MLB: J.D. Martinez Trade Ramifications
A few days have passed since the first major bat has come off the trading block, J.D. Martinez was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a package of three infielders: Dawel Lugo (No. 4 prospect in ARZ system), Sergio Alcantara (No. 15 prospect in ARZ system), and Jóse King.
On the surface, the Detroit Tigers' return package was very underwhelming for one of the top-5 hitting right fielders in all of the MLB. Which begs the question, was it due to incompetence by Tigers general manager Al Avila or is there really no market for this type of hitter two weeks before the trading deadline?
It's clear Arizona won the trade on lapsed by stacking their offense to become one of the best in major-league baseball. They now have a complete outfield with Martinez, David Peralta, and A.J. Pollock to go along with other sluggers, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb.
From the Tigers perspective, they get more depth for a shoddy minor-league system, the best player of the trio is Lugo, who is a third baseman converted from shortstop, and is projected nothing more to be a solid MLB bench player. He does have a good throwing arm, solid contact tools with the bat, but does not draw walks and has no true “elite” skill.
Alcantara is described as “a good fielder with a light bat.” Nothing that jumps off of the pages to you. The third prospect, King, isn't even ranked in the Diamondbacks top-30 prospects but has been given credit with his blazing speed. Unless the Tigers scouting department know something most baseball insiders don't, this seems to be a very underwhelming return for a fan favorite and a very productive hitter.
At the end of the day, the Tigers had to trade J.D., they weren't going to be able to recite on free agency due to all the money they have tied up to other players, but one would think they could've waited to the deadline day to make this trade. Why did you have to do it two weeks in advanