Tuesday night the Tigers–presumably as a pre-emptive solution to an imminent Jhonny Peralta suspension–obtained Red Sox infielder Jose Iglesias as part of a three-team trade that sent Avisail Garcia to the Chicago White Sox and Brayan Villarreal to the Boston Red Sox. Jake Peavy went from Chicago to Boston in the major part of the trade’s third leg.
There was some thought that even if Peralta were facing a suspension, he could appeal the suspension and postpone it until next season. That is, if he wanted to: the former might be better for the team, but personally Peralta would put himself in quite a bind this way, since he becomes a free agent after this season. The free agent market for suspended players tends not to be a lucrative one.
(A 50-game suspension for Peralta beginning this week would leave him available for the postseason).
At any rate, this trade shows that the Tigers probably either know something or have a pretty good idea of what MLB’s and Peralta’s actions are likely to be.
Without saying anything specific, Dave Dombrowski admitted that the Peralta situation was behind the trade.
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Of course, just yesterday we read Dombrowski hinting that he might be finished making moves, and certainly was not looking for a shortstop. It is of course possible that something changed in the past 24 hours, but more likely just Dave Dombrowski being Dave Dombrowski, with his trading face on.
There still may be another move to come: the Tigers are rumored to still be talking to the San Francisco Giants about lefty reliever Javier Lopez.
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Your newest Tiger:
Jose Iglesias
5’11” 185. Bats R, Throws R. Born January 5, 1990 (23) La Habana, Cuba
Career stats (Red Sox):
314 PA .280 BA .333 OBP .357 SLG .690 OPS 4 SB 1 CS 9 HBP (!)
And, in the words of Dave Dombrowski, “he is special defensively.”
Perhaps the most relevant number of all: 2019–that is when Iglesias will be eligible for free agency. Peralta, as noted above, is a free agent in 2014.
The Tigers could be looking at a future middle infield of Jose Iglesias and Hernan Perez, which could conceivably give Detroit the best middle infield range in baseball. If you like that sort of thing.
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Avisail Garcia tweets his farewell to Tiger Fans:
Last but not least,
#Tigers fans you guys are amazing! I hope you guys keep supporting me in my career.. Gracias por todo!
This seems like a very good move. We give up Garcia, but we appear to have OF depth and Villarreal.
Am I missing anything? This looks like one in our favor.
Sounds like we are going from a team that can “slug it” to a team that can “pick it”. If we trade Castellanos and Ortega for a catcher we’ll be all set.
Who will we replace Torii with when he retires shortly. We will be thin in the outfield, other than AJax. We might need him at third because it looks like Miggy is becoming prone to injuries playing third, and maybe a move back to first will be required. Then what will we do with Prince, fulltime DH. Then where does VMart go?
This trade has opened up a can of worms. I would have left things as they were and if JP was suspended, plug someone from our organization in his place until he returned.
Torii will be around through 2014. The Tigers have Dirks and Tui and some OF talent in the minors besides Castellanos, don’t worry about them getting thin there.
VMart is signed through 2014 and gone thereafter.
Who might we need at 3B? Did you mean Peralta? He’s gone after 2013 no matter what. Iglesias just made that clear.
Speaking of 3B, everyone – including Leyland – seems to forget that Tuiasosopo plays 3B.
This appears to be a good trade plus it assists with the win now as well as gives us options for the future. A lot will depend on how Little Miggy pans out but it should help us this season with defense and post season.
Here’s an iglesias highlight reel (you’ll probably want to mute the song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb72R2CpQ2c
Looks like this kid can play the field. Only time will tell if he’s a decent bat or not.
Thank you for the link. And all of these highlights are from before this season!
The more I read about this and think about it, the more I like it.
1) Peralta was in an option year. Let’s not forget that he was plan B last off-season. His AS performance this year has been a boon no doubt. He’s had some clutch hits, and we’ll miss his bat the rest of the year. But we have enough offense to cover for it.
2) Iglesias is locked up for a loooooooooooong time. I can get very excited about an Iglesias – Perez DP combo for some time to come.
3) This clears the path for Castellanos. Which I think was a driving force for this deal.
The name one sees over and over in the scouting reports on Iglesias is Omar Vizquel. When is the last time the Tigers had a glove of that caliber on the infield? (Well, I suppose, for a time, Brandon Inge).
On the other hand, the name that comes up most regarding Avisail Garcia is Miguel Cabrera, so we will have to see. The difference is that Iglesias already has the glove, and Garcia has the potential with the bat.
BTW, I also just read that Iglesias and Miguel Cabrera have the same agent, for what that is worth.
Adam Everett is the other comparison.
And Ray Oyler comes to mind.
Maybe we could turn around and flip him for an Eddie Brinkman.
A Brinkman clone would be fine, but another Alan Trammel he won’t be.
Avi is Miguel only in looks. He doesn’t sport the walk rate, power, or average that Miggy has. To compare anyone to Miggy is really a disservice to him.
Tigers get Iglesias for Garcia and Villarreal.
Red Sox get Peavy and Villarreal for Iglesias.
White Sox get Garcia and 3 other prospects for Peavy (+ his salary).
The Red Sox get the much needed vat arm for the rotation. The White Sox go into full rebuild mode and they have an immediate replacement in Garcia for Rios when he gets traded (maybe later today). The Tigers are the big risk takers in this deal. The D is improved considerably, but Iglesias’ batting skills are up for question and he is pretty much only a singles hitter. I think we’ll have to wait a while to pronounce on this one. Losing Villarreal won’t hurt.
Latest Tiger trade speculation has shifted from Javier Lopez to 67-yr-old Darren Oliver, who has the distinction of having pitched to both Cecil and Prince Fielder (that last part is true).
I just like this trade…Garcia leaving opens up the way for Castellanos. ..sets up the future middle infield which we have complained about for a long time….Offense still wins games….Defense still wins Championships in any sport
this is a great trade! we have plenty of outfielders, so Garcia was expendable. Villarreal was a joke; I had no confidence in him at all. meanwhile, SS is the most important position on the whole field and I think Iglesias is gonna be good one. I was really wondering what the Tiges were gonna do after Peralta retired [suspension or not] or left as a FA. as long as disaster doesn’t strike with Iglesias [injuries or something else], this will be very good for the Tigers for sure! ………. 🙂
You all are in for such a treat watching this kid play! Enjoy