The Tigers have acquired infielder Omar Infante and right-handed pitcher Anibal Sanchez from the Miami Marlins in exchange for three prospects and the competitive balance draft pick acquired last week. The three prospects are right-handed starter Jacob Turner, catcher Rob Brantly and left-handed pitcher Brian Flynn.
Infante will take over at second base replacing the combination of Ramon Santiago, Ryan Raburn and Danny Worth. Infante is batting .287/.312/.442 this year and .294/.329/.408 over the last three seasons. He'll be a significant offensive upgrade over what the Tigers have been putting out there this season. Not only that, but he is an above average defender at second base which will strengthen their porous infield defense. He is signed through the 2013 season.
Sanchez had a 3.94 ERA and 110/33 K/BB ratio in 121 innings for the Marlins this year. Over the last three years , he has a 3.69 ERA with 8.2 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings. His numbers might be a little less impressive in the American League, but he should be a big upgrade over Turner this year. The downside is that Sanchez is a free agent after the season.
So, the Tigers have traded two of the best prospects, a decent prospect in Flynn and a draft pick for a half year of Sanchez and one and a half years of Infante. It's a heavy price to pay but that's what contending teams do. I like the deal because it significantly improves their chances of winning the division and succeeding in the playoffs this year and they still have their top prospect Nick Castellanos.
Update
The Tigers and Marlins actually swapped competitive balance draft picks in the deal. So, the Tigers will now have a pick after the the first round instead of after the second round.
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