Marquette, MI – July 19, 2017 – The MLB Trade deadline is fast approaching. No trades will be allowed after July 31, so teams are scrambling to either acquire guys that will potentially help them win a World Series, or looking to trade away such players in hopes to gain prospects that will strengthen the farm system and help the team compete for World Series titles in the future.
With the Detroit Tigers entering yesterday 7 games below .500, their situation is the latter.
The most likely piece on the Tigers’ roster to be moved, J.D. Martinez, was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks before last night’s game in Kansas City. J.D. Martinez is in the final year of his contract which means he will be a free agent come this offseason. With the Tigers already tied up in big contracts (Justin Upton, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Jordan Zimmerman) it was unlikely they would have been willing to re-sign J.D. to the big deal he will be looking for.
With that in mind, and the Tigers’ farm system being depleted due to trades over the last decade by former GM Dave Dombrowski chasing after World Series titles, Martinez made sense to move. Martinez is batting .305 with 16 home runs and a 1.018 SLG %. He also ranks 1st amongst American Leaguers against left-handed pitching in several categories. He would be a valuable asset to any team.
We won’t be able to judge what the Tigers got back until a couple of years down the road. The Diamondbacks sent three prospects, all infielders, and all under the age of 23 to the Tigers. Dawel Lugo (22, SS/3B), Sergio Alcantara (21, SS/2B), and Jose King (18, SS/2B) will all now join the Tigers farm system. None of these players rank as a Top 100 prospect.
Lugo was the #4 prospect according to MLB.com and the #2 prospect according to Baseball America in the Diamondbacks farm system. Lugo, playing in AA this year, has had a productive year. He’s posted a a .282 average, 7 home runs, and a .955 fielding percentage. Lugo now ranks as the #11 prospect in the Tigers system according to MLB.com.
The trade signals a shift in focus with new General Manager Al Avila at the helm. The Tigers window is closed, and the farm system needs to be rebuilt. Al Avila traded away one of the best hitters in the game for three young infielders with potential that will add depth to the farm.
The Tigers are no longer competing for World Series titles, or even AL Central titles for that matter. The Tigers will now shift their focus to “out with the old, in with the new” in hopes to return to title contention.
