Detroit “President Scott Harris told anyone who would listen that he was in no danger. He wasn’t going to be afraid to take calculated risks.
And sure enough, in his first major trade to the Tigers, he traded closer southpaw and two-time All-Star Gregory Soto and second-year utility man Kody Clemens to the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies for three young, unestablished players with high potential. . .
“I think this trade is a variation on one of those calculated risks that I talked about,” Harris said after finalizing the deal on Saturday, “You’re never fully convinced that young players are going to come into the big leagues. But you’re a little more confident when you already see flashes of their performances in the big leagues.
“It makes you feel better when you get players who have already made it to a high level. It increases your confidence that they will be able to help us in 2023 and beyond.
The Tigers picked up three players who started their season at age 26, two of whom played supporting roles in the Phillies’ pennant race and the playoffs last season.
▶Matt Vierlingan extremely athletic right-handed batting outfielder played in 117 games in his rookie season last year (.246 average, six home runs 32 RBIs) and was on the Phillies’ playoff roster, seeing action in 12 games.
▶Nick Maton, a left-handed hitter can play anywhere on the diamond except the catcher. He was on the Phillies World Series roster after cutting .250/.341/.514 with an .855 OPS in 34 games last season.
▶Donny Sands, a right-handed receiver, was No. 1. Prospect ranked 19 in the Phillies system. He cut .308/.413/.423 in Triple-A last season before making his league debut late in the season.
Harris entered the offseason looking for a left-handed corner infielder and a right-handed corner fielder and certainly Maton and Vierling tick those boxes. But Harris didn’t want to limit them to those roles.
“They’re capable of playing in those roles,” Harris said. Two of them have already interpreted them in the big leagues. But we think there’s more to it for these three players. I wouldn’t limit them to the roles I defined earlier in the offseason.
“We are thrilled to be able to sign these players and can’t wait to see what they can do at Lakeland.”
Vierling and Maton could also be in contention for third base, Harris said. Although the two played all over the field for the Phillies last season, Vierling played mostly in the outfield and Maton mostly in the infield during their careers.
“Vierling is a terrific athlete,” Harris said. He has a history of controlling the strike zone. We also think he’s athletic, versatile, his speed can really improve our overall offensive unit.
Vierling’s sprint speed ranks in the top third percentile in baseball.
“That speed component could be of greater importance with the new rules,” Harris said, referring to new limits on who pitchers can pitch to hold runners. “It’s good to be able to add more speed to our attack.”
Vierling also feasted on left-handed throwing last season, hitting .295 with a .760 OPS. That would make him a good squad candidate with left-handed corner fielders Akil Baddoo and Austin Meadows.
“He was a top athlete in high school and maintained that athleticism all the way to the big leagues,” Harris said. “It’s hard to go from playing outfield your entire career to all of a sudden playing inside positions in a major league pennant race. But that’s what Matt did last year.
Maton has also shown his ability to make major adjustments at the big league level. Not only did he add the outfield game to his resume last year, but he also went through a swing change over the course of the season without missing a beat.
He did most of his damage against the right-handed throw, hitting .539 with an .877 OPS. That sets up as a potential platoon at third base with Maton and Vierling if the Tigers choose to go that route.
“Nick also has a history of sweetspot control and he’s had the track record for hitting the right-handed pitcher throughout his professional career,” Harris said. “He feels comfortable both on the grass (outfield) and in the dirt (infield). He and Matt both do it. These types of players are hard to find and we believe we’ve added two who have played in the big leagues before.
As for Sands, Harris said he’s always been a strong defensive receiver, but the bat has started to recover over the past two years.
“We’re confident in his ability to help our pitchers in the strike zone,” Harris said. “And we saw more juice flashes in the bat at Triple-A last year and we think there are more of them there.”
Sands will come to camp competing with Jake Rogers and unscheduled guest veteran Andrew Knapp, another ex-Phillie, to back up presumptive starter Eric Haase.
“These trades are always difficult, especially for players who have never been in another organization,” Harris said. It’s a Saturday afternoon and Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens just got a call saying they were traded. It’s tough for anyone, especially two players who have been Tigers throughout their professional careers.
“We thank them for their contributions to our organization and wish them well in Philadelphia.”
Soto, who turns 28 in February, has been with the Tigers organization for 10 years. He’s converted 48 of 52 save chances over the past two seasons, but he’s also struggled with his command. Last season, he became the sixth player in major league history to lose 11 games while saving at least 30.
In December, Harris traded late-inning reliever Joe Jimenez to the Atlanta Braves and with left-hander Andrew Chafin opting for free agency, the Tigers’ bullpen guard was slimmed down.
“The bullpen was an area of strength for us, but we also have to tackle the areas of weakness,” Harris said. “We’ve done a lot of work to add to our pitching and defense to stabilize this group. And we need to reshape the offense. I’ve been talking about it since the day I got here.”
Alex Lange, Jose Cisnero and Jason Foley will likely come to camp as a backup trio, but Harris said it’s too early to start handing out roles.
“There’s still a lot of offseason left,” he said. “We want to see how all of our pitchers behave when they get to camp. I think we’re going to be open-minded. I know AJ (Hinch, manager) has been open-minded about that in the past. Additionally, I think there are roles beyond the closest that are critically important to a high performance pen.
“We’ll see what it looks like in Lakeland and then start making those decisions.”
Harris said he’s been working on adding a left-handed reliever to the mix. With Soto gone, Tyler Alexander is the only left-handed reliever on the roster.
“We are working hard on this,” he said. “It may not be a major league deal (an indication that the Tigers are not renewing their deal on Chafin), but someone we’re excited about. We also have minor league pitchers who are on about to take a step forward.”
Among those who will be in the fight are Jake Higginbotham, Sean Guenther and Zach Logue.
Harris said there were internal discussions about keeping Soto’s trade chip until the trading deadline. But in the end, he felt he got the deal he wanted now.
“We felt like this deal was over for us,” he said. “We wanted to close the deal now. Performance next year, even in the first half of next year, is never a certainty. That would be another risk we would have taken. It’s not a comment on Gregory as a pitcher, it’s just a reality of performance in this industry.
“We thought if we could get a deal that was out of the question for us, we should be willing to accept it. And we’re delighted to have reunited with players who have the chance to help us in 2023 and beyond. .”
The deal, first reported by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi and confirmed on the news, is pending physical.
Twitter@cmccosky
Twitter: @cmccosky
0 Comments