On their off-day, the Detroit Tigers went shopping. And not only did they find the extra bat they've needed for the past couple of months. They may also have found some relief for Brandon Inge at third base. (This might even help them keep Magglio Ordonez from triggering his $18 million option for 2010.)
The Tigers acquired Aubrey Huff from the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in exchange for minor league pitcher Brett Jacobson. Playing mostly at first base this season, Huff has a .253/.321/.405 batting line with 13 homers and 72 RBIs in 480 plate appearances. As several pointed out in this afternoon's Open Thread, those 72 RBIs would lead the Tigers right now.
Last season was a career-best for him, as he batted .304/.360/.552 with 32 homers and 108 RBIs. He's in the last year of a three-year, $20 million contract.
Huff has also played a lot at third base and right field over his 10-year career, which makes this a potentially valuable pick-up for the Tigers. If UZR is your defensive metric of choice, however, it doesn't think so much of his prowess at either position. And that might be why Huff ends up primarily being the Tigers' DH if and when Carlos Guillen is ready to play left field. Between that and filling in at third, first, or right field, Huff should see plenty of time in Detroit's lineup.
What did the Tigers give up? Jacobson showed some decent strikeout numbers in his 35 games with Lakeland, posting 44 in 55.1 innings. More impressive are his 17 walks. But Detroit's minor league system is deep in relievers, so they could certainly afford to part with him. (Here's more from demondeaconsbaseball in today's Open Thread.)
This has already been discussed quite a bit in our earlier post and the reaction seems to be pretty favorable. (Did that make the Open Thread a "Huff-ington post"? Blame Billfer for that one.) Where do you see Huff getting most of his at-bats with the Tigers? Or is he just going to be all over the field, helping out in three or four spots regularly? And what roster move will Detroit make to clear a spot for Huff?
(So much for a day away from the blog, eh? The Tigers always keep things interesting. It's never boring in Tiger Town. No off-days here. Thanks to everyone for keeping the talk alive on BYB today. I also appreciate the text messages I received from several people, including allikazoo.)