AL Central front runners trade moves
The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians are both vying for an American League Central division title in 2011, up until today they were both also vying for the services of Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski decided that the cost for Jimenez was too high and pulled a separate deal with the Seattle Mariners. The Indians stuck to their guns and traded for a legit ace and now have to be looked at as the favorites to win this division. Of course the Tigers will go down fighting all the way to the last out of the season.
The Tigers added Starting Pitcher Doug Fister, and Relief Pitcher David Pauley. They gave up Charlie Furbush (who never worked out as the fifth starter), Casper Wells (an extra outfield player on the big team roster), and prospect third baseman Francisco Martinez (who was expendable because of the presence of Nick Castellanos). Fister will fit nicely at the back end of Detroit rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, and Brad Penny. Pauley will be a nice addition to the bullpen that could use an influx of talent.
The Indians gave up prospect pitchers Drew Pomeranz, and Alex White who were both ranked in the top five prospects for their organization, and another minor league player of little consequence. It is a heavy price to pay especially considering this team already added Kosuke Fukidome a few days ago to help fill in a depth issue in their outfield. Jimenez is a pretty good pitcher who has bad numbers because of the team and stadium he played in. He is a front line starter that should give the Indians a number of wins in their stretch run.
In the end these are two strong teams that made pretty good moves to counter each other in search of an AL Central title.
Related Links:
•Detroit Tigers news and notes
•Cleveland Indians news and notes
•Joshua Lobdell.com
