By Jonathan Lee
July 24, 2012

Tigers Acquire Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante from Marlins for the Stretch Run

Detroit is all in.  That much is clear after the move made a nine-figure commitment to Prince Fielder despite the presence of Miguel Cabrera and other first-base, DH-types on the roster.  The Tigers are playing for today, and that strategy was furthered by their trade with the Marlins for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez.  Detroit gave up a package of prospects centered around pitcher Jacob Turner.

The move improved Detroit’s outlook by 1.1 wins over the rest of the season.  The Tigers are six percent more likely to win the AL Central over the White Sox, an important goal given the new playoff structure.  Sanchez replaces the injured Drew Smyly in the rotation.  While he has talent, his production hasn’t quite matched it but he should still be solid.

The real upgrade is at second base.  Infante is not a special player by any means, but he plays solid defense and is having one of the best offensive seasons of his career.  His triple slash line of .287/.312/.442 doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but he represents a large improvement over the group the Tigers have been using at second consisting of Ramon Santiago, Ryan Raburn, and Danny Worth.

While not as glamorous a move as Ichiro to New York, this one should be much more impactful.  Detroit is clearly a better team today than it was before the deal.