OT: Tigers acquire SS Alex Gonzalez
Just a couple days after trading for Angels SS/Utility man Andrew Romine to compete in a SS platoon, the Tigers have acquired veteran SS Alex Gonzalez. Tigers traded away Steve Lombardozzi, who was acquired in the Fister trade.
Looks like the SS position in now in the hands of the 37-year old, 15 year veteran, and Romine will handle utility duties at 2B, SS and 3B. Bad news for Danny Worth fans.
March 24th, 2014 at 10:54 AM ^
as Danny Worth has had his opportunities with the Tigers, but not cashed in.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^
Yup. His mother will be upset.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
Lynn Henning?
March 24th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
Lombardozzi wasn't really even an option at SS.
As for Romine, he's a 27-yr old who never has hit much at any level. I didn't think he was at all the answer when the Tigers announced his acquisition a few days ago. When he does play, a huge hole in the batting lineup.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
iglesias wasnt much of a hitting threat either, he had a good season last year so has potential but he wasnt expected to light it up from what i have read
March 24th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
but an offensive threat in that Iggy is good-to-great at small-ball, his speed and base-running being a big plus. Had a lot of infield hits, could bunt well (both in sac-bunt situations or for an occasional base hit), and when hot, is a good spray-hitter. His complete offensive package translates well to being counted on for a BA of .275+ with good OBP.
I was really looking forward to him being the long-term answer at SS. Guess we'll have to wait 'til next year to see.
but iglesias is the best fielding shortstop i've seen since ozzie smith. that's his value.
March 24th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
If you believe some of the rumors (and from what I've heard and from who, I definitely believe them), Fister may have been traded for the same reason Avisail Garcia was traded and Prince was traded.
To clean house of guys that didn't exactly "get along" in the clubhouse or outside of it. I don't know if there's a link that actually names Fister, but I've heard his name thrown into the mix of guys that Prince Fielder has reason to be pissed at.
http://www.hallofverygood.com/2013-articles/december/wait-that-s-why-th…
http://diamondhoggers.com/2013/12/20/a-rumor-ill-print-about-prince-fie…
March 25th, 2014 at 12:43 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
Even we had gotten no one usable out of it, I understood the Fister trade completely...up until the other day when Max shot down the the extension offer.
March 24th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
Whatever it takes to win a title.
March 24th, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^
let's hope it's not the bust
March 24th, 2014 at 11:03 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
I always got him, Matt Joyce, Ryan Rayburn, and Clete Thomas confused as the same person.
Just goes to show that you can be terrible at baseball and women will still fall all over themselves for you.
See also: Boesch, Brennan.
Just goes to show that you can be terrible at baseball and women will still fall all over themselves for you. See also:Fixed that for you...Boesch, BrennanInge, Brandon.
I was trying to think of another player to include but my mind was blank. Thank you for reminding me of this video!
Classic John Kerfoot.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
Ah, spring
March 24th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
AGone has the "can't hit/can't field" box checked. Was that an option?
March 24th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
He is 37 and was hitting .211 last yer before he was cut. Romine is younger and has a better shot catching lightning in a bottle hitting wise than a guy who probably should have retired years ago.
Gonzalez's average was bad--huge holes in that swing. I'm shocked there weren't better options. I believe Romine will be the better hitter--at least he can run. I'll be mildly surprised if AG is still with the team come July.
March 24th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
Gonzalez can neither hit nor field anymore. He's washed up.
Mariners must have wanted too much for Nick Franklin.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
This is a very strange trade. He is 37 was released last year in june and was only on a minor league deal and may have been cut in a couple days by the orioles.... He only hit .211 last year.... There are reports that Baltimores scouts think he can't play ss anymore. Its not like Lombardozi was a huge price tag but if Lombardozi is only worth Gonzalez this makes the Fister trade even more head scratching......
March 24th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
Outside of the Fielder trade, he's had a very questionable offseason.
Not a fan of it.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
Oh man, if only Peralta hadn't gotten busted last season. Seems like the Tigers ahve been aplying one band-aid after another since that.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
would not have been re-signed anyway. DD was going to upgrade the defense up the middle whether Peralta was busted or not.
...but Peralta did have a good season and I'm not sure there were at lot of free-agent/trade option this past offseason either so Johny might well have returned. Guess we'll just never know.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
Have faith in Dombrowski all he's done since arriving in the Motor City is win.
March 24th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
Exactly. Not every trade is going to look good right away (or even be good in the long run) but the aggregate of DD's moves has made really good teams for a decade. Let's see if he knows what he's doing. I'm not saying he's above criticism, but he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt.
could've been used to justify the Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon signings by Joe Dumars. This offseason has been horrible, save for the Kinsler trade and Ausmus signing. The bullpen is trash, the lineup has been severely downgraded, and the pitching staff is also worse in a season where the Tigers absolutely have to "win now". Dombrowski's made some good moves in the past, but those were widely lauded at the time too. These moves have, objectively, been horrible.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
Not a very exciting pickup to say the least.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
as the Tigers either couldn't pry Nick Franklin away from the Mariners or felt that he wasn't the answer/wasn't any more ready than anyone else already in the Tiger farm system.
Gonzalez is nothing more than a stop-gap answer, a mediocre fielder close to the end of his career, a hitter with occasional pop that might be able to hit .260 but much more likely .220. Until one of the youngsters in the minors catches fire, this looks like the best the Tigers can do without giving up too much from down on the farm.
Someone in the Tiger organization screwed up in their monitoring of Iglasias and his leg problems, which were already an issue last fall. Hard to believe they didn't do a better job of evaluating him medically, when they put all their eggs in that basket, not having anyone as a capable backup in case of injury.
...not that I know anything but the Iglesias injury situation almost makes me think the Red Sox pulled a fast one on the Tigers with last summer's trade. Hopefully, Iggy eventually recovers and proves himself not to be a lemon.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^
March 24th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^
So wait, you are saying that the guy they picked up for Fister, who probalby won't ever even pitch well enough to replace FISTER, is now also going to replace Cy-Young winning SCHERZER too? Seriously?
Expected improvements from Smyly (a pitcher who has never gone 100 innings in the majors), Porcello (a pitcher with a career ERA of 4.51 and a WHIP near 1.4 who isn't that young anymore, Castelleanous (a player we already expected to contribute heavily) and Iglesias (a player currently out for the season with fractures in both legs) is going to make up for losing a Cy-Young winning pticher? What planet are you living on?
I'll tell you what? I'll sell you my house. Expected improvements in the next year place the value around $10 million. It's a steal.
He had a tolerable season last year. He pitched really well against righties but got absolutely lit up by lefties. Lefties hit .300 .358 .448 against him. He was basically lighter fluid for left-handed hitters.
He did dominate righties pretty well, which is cause for SOME encouragement. However my personal guess is that his best season(s) will be worse than a Doug Fister average season.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:45 AM ^
There are no palatable options at SS in MLB right now. Trading Lombardozzi for Alex Gonzales seems like a push, but the Tigers baseball ops are probably confident that he has a season of competent glove work left in the tank. Sometimes the devil you know, etc.
March 24th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
On the bright side, the Tigers may not have to give up their first round pick for Drew or at least can re-evaluate the SS position June 1st if Drew is still available.