The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins dropped a surprise into the baseball news cycle on Monday afternoon, making a somewhat jolting trade between inter-division rivals.
Outfielder Delmon Young was dealt by the Twins to the Tigers in exchange for Class A pitching prospect Cole Nelson and a player to be named later.�With the Twins and Tigers set to open a three-game series Monday night at Comerica Park, Young can jot over to his new clubhouse right away.
Actually, according to the Twins' baseball communications staff, Young was informed of the trade during the team bus ride to the ballpark.�Detroit manager Jim Leyland has already written him into the No. 3 spot in the Tigers' lineup.
Young hasn't had an impressive 2011 thus far, batting .266/.305/.357 with four home runs and 32 RBI in 325 plate appearances for Minnesota. (His reaction to Jim Thome's 596th home run was probably his season highlight.) That follows up his best major league season, in which he compiled 21 homers and 112 RBI to go with a .298/.333/.493 average in 2010. That RBI total was the eighth-highest in the majors last season.
Despite those struggles, the Tigers look to be getting Young at just the right time. Since June 1, he's been batting .302. During the month of August, his OPS is .865.
That would give Detroit better production in front of Miguel Cabrera than it's received from the No. 3 hole for much of the season. Leyland still insisted on hitting Magglio Ordonez, who's batting .223/.280/.295 this season, in that spot much of the time.
(Sunday's 0-for-5 performance versus the Baltimore Orioles may have convinced the Tigers that they needed to add a bat to their outfield, if the team wasn't already leaning in that direction already.)
But this is a surprising move for the Twins, given Young's production last year and their disappointing team performance this season.�At 11 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central, the Twins would appear to be looking more toward next year. And a promising 25-year-old outfielder with one more arbitration year would seemingly be a part of that future.
Yet here Young is, now playing for his third team in six seasons after being selected as the top overall player in the 2003 draft. He'll get almost two months to show the Tigers that he can still fulfill his massive potential and be a part of their future. Otherwise, he may end up looking for a fourth team next year, if Detroit decides to non-tender him.
Also, with Young seemingly taking his spot in the lineup, it appears that Ordonez's spot on the Tigers' roster might be in danger. The team has already designated one popular veteran player for assignment in Brandon Inge. But for now, Detroit avoided making a tough decision by sending second baseman Will Rhymes down to Class Triple-A Toledo.
Leyland says he'll pick his spots for Ordonez, working him in off the bench. However, a DFA still looms as a very real possibility for a Tigers team that looks like it's going all in to win the AL Central.
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