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The Detroit Tigers acquired 37-year-old shortstop Alex Gonzalez in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first reported the news Monday morning. The cost utility player Steve Lombardozzi, a member of the four-player trade that sent Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals.
Gonzalez has spent parts of 15 seasons in the major leagues, most recently 2012-13 with the Brewers. He batted .211 with a .581 OPS with them. He is a .246/.290/.396 player for his career. The Tigers must really believe in his fielding.
Lombardozzi had been hitting .231/.244/.231 this spring, and the 25-year-old has a career line of .264/.297/.342. Which is actually why everyone was confused about acquiring him from the Nats in the first place, probably.
A valid point: Lombardozzi was a player who could help at several infield positions, hits better than Gonzalez, is younger, and was talked up by the club only a handful of months ago. The deal seems questionable from the Tigers' standpoint.
But let's be honest here: this is at the fringes of the roster construction anyway, there's little reason to make a big deal out of it unless you're related to someone. It's more of an indictment on the Fister trade than anything, and even then that's going to hinge on the play of pitching prospect Robbie Ray.
Early speculation among many: Bad news for Danny Worth, good news for outfielder Tyler Collins, who bats left handed and hits the ball a long, long way sometimes.
In any case, I need another cup of coffee, which pretty much sums up this entire episode.