4:59pm: The teams also swap the picks they obtained in last week's competitive balance lottery, Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets. The Marlins obtain prospects Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn along with Turner, Gammons tweets. The Tigers will now have the last pick in compensation round A (after the first round), while the Marlins will have the final pick in compensation round B (after the second round).
4:41pm: The Tigers have addressed their two most pressing needs with one trade, acquiring Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez from the Marlins in a deal that will send top pitching prospect Jacob Turner to Miami. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported the trade, which suggests the Marlins are willing to look to 2013 and beyond following a disappointing 44-51 start to the season (on Twitter).
The Marlins are extremely disappointed by their team's performance and are prepared to make a series of trades, Ken Rosenthal and Morosi report (on Twitter). Josh Johnson, Randy Choate and Carlos Lee are among the team's possible trade chips.
Infante, who played for the Tigers from 2002-07, should provide Detroit with an offensive boost at second base. Tigers second basemen — mainly Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn — have combined for an MLB-worst .201/.286/.276 batting line. Infante, who's in the first year of a two-year, $8MM contract, has a .287/.312/.442 batting line in 347 plate appearances this year.
Meanwhile, Sanchez will provide Detroit with an established starter to go along with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Doug Fister. Drew Smyly, now on the disabled list, provides the team with an additional option. Sanchez, 28, has a 3.94 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 121 innings for Miami this year. He's earning $8MM this year and is on track to hit free agency after the season. The Tigers won't be able to obtain compensatory draft picks for Sanchez, since he was acquired midseason.
Turner, the ninth overall selection in 2009, entered the season as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America. He started for the Tigers yesterday, helping Detroit beat the White Sox 6-4. The 21-year-old has spent most of the season in the minor leagues, where he has a 2.77 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 84 1/3 innings so far in 2012.
Flynn, 22, has a 3.95 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 107 innings as a starter at Class A and Double-A this year. The 6'8" left-hander was a seventh round selection in 2011. Brantly, 23, is a catcher who has spent the 2012 season in the upper minors. He has a .287/.332/.387 batting line in 334 plate appearances so far this year.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro first reported Turner's inclusion in the deal (on Twitter).
TophersReds
Finally an unexpected trade!
oaklandfan22
Yesss! Here we go some action!
TheReturnOfMrBlanks
Sweet baby jesus……
Andrew Ward
Its for Jacob Turner
Andrew Ward
plus others according to Jon Morosi
rainyperez
Yeah I was going to say if it’s just for Jacob Turner the Marlins got fleeced again by the Tigers.
Richard Gilboy
Oh god… Will Hanley actually move?
rainyperez
It’s looking likely. Johnson could be on the move as well.
rikersbeard
i hope the jays sell a quarter of the farm for Johnson
WisBrave
They were suppose to trade Omar back to the Braves.
DerekJeterDan
Hitting F5 has finally paid off!
Wow what a deal for the Tigers.
Infante fills in at second perfecftly and Sanchez is a great guy to add to the rotation.
Marlins getting Turner! So unexpected.
TheReturnOfMrBlanks
Pretty sweet trade, I wonder how many guys the Marlins to send off
User 4245925809
Better than that.. Sanchez is the most under rated SP on the market…
Man I wanted him in Boston… he will slide to #2 on the Tiger staff, Tiger fans probably have paid him no mind and are in for a pure treat.. The guy has been the stand in Ace of the marlins staff for 2 years with JJ’s injuries and his ineffectiveness this year.
Can’t believe the tigers got a SOLID SS + Sanchez this cheaply..
Chisox and Tribe are in trouble.. Infante can snag anything near the hole and.. Man… What a deal.. Now I may pull for them even.. Just a great deal…
Michael Misrahi
Infante is a 2B.
User 4245925809
My fault.. Dunno what was thinking and I watch them…
Maybe he and reyes should have switched huh…
Brandon
Yup, but can also play SS 3B and CF. Will play nothing but 2B though for Detroit.
coolstorybro222
he can play anywhere.
CtTigersfan
Would rather have had Garza and Barney.
cgriffith
I don’t mind this move Cubs are sitting on there hands with Dempster and Garza I hope Epstein gets screwed – If I was a Cubs fans I would not be happy.
MaineSox
The only thing Garza has on Sanchez is team control (and the fact that that can get you draft compensation), Sanchez is the better pitcher and will help the Tigers more down the stretch.
Jerry Mandering
Guessing Jacob Turner and maybe Raburn are involved?
Lefty
Wow! Didn’t think they’d do it (Marlins).
Darn those Tigers!
Jeff Snedden
ouch Tigers….
gamaize
Ouch AL Central. 🙂
WisBrave
Is this the start of Marlins fire sale? Weren’t the suppose to win the World Series first?
erm016
I have a comment waiting on approval. Doubt it’ll make it. lol
erm016
Someone only felt like doing half of their job?
Javier Mejia
Things are getting FUN! Dodgers get in this, we need a big bat at either left, 3rd or first.
Carlin Davidson
or all of the above…
rsanchez1
Please, Dodgers, take Hanley.
Javier Mejia
I’ll take a risk, but marlin would have to send some moeny, can he be like braun and move out to LF after the somehwt fail at 3B.
jill
Infante is a nice add and Anibal can finally stop pitching scared. Love this deal for the Tigers!
1980CHAMPS
Not with that infield defense!
jill
I was actually thinking of all of the low scoring games he’s been involved in. He’s taken some tough losses. He’s used to having bad defense playing behind him.. I think he’s going to be okay with the extra runs that he’ll get.
jwsox
a groundball pitcher moving to a team with one of the worst defenses in the league? sounds scary
Mike Oxlong
has worked out pretty well for these guys named Fister and Porcello
mlbscout6
Sanchez is a strikeout pitcher.
Dom Augustine
man, the Pirates could have benefited from trading very little to get a solid starter in Sanchez and a nice middle-infield option in Infante. Tigers make out like bandits IMO
baseball52
Wow
Matt Longosky
wow. the tigers got a steal on this one
jwsox
its a solid trade far from a steal, Turner has the potential to be a true top of the rotation arm, Infante is a good middle infielder and sanchez is nothing more than a 5th starter in the AL, its a solid trade not a steal at all
gamaize
Solid trade sounds about right. Trade for now, Ilitch is 80+ and wants a WS title before he goes.
Would adjust Turner high end potential from a #1 to a more realistic #2 or 3. Still an excellent prospect.
diesel2410
I guess the Tigers were concerned about Turner’s recent struggles?
Brandon
I don’t think concerned so much but when you fill two big major league holes with two veteran players who are still reasonably young and cheap. We also get Infante next year at only 4 mil. Sanchez is a free agent but shouldn’t cost too much to re up if we decide to next season.
LifelongMets
The Marlins haven’t had much luck in trades with the Tigers… See the Cabrera trade..
1980CHAMPS
Can you imagine if the Marlins kept him? Plus Cabrera signed a team friendly deal with the Tigers.
Jason_F
Team friendly now = $20MM+/year
formerdraftpick 2
Is that all the Marlins received? It seems like the Tigers got an awesome deal.
Richard Gilboy
The Marlins will also receive a free copy of 8 Mile autographed and sat on by Prince Fielder.
formerdraftpick 2
If that’s the case, I think the trade is Even Steven.
Guest 4356
Sucks as a Jays fan, wanted the Animal. Tigers gonna walk into the playoffs now.
Corey 2
Sounds like Tigers are out on Dempster and/or Garza.
Brandon
Well obviously.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
I pray they get more than Turner.
Stoibs
Interesting. Seems like the Cubs could have acquired Turner+ for Garza and Barney. Would way rather have Turner than Lee.
Stoibs
Brantly, Turner, and Flynn would have been a very nice haul for the Cubs. That sucks for Jed/Theo.
DerekJeterDan
Rosenthal is also reporting that the Marlins will be getting more in this trade.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
I like Turner’s potential but I haven’t been impressed by him…maybe he can even out the Miggy deal a little…lol
formerdraftpick 2
I was hoping the Pirates would have made a move for Omar. Would have been a nice 3B, SS, OF for the team in the #1 or 2 slot in the lineup.
Gothapotamus
World Series odds should be changing …
ARod's Ring
What a day! the Tigers are running away with the division now! hopefully Cashman does something!!
jwsox
why do you say that? their bullpen is still bad, their defense is still one of the worst in the league and they still need pitching depth, sanchez is nice but he is mediocre he is 3.9 ERA in the NL thats going to go up coming over to the AL, he is a 5th starter, the tigers truly need another top of the rotation guy. Its a legit 2 team race, the soxs biggest issue the past few weeks has been the pen, with Crain coming back and Myers coming over it got a ton better, and with floyd off the DL and hopefully Danks back soon the rotation should get a boost, plus expect kenny williams to make a trade sooner than later…
Im not saying the sox will win the central, but Its going to be an exciting 2 team race, Either way solid trade for the tigers, I dont know if it was worth giving up turner
gamaize
May want to double check the pen comment, pen coming around very nicely as are the SP. Defense is poor to say the least. Offense rounding into form as you saw.
Andrew Ward
Marlins get Turner, Rob Brantly, and Brian Flynn
Javier Mejia
And SOOO many on ESPN predicted them in the playoffs, well guillen gets fired too in my opinion.
mlbscout6
Ozzie Guillen should be nothing more then a 3rdbase coach or a burger flipper at McDonalds
101andcounting
Youkilis + Myers or Infante + Sanchez. AL Central is going to be interesting this year.
cgriffith
I’ll take the Tigers
ImperialStout
Wait…. so is it just Jacob Turner now??
ImperialStout
Ah…. it was adjusted. They removed the part about more being added. Then more was added.
DerekJeterDan
The comp pick has been traded! This deal will go down in Major League History!
1st time ever!!!
1980CHAMPS
Baseball turning into the NFL?
NYPOTENCE
About time some pick trading occurs in my mind normal picks should be allowed to be traded as well as this would create more entertainment and more interesting trades.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Gammons says the deal is ”
A Sanchez, Infante and comp balance pick for Jacob Turner, Rob Brantly, , Brian Flynn and Det. comp pick.”
Blue387
I wonder what it would take for the Marlins to trade Jose Reyes.
Slopeboy
At this point, Ruben Tejada!
Shane Maples
Nice to finally see some action!
WrigleyTerror37
Detroit to welcome back Infante, if thats all Detroit gave up, great deal!
55saveslives
So do we officially start with the “Franchise on Showtime” curse??
rsanchez1
Or do we start the Ozzie Guillen curse? This isn’t the first time he took his circus to TV.
esasc4
braves are sending uggla, spruill and gilmartin to the tiger for infante and sanchez
cgriffith
This was predictable for trade partners:
Dombrowski former Marlins GM (WS 1997, 2003) uses his connections to get back Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. got Miguel Cabrera in 2008 from the Marlins for Andrew Miller. DD comes through again, and we still have Castenellos
OptimisticMarlinsFan
This offseason I was so against trading Hanley and JJ…now I honestly could care less if they are dealt if the return is good enough.
Scott Boudreau
Here’s hoping Jacob Turner works out better for the Marlins than Andrew Miller did.
rsanchez1
Hahahaha hahaha ha ha… oh 🙁
Devon Henry
C’mon Dipoto pick up Hanley or Sheilds.
jwsox
awesome so the marlins give up one of their top prospects to get Lee and a week later are about to start selling off the team. I wonder whos next, My guess is Reyes, Buehrle, Bell are the only ones who are untouchable(realistically Stanton should be on that list too but considering their FO has shown that they have no clue what they are doing he wont be) because of contracts.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Dominguez won’t do anything at the MLB level except be good defensively but I agree it was asinine to trade him for Carlos Lee.
rsanchez1
Bell is only untouchable because no one is willing to touch him.
Jerry Mandering
Marlins got a good haul here. Turner and Brantley were the Tigers number 1 and 6 prospects according to Fangraphs and the lefty Flynn has a lot of potential as well.
55saveslives
Yanks get Ichiro :O
3runhomer
This is a huge pickup for the Tigers! I wonder if they are still interested in moving Peralta?
GoFish
The Marlins have also tried to trade Ozzie Guillen. They have not been successful.
rsanchez1
Marlins tried to trade Ozzie Guillen to the Cubs in return for Steve Bartman. As soon as the Marlins demanded post-season tickets for Bartman at Wrigley Field, negotiations broke down.
Christopher Mehegan
way to go ben cherington anibal sanchez a pitcher that u were interested in goes to the tigers which was a trade target u were interested in acquiring way to go numbnuts get a deal done for anibals teammate josh johnson or something to help out the pitching rotation c’mon benny boy get busy here get a deal done for josh johnson get the thumb out of ur backside get something done now benny boy
101andcounting
Somebody needs to buy you some punctuation marks, kid.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Solid deal for the Fish. Sanchez will command decent money on the market this offseason and Infante isn’t worth much to the team as he isn’t a franchise 2B. Hopefully Turner can be a mainstay in the rotation with Brantly catching him every 5th day in the near future.
RHova87
seriously? God awful trade for the Tigers…
Brandon
Yea? How so?
OptimisticMarlinsFan
It’s not awful because they have a good chance to win now…it may turn out to be bad for them in the future but anything can happen with Turner, Brantly, and Flynn.
Brandon
Exactly right. Good trade for both teams. Fills a huge need for the Tiger’s right now and gives the Marlins a potentially great starting pitcher.
Michael Misrahi
The Marlins may have done quite well in this trade. Consider the fact that Anibal was walking at the end of the season and may not have received a qualifying offer, as well as the fact Omar Infante is a relatively below avg. power, above avg. defender who doesn’t walk. The Marlins shed 6 million of this years payroll, money desperately needed to spend in the free agent market this coming off-season where they could potentially reel in a true top of the rotation starter. Turner may turn out to be a great pitcher, maybe he ends up at an innings eater. Either way, gaining 4+ years of control of any serviceable major league starter has value. Don’t know much about the other prospects other than scanning their minor league numbers, but if they turn out to be a split-time catcher and a bullpen arm within the next 2 years, I say the Marlins certainly got their fair share. Not to say the Tigers haven’t plugged some glaring holes, but they arguably overpaid.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Perfect analysis. Great return for these two.
Brandon
It works out very well for both, but to say Infante is below avg in terms of power is silly. Remember he plays 2B not a corner OF. He doesn’t hit a ton of home runs but he drives the ball in the gap a lot and has a fairly high SLG and OPS for the position. Gap hitter at Comerica Park with some of the biggest gaps of any park. He fits us so well. Also like you said above avg defense and avg to slightly above average speed. All 3 things the Tiger’s lack at that position and defense and team speed as a whole is lacking in Detroit. Take into consideration he is still reasonably young at 30 and under control next year for only 4 million. Sanchez is an underrated starter who has put up back to back good years before this season. High K’s low BB’s, fairly young at 28 and fairly priced and shouldn’t command a massive contract on the market next season. I love it. The Marlins also did well. Top pitching prospect and top LEFT HANDED hitting catching prospect.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Infante is 30 btw.
R.D.
This Tigers rotation suddenly looks really really good.
Brandon
In much more shocking news the Yankees just picked up Ichiro? WHAT? Wow.
Dan Rucinski
he’s batting .260 and batted .270 last year. And he’s 39. He’s washed up. Mariners paid the Yanks to take him
Guest 4355
According to some sources, thanks to the “legendary Marlins cheapness”
Anibal’s service time in the majors has worked out to where he’s going
to end this season 5.99 seasons of MLB service…. Meaning he won’t be a
free agent at the end of this season after all. Meaning the Tigers get
two years of Infante and two years of Sanchez. Meaning the Marlins got wrecked.
Jeff Westcott
I think you’re wrong about this. According to Baseball Reference (which I would consider to be pretty authoritative) Sanchez entered the season with a service time of 5.099 (5 years and 99 days) which is more than 5 and a half seasons. That would mean that he only needed 73 more days of big league service this year to qualify for free agency next year and he’s already well past that point.
Mike Oxlong
I don’t think it will really matter since Illitch will sell a few more hot and readys and gladly throw another 8 mill at Sanchez if he pitches well down the stretch.
MaineSox
Nope. Anibal is a free agent at the end of the season.
