AJ was a damned good center fielder. And although he was struggling at the plate the last few years, recently he's been on a tear, looking like the old Austin Jackson. I really liked him. Oh well. We'll see how it works out.
Have to say I'm a little surprised. Rotation was not the biggest hole they needed to fill and losing Jackson's defensive ability (remember there's a good chance the ALCS will be in Comerica and the Coliseum) and Smyly from the pen could weaken the ability to win the 1-0 games between those two pitching staffs.
If you are a glass full type of person, you could say: upgraded the rotation, downgraded the outfield, and helped the pen by getting a starter that goes deep into games more often than not.
If you're glass overflowing type of person, you could say you upgraded the rotation, upgraded the outfield offensively by creating regular playing time for Rajai, and upgraded the bullpen by reducing the amount of innings they should be called upon.
If you're a broken glass person, you can focus on a definite defensive downgrade, further downgrading of an already terrible bullpen, and a potential offensive outfield nightmare if/when Davis and JD Martinez regress to the mean.
With Verlander just a fourth starter at this point in his career (in terms of stuff), the rotation looks better in name than in actual ability, but there is no doubt Price is a huge upgrade over Smyly.
back to back to back Cy Young winners. I don't think even Steinbrenner ever pulled that off did he? Plus Porcello and Sanchez. . .
Jackson at the plate was just a big sine wave. His "improvements" rarely last for long.
The last 3 Cy Young winners in 1 pitching rotation.
WOW!!
His bat not so much. This move is obviously an answer to Oakland's moves yesterday.
Remember people the Tigers can still get a CF or another BP arm before the waiver deadline in August. But for the forseeable future it's Rajai Davis and maybe Ezequiel Carerra as your CF platoon.
Probably heresy to say it, but Verlander would make a nice setup/closer in the playoffs. Just let him rear back and fire for an inning or two. If he doesn't put it back together as a starter it might be a reasonable option.
bullpen continues to give away game after game.
Now we have the best starters in the league. And a terrible pen. And no centerfielder. And no lead-off hitter. And the worst hitting catcher in either league. And a rookie shortstop and 3rd baseman.
Unless Miggy and VMart carry us and the pitchers all go 9 innings.....
Basically, the trade is Jackson/Smyly for Carrera/Price. From a Tigers perspective, that seems fantastic.
The bullpen blows another game. This trade looks incredibly great on paper, but still doesn't solve that major issue going into the postseason.
Dat Rotation.
Holy shit. The last 3 Cy Young winners, plus last years ERA champ, and Porcello—who is having a breakout season.
Like. Dayum son.
Sad to see Jackson and Smyly go, but they were tradeable.
But that rotation.
Damn
This is OT
You are the epitome of awful.
Getting Price for Jackson and Smyly is a huge steal. Not having to give up prospects is amazing. Jackson wasn't going to be resigned next year anyway so no biggie. Smyly hurts because he's a lefty and is coming into his own, but when you have a chance to get David Price, you do it. Looks like its Davis and Carerra in center as others have said, and we still have a shot to upgrade the pen before the august 31st waiver deadline. I trust Dombrowski will get it done.
If we still have Fister and his 2.69 era, this trade isn't necessary. While I acknowledge Price to be somewhat superior to Fister, the net trade is arguably Smyly and Jackson for Roy and Krol.
Fister is really underrated IMO. He has done nothing but pitch well everywhere he goes - on the old Tigers teams of 12-15 years ago he would have been their ace for 6-8 years.
Looking at how he compares to Price who is an all everything pitcher; last 3 years Price WHIP 1.10, 1.10, 1.05. Fister 1.19, 1.31, 1.08 (NL on the last one). Fister is behind of course but it's not a huge margin and we're talking comparisons to one of the top 5 pitchers in the league the last 5 years.
To put in perspective Max is 1.27, 0.97, 1.17 the past 3 years.
i like fister but he isn't in prices's league. no pun intended.
August 1st, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
Tigers would be in a better position if they had just kept Fister to begin with.
Price is better than Flister, but not by nearly as much as eveyone thinks. Fister is actually having a better year, though in the NL. And it wouldn't have cost us anything to get Fister, because we ALREADY HAD HIM.
I think the Tigers jumped the gun and assumed they were signing Scherzer long-term so they started freeing up money for him before he even signed and traded Fister. When he refused to sign, they got caught with their pants down. This is the deal to fix that. They aren't even going to try and sign Scherzer again now, and instead will throw the money at Price, which IMO, is just fine.
If I'm a GM and Dave Dombrowski calls to talk a trade, I'd probably just hang up on him.
The Tigers will miss AJ's defense, but he was an inconsistent offensive player. Also, his deal is coming up soon, and his agent is Scott Boras, so they might as well get someone for him while they can.