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 Wow! Just when you thought it was safe to go home from work and relax a little bit.....The Detroit Tigers and the Florida Marlins have pulled off the biggest deal of the Winter Meetings.
The Tigers have won the Miguel Cabrera sweepstakes. Detroit will get Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida for six players -- Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three minor league prospects.
This is really a present vs. future deal here. In Cabrera and Willis the Tigers are getting two major league ready players who can take their team to a new level. Willis (originally a Cubs prospect) struggled last season, but maybe with a new team he will find his way once again. When he's on, he's one of the top left handed pitchers in the league. When he's off....he walks a lot of people. His strikeouts have been down the last couple of seasons while his WHIP, home runs allowed and ERA have risen. Still, Willis should slot right in between Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman to form one of the youngest, and most lethal, starting rotations in the American League.
As for Cabrera, when he's in shape (and reports are that he's getting there again), he's one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball. Period. End of Sentence. His defensive struggles coincide with his weight gain, so again, if he stays in shape...he'll be good enough. He'll be driving in Curtis Granderson quite a bit next season and providing protection for Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield. These three will give the Tigers one of the most lethal lineups in the league. For how good Cabrera would have looked in Anaheim hitting with Vladimir Guerrero...he'll look even better in Detroit. Willis and Cabrera helped lead Florida to a World Series Championship in 2003 and will look to do the same in Detroit, probably more than once.
For the Marlins, they picked up super prospects Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. They are 22 and 20 years of age, respectively and should help lead the Marlins for years to come (if they aren't traded away like all Marlins prospects). Both of these guys are legit and top prospects. They are players you probably build franchises around with Maybin manning the outfield and Miller toeing the rubber.
Miller will slot right into the Marlins starting rotation and should be very problematic for National League hitters for the forseeable future. He's pitched 21 games for the Tigers the past two seasons with fair results. His minor league numbers indicate a pitcher who knows how to pitch. His strikeout numbers have been good, at best, in his professional career, but you can never underestimate the importance of having a left handed starter to build around.
Maybin is a stud. Always has and the Marlins hope, always will be. He is an athlete in the purest sense of the form, with the ability to play at an extremely high level on the baseball field. He's only 20 years old now, but he spent 24 games with Detroit this past season with limited success. He projects to be a corner outfielder at some point, but for the time being he'll probably man centerfield in Florida.
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2008 Cubs Preview
What this does(besides making Detroit scarier) is free up Brandon Inge, providing they're bringing Cabrera in to play 3B. If this is the case, Mozeliak needs to hop on the phone, post-haste, to Dave Dumbrowski, and work out a trade for Inge. It's a foregone conclusion that Rolen is gone(Joe Strauss said on local radio today that Rolen has basically said he won't play for La Russa ever again), and frankly, Inge is the best option out there right now; certainly better than Feliz or Tejada.
I would think that Detroit would be more inclined to move Thames and move Inge to the LF platoon with Jacque Jones. Inge has played out there before, albeit very briefly. I'm not sure the Cardinals have anything the Tigers would want. If the Cardinals could get Inge it would be a pretty decent deal for them provided they could get some help from whoever they trade Rolen to. I'm not sure of Inge's contract situation, either.
Bruce, with what is unfolding with Rolen, when I first saw this Detroit trade I thought the same thing about Inge.
Brandon Inge hits the market, though he's got three years and $19.1MM left on his deal. Plenty of clubs are in the market for a third baseman assuming the Tigers will eat some of the contract. Inge probably won't be moving back behind the plate, by the way.
On top of that, in all of the deals I've seen involving Rolen...the Cardinals will still be paying his $5 million signing bonus and all of his deferred money:
The seven-year deal is heavily back-loaded, allowing the Cardinals salary relief until their new stadium opens in 2006. The proposal calls for more than the $15 million deferred in Rolen's contract. (Rolen deferred $2 million without interest each year from 2003-07 plus a $5 million signing bonus. Rolen receives a maximum $13 million in 2006 and 2007.)
That's an awful lot of money to take on for an organization that's seemingly cutting costs. It might have been less expensive to let LaRussa walk and hire a new manager?
3 years $19m isn't bad for a guy that can bop out 24 bombs a season and give you borderline gold glove D at 3rd base. that contract isn't nearly as bad as Rolen's bad back and $30+ million...
St. Louis doesn't have much that I would personally like... unless Wainwright wants to become the next closer for Detroit...
Maybin's numbers projected him to be a corner OF spot, but his speed, lack of arm, and defense is best suited for CF. Dude... I don't think you realize how fast Maybin is...
I watched the futures game in Pittsburgh 2 years back... he hit a grounder to shortstop and beat the throw to first with no bobble.
I've seen him play a few times....I've been around. He'll be a CF for some time but eventually he'll move to a corner. Natural progression. He's a beast. I'd be more worried about him than Miller (who should be good).
The interesting thing about the Cabrera/Willis deal is once their deals end (I think it's like 4 combined seasons) the Tigers will get big time draft picks for them if they don't sign them. It very well could end up where the Tigers end up right back where they were with Maybin/Miller with the ferocity with which they've drafted with the past couple of seasons.
On top of that....they could always get all these players back in the next Florida firesale.
Inge's contract isn't that bad, but coupled with the cash the Cardinals still will owe Rolen, it might be too much. It's hard to tell though since the Dodgers/Angels and possibly the Rangers (if Blalock is traded) might be on the market for 3b. And, if the Brewers are willing to look at Rolen, who's to say they aren't willing to look at Inge now?
ESPN is reporting that the talks between the Cards and Brewers are cooling off. Apparently there is some hesitation to trade within the division.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3141330
It seems you were right on the money in the deal Jack.
Boney, I highly doubt that Wainwright would be involved in any deal with Inge. The Cards need pitching and right now he is their #1 starter.
Yeah, I don't think you would be going too far out on a limb to think that Rolen is going to want to kick in LaRussa's teeth any chance he can get. It would be much better for the Cards if they can move him out of the division. I would think Wainwright would be untouchable in the Cards organization.
Buck, I understand... I was being sarcastic.
Unless the Cardinals can somehow get Daric Barton or Danny Haren back... then there is nothing except "a player to be named" that the Cards have to offer for Inge.
My first thoughts on this was: once again the AL has taken the NL talent. These teams are trying to keep up with one another in the AL and the NL is helping the talent swing. We need a couple of owners willing to make big, smart moves to help bring that shift to a halt and create one of their own in the NL. Hmmm, I just happen to know a NL team that is looking for a new owner.
so, in another three years, florida is gonna win the championship and then dismantle the team, right?
isn't that the pattern that's developing there?
Pretty much, yeah. Florida obviously knows more than most.