smyly (only LF starter, showed a lot of promise)
Willy Adames (SS- was named Ray’s top prospect after trade)
Jake Thompson (RHP – Tigers 2012 2nd round pick)
Corey Knebel (RHP – Tigers 2013 1st round pick)
Devon Travis (2B –  Tigers 2012 13th round pick)
Robbie Ray (RHP – Received in exchange for Doug Fister in 2013)
Eugenio Suarez (SS – played half a season in majors in 2014)
Rick Porcello (RHP – staple in Tigers rotation for years)

Of the 9 players traded away in the past year, I would argue that 7 of them would be considered prospects. The scene that unfolded with Austin Jackson running off the field in mid-inning was bizarre and unusual, but it’s characteristic of how Dombrowski has run this team. He’s opportunistic and is not worried about taking a risk, but at what cost? The Tigers farm system is absolutely depleted, and the trades last year did not pay off now, which is what they were intended to do. Last season truly turned into win at all costs. The pitching staff is not young, and there are no big name arms waiting in line for their opportunity.

While Dombrowski has fleeced some teams in the past (Marlins for Cabrera, D-backs for Scherzer), you have to wonder how long you can go trading away the core of your farm system (and your future) before you run out of assets. Your major league club is not getting any younger. I am fearful that the Tigers have sacrificed far too much to win now and the damage the farm system has already been felt (last year, starting rotation and bullpen, anyone?)….

What are your thoughts? Has the window closed on the Tigers to win a World Series? Are all of these trades moves of desperation? As a fan of the game, I like what the Royals have done, and I think the White Sox will be strong contenders for the AL Central as soon as next season. However, I believe the Royals are the team that the Tigers will be chasing for years to come. They have positioned themselves to win for the foreseeable future by building a team the right way – through their farm system.

Chance Ruffin to Seattle?

EDIT: Churchill has tweeted again, stating that he does not know for a fact that Ruffin is indeed the PTBNL. We’ll keep our eyes on this one.

Jason Churchill has reported that the player to be named later in the trade with Seattle last weekend has been revealed.

Chance Ruffin, a 2010 supplemental 1st round pick by the Tigers and a hard throwing reliever who the Tigers recently brought up to the major league club, has reportedly been that player. While he didn’t have great success in his short time wearing the English D, he is young and has outstanding numbers in the minors — 2.00 ERA and has a rate of over 11 K’s per 9 innings.

It was rumored that Drew Smyly was one player that the Mariners were targeting, but it’s unclear how far away he is from the big leagues, and Seattle was looking for players who could help the team now.

Tigers open series with AL West leading Rangers

Preview

The Tigers, coming off a series split with the always tough Angels, start the push into August having completed a .500 month of July. They hold a 2 game lead over the Indians, who started their week off with a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday evening.

The Rangers come rolling into town from right across the border in Toronto, where they dropped two of three to the Blue Jays in their weekend series. Texas made several moves at the trade deadline to solidify their bullpen, adding relievers Koji Uehara from the Baltimore Orioles, and Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres.

Doug Fister

The newest addition to the Tigers rotation, Doug Fister, is scheduled to pitch Wednesday.

We also will get our first look at the newest additions to the team, Doug Fister (right) and David Pauley, who were both acquired on Saturday from the Seattle Mariners for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez, and a PTBNL. Fister is scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s contest.

The pitching matchups-
Tuesday: Scherzer (11-6, 4.28 ERA) vs. Lewis (10-8, 4.00 ERA)
Wednesday: Fister (3-12, 3.33 ERA) vs. Harrison (9-7, 2.40 ERA)
Thursday: Penny (7-9, 4.89 ERA) vs. Ogando (10-5, 2.88 ERA)

Game times: Tuesday and Wednesday are 7:05 PM starts, Thursday’s first pitch is at 1:05 PM

Analysis

The first two games of the series are toss ups. Both teams have solid offenses that are capable of exploding on any given night. However, Colby Lewis (who gave up 9 runs in a start against the Tigers earlier this year) and Matt Harrison both have ERAs over 7.00 against Detroit in their careers, and I like Fister to come out with a strong debut, pitching for a team that will give him some run support. Unfortunately for Detroit, they run into Alexi Ogando in the series finale, who has owned the Tigers in his two career starts against them, throwing 17 innings while only giving up 2 earned runs. Detroit batters are hitting a meager .188 off of him, so I look for that to be the lone loss of the series for the Tigers. As long as Scherzer spots his pitches and the Tigers offense is clicking, there is no reason why they can’t take this series.

Prediction: Tigers take 2 of 3.