Dynasty22
Nice trade for both sides.
OptimisticMarlinsFan
Please keep in mind Infante is a 30 year old utility man who is having a decent season. He’ll help the Tigers more than he’ll ever help the Marlins, and I hope he gives the Tigers more production at 2B than they’ve gotten so far this season. I’ll take the return the Fish got. Solid.
sandtrap12
what a difference two weeks makes…
Brian Stevenson
A rental in Sanchez, a mediocre infielder who shouldn’t be a starter in Ifante, and you give up your best SP and C prospects for them? Tigers lost their doggon mind.
wrestlingcritic
You are so offbase its unbelieveable
Brandon
You know very little sir. Infante has always been very underrated and could have been a starter for years. Sanchez maybe a rental but he should come at a reasonable price next season on the FA market.
Nick Sossamon
I doubt anyone has ever used the word “underrated” to describe Omar Infante. And trading for a guy as a rental has no correlation to being able to sign him in on the FA market.
Stephen Crane
A rental in Sanchez is fine with a win now mentality. Besides Miggy is a personal friend of Sanchez and could make him more inclined to stay with the Tigers after the season is over with. As for Omar Infante. He is very underrated as a baseball player. He is way different from when he was with his first stint with Det. He has a better eye, better stance and has been an all star for the Braves one year, and has had a .280 avg for the last 5 seasons pretty much. That is something the Tigers need. A 2b that can get on base and compared to Santiago and Raburn he is a god send. I welcome this trade, for both teams seems to meet both sides needs for now and the future.
Kyle
Wow, things certainly aren’t looking too good for the White Sox right now.
Jason Crawford
Great Trade, Detroit was smart not to trade for Greinke, Hamels and Dempster for they are rental players for this year- they addressed their needs and still keep Castenellos who is training to play RF in the future (perhaps next year). Young can be gone next year and VMart can perhaps return the form Detroit didn’t make any dents in their future with this deal. Well Done!
wrestlingcritic
So the Tigers still have that “free” tradeable draft pick for next year…and a better one at that? I smell another move…
Brandon
It’s possible but i’m not really sure for who? Maybe Dempster or Garza? Dempster deal was said to be done but there has been some snags. I don’t think they’d want to give more big names away for either of those 2 guys after making this deal.
EightMileCats
I’m thinking corner outfield
soxfan123123
I am a white sox fan and i hate to admit it but i think the Tigers got this division.
padresfan33
If the next story isn’t “Raburn designated for assignment”…I’m gonna be pissed
snapcase8p
It’ll be Worth being sent down. Raburn has more versatility,
padresfan33
Probably, cuz Worth plays 3rd, SS, and 2B, where we already have backups better than him there. As long as Raburn doesn’t play 2 out of 3 games a series I’ll be happy
Christian Zilko
I bet they traded sanchez so tebow could play!
NatFan05
Remember when the Marlins were the trendy pick to win the N.L. East.. haha
mlbscout6
I’m a marlin fan and even I had them picked to finish dead last. My pick was Nats/Mets.
Dan Rucinski
my gut says that Brantly will have a much better career than Turner. Tigs gave up a lot, but prospects are prospects. Even if Sanchez bombs in the AL, replacing the dynamic duo of Rayburn and Santiago (combined .200 BA, and bad fielding) with Infante is probably worth it. Gotta win now.
MetsMagic
Wow. The Tigers may regret trading Turner eventually (I don’t know anything about the other two), but it looks like the Tigers are now primed to run away with their division, and I actually think the Sox are quite good. The Tigers could probably afford to extend Sanchez too.
Interestingly, if they give Peralta a day of rest, they could play Santiago at SS and Infante at 2nd- the same keystone combo as the 2003 Tigers.
Mikenmn
Just another reminder to the taxpayers who finance private pleasure palaces at the expense of schools, roads, and sanitation. Don’t think the team is going to act as if they received that money as a public trust.
Slopeboy
Alas, you’re preaching to the deaf!
mlbscout6
Preach it brotha!
JP27
Another Tigers & Marlins trade. Just like 4 years ago…. maybe this trade will work out better for the Marlins