The tigers received calls and had conversations on Gregory Soto During months. As winter approached, President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris issued an executive order.
“We were keen to go into the winter, if we could get a deal that was over the line for us we should be ready to take it,” Harris said.
Yes, the Tigers wondered what might happen if they kept Soto until the trade deadline, perhaps hoping his stock would rise, perhaps dreaming of being able to leverage their All-Star double for a biggest name mid-season.
But Harris and the Tigers clearly feel they got the right value in return on Saturday, when they traded Soto and the infielder Cody Clemens to the Phillies in exchange for Matt Vierling, Nick Maton and catcher Donny Sands.
Now let’s see if the Tigers are right in their ratings and if these three players can help the Tigers in 2023 and beyond.
From the Tigers’ perspective, they have three young, controllable hitters who have shown good discipline at the plate and could have more upside.
Vierling, an outfielder who also played first, second and third in the major leagues, is Exhibit A.
Vierling’s StatCast profile immediately catches the eye: he ranked in the 86th percentile among MLB players in average exit speed, the 80th percentile in arm strength and the 97th percentile in sprint speed. Translation: He hits the ball hard, has a strong arm, and borders on elite speed.
The trick will be to see if the Tigers can unlock all of those tools and help Vierling become an MLB regular. Vierling hit just .246 with a .297 on-base percentage and six home runs in 325 MLB at-bats for the Phillies last season. He came through the Phillies system with a reputation for hitting too many of his hard-hitting balls on the ground.
Vierling, however, played in 12 playoff games for the Phillies last fall and has all the ingredients needed to be a productive player. He’s a right-handed hitter who hit .295 against left-handers last season, perhaps making him a great field option for a left-handed bat-heavy Tigers outfield.
“With Matt there’s a ton of power and just raw speed,” Harris said. “I think that’s the 97th percentile sprint sprint in the big leagues. It’s really hard to find. He also has a lot of athleticism. He was a top athlete in high school and maintained that athleticism all the way to the major leagues.
In Maton, the Tigers get another intriguing skill set. He is a versatile infielder who can also play on the grass and has a .330 on-base percentage in 216 career MLB plate appearances. Maton had 138 OPS+ in his 34 games with the Phillies last season, and Harris said the Tigers were impressed with the adjustments Maton made mid-season.
“First of all, when you watch videos of these guys, they do it easily,” Harris said. “When you watch Nick take ground balls on dirt, it’s easy. These are smooth actions. He’s got plenty of arms to make deep plays in the hole, which gives us the impression he’s going to be comfortable on third and everywhere else.
This trade gives us a bit of a clearer picture of what next season’s Tigers roster will look like. Expect to see plenty of platoons and players moving around the diamond. Harris said he expects both Vierling and Maton to be options to play just about any position. Harris said both players will play a role in claiming the Tigers vacancy at third base.
“A theme you’re going to see at Lakeland is we’re going to have guy reps all over the diamond,” Harris said. “I think these players have a head start because they’ve already made it to the big leagues.”
Sands, the third player acquired in the deal, shouldn’t be overlooked either. He was ranked No. 21 prospect and hit .308 with a .413 OBP in Triple A last season. Although he was considered an early catcher at bat, Harris gave a rave review of Sands’ defense. If true, Sands could face Eric Hase and Jacques Rogers to play next season.
Sands, 26, has rated well in height framing metrics in the past.
“We really like his ability to help our pitchers in the strike zone,” Harris said. “We really think he’s going to be a good defensive receiver for us, and when you have a positive defender behind the plate, you want to put him behind the plate as much as possible.”
Acquiring those three cost the Tigers Soto, their closest up-and-down who showed flashes of dominance but also frustrating lapses on command. They also lost Clemens, a 26-year-old utility player who hit .145 in the majors last year. Trading Clemens essentially frees up space for other players to have opportunities in the infield. Parting with Soto in exchange for those hitters is another example of Harris’ “calculated risk” philosophy. in Soto and Joe Jimenez, the Tigers traded two key members of the bullpen from last season. Harris also said the Tigers have been working hard to add another left-handed reliever — possibly on a minor league contract — to the bullpen mix to help replace Soto.
“The bullpen was an area of strength for us,” Harris said. But we must also tackle the area of weakness. We’ve done a lot of work to add to our pitching and defense to stabilize this group, and we need to reshape the offensive identity. I’ve been talking about it since the day I got here.
None of the players the Tigers have received in return are guaranteed to produce in the majors next season. But the Tigers filled their most important needs: a left-handed infielder in Maton, a right-handed outfielder in Vierling and an assist catch in Sands.
It’s unclear if the Tigers will seek more hitters through free agency. But the roster picture is getting clearer, with the addition of three players who appear to fit Harris’ long-term vision.
Now, we’re waiting to see if this deal actually helps the Tigers get the quality big leaguers they desperately need.
“You’re never entirely convinced that young players are going to hit the big leagues, but you’re a little more confident when you’ve seen flashes of them playing in the big leagues before,” Harris said. “With Nick and Matt we’ve seen that in the big leagues before, and with Donny he’s played at a very high level in Triple A with the bat… It increases the confidence that they’re going to be able to help us in 23 years and beyond.
(Top photo by Matt Vierling: Kyle Ross/USA Today)
0 Comments