The Big Trade is Now Official

by Ian Casselberry on Dec 5, 2007 6:08 PM EST in Detroit Tigers News

Just in case you're a glass half-empty kind of person and didn't want to believe the Detroit Tigers had really acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis until it was officially announced (despite it being reported in every news outlet you can imagine), you can now relax. The pertinent medical information has been exchanged between the Tigers and Marlins, and the deal has been rubber stamped. Pour yourself a cup of warm milk or hot cocoa.

The trade apparently became a done deal after 3:30 p.m. today, according to Amy Nelson on the ESPN.com Winter Meetings Blog:

3:45 p.m., from Amy Nelson
* Andrew Miller got a phone call within the hour from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski that he was traded to Florida, which signals that the deal is official.

The Freep's Jon Paul Morosi abides:

It's a done deal. The Tigers and Marlins completed their blockbuster trade Wednesday, an eight-player swap that sent All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida to Detroit.

Joining in with confirmation is the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer:

Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis are now the property of the Detroit Tigers.

The Marlins and Tigers made it official Wednesday, completing a blockbuster trade that is the talk of the winter meetings.

The Tigers received Cabrera and Willis in exchange for six players, including top prospects in outfielder Cameron Maybin and pitcher Andrew Miller.

The Marlins also will receive catcher Mike Rabelo and pitchers Eulogio de la Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop while shedding about $20 million in salaries from their 2008 payroll.

The teams agreed in principle to the trade Tuesday but waited to examine player medical records before signing off on the deal.

And if seeing is believing for you, video of the press conference from Nashville can be viewed at MLB.com. One interesting tidbit is that the Marlins would not allow the Tigers to discuss a contract extension with either Cabrera or Willis. Dave Dombrowski said he understood that stance, as the Tigers have two years to work on new deals with each player.

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Now I believe it

All day long I had to be on the road and kept wondering when the official announcement would take place and the the doubts started creeping in about Maybin's shoulder....oh, God, what if they see something they don't like and it all falls apart? All's good.

Does anybody think Dombrowski or Leyland have gotten any sleep in the past 2 days?

by densogirl on Dec 5, 2007 6:42 PM EST reply actions