Tracking the Tigers: Thoughts on the Cabrera, Willis Trade
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by Oneflydude
It is official. Dave Dombrowski has turned the Detroit Tigers into one of the best teams in the MLB. The Detroit Tigers acquired P Dontrelle Willis and third baseman Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins for six, notable prospects. Some Tigers fans are scratching their heads and are asking why did he gave up so many great prospects? In this move, DD gave up one of the top prospects in the league in Cameron Maybin, a left handed pitcher in Andrew Miller, a decent catcher in Mike Rabelo and three other minor league pitchers; Eulogio de la Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop. In return, he gets one of the best third baseman in the league in Cabrera and a major league proven pitcher in Willis.
This is sort of a win-loss trade in the Tigers favor. I believe this because the Tigers got two players who are well known around the league. They both have only played a few years in the majors, but they are still very young. Cabrera is only 24 years old, while Willis is only 25. So there still is a lot of time to see these players. On the other side, there were two players that haven't proven anything to anybody in the majors. They still are very young as well, but who knows how they might turn out to be in the longrun.
Miller is a very talented pitcher, but he has struggled in the majors
during his career. He is only 22 years old, but the Marlins won't
regret who they are getting. He has so much potential to develop into
a great young pitcher, but he just needs some time. In only 11 career
starts, Miller has gone 5-6 with a 5.69 ERA. The numbers aren't
impressive, but his future is bright. The Marlins wil be getting a
6'6, lengthy pitcher with great stuff. He has a powerful fastball that can
get in the upper 90's, a late breaking slider, a decent change-up, and
a cut-fastball that he is working on. Once he develops his change-up and
he gets comfortable with finding the strike zone, Miller will develop
into a teriffic left hander. Now that he is in the National League
where it is a fastball league, Miller will probably be a better fit
there than in the American League.
In Cameron Maybin, the Marlins will be getting one of the most talked about prospects in the MLB. The 20 year old youngster is only two years out of high school. Maybin has compared to being the next Willie Mays, or the next Babe Ruth. Maybin is a five-tool prospect and he has everything that a great player is supposed to have. He posseses speed, power, plate coverage and discipline, great defense, a strong arm, and great potential. The
youngster was somewhat rushed into the majors this past season, and the
organization was accused of ruining his confidence by not playing him
enough.
He was called up on August 17, 2007 and he struck out three
times in his first major league game in Yankees Stadium; Maybin was
batting second in the lineup in his first major league game as a Tiger.
In his second game, he showed off his power by hitting a home run off
of Roger Clemens. After that, Maybin struggled to get things going. He
ended the year, hitting .149 with only 1 homer and 2 RBI's. But Maybin
rarely played in '07. He only played 4 games in AA Erie, and the
Tigers got too anxious and desperate, so they called on Maybin to try to help
the Tigers while they were struggling. There is no doubt that Maybin
will be a huge help to the Marlins organiztion, he just needs more time
to adjust.
Mike Rabelo came through for the Tigers catcher position
when the backup catcher, Vance Wilson was down for the whole year.
Rabello only had a .253 average with one homer and 18 RBI's. Don't let
that fool you. Rabelo is 27, but last season was his first year in the
majors. He was basically forced to play this past season. Vance
Wilson was out for the whole year and Rabelo was the only solid catcher in the
minors that they had left. Those were his statistics from the beginning
of the '07 season, but he shared time with the all star, Ivan Rodriguez. Pudge needed Rabelo to help him out because Pudge wasn't having a good year. Rabelo is not a great player, but he still is a great asset to have on the team.
He went 10-15 with a 5.32 ERA and 137 strikeouts. But maybe a change of scenery might do good for D-train. The switch from the NL to the AL can sometimes be a good thing or a bad thing for some players. But I have trust in Willis. He has already shown that he is a star. Willis was probably the best pitcher on the Florida Marlins team these past couple of years. There has been a lot of pressure on him to perform well, and he has basically been their go-to guy. With him coming to Detroit, he will have the pressure on him to perform well, but that pressure wll be lighter on him. With the rotation of Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, Detroit always expects Verlander and Bonderman to perform well. Willis will either go to the second or third spot in the rotation.
A lot of people are wondering what will happen to the Tigers other third baseman, Brandon Inge. Well, with the acquisition of Cabrera and Jacque Jones, there are rumors that Brandon might be sold to acquire some minor leaguers to replace all of the players that they gave up. He could possibly be shipped off along with Marcus Thames and/or they could possibly trade Jacque Jones. Those are just rumors though, so don't let that worry/excite you.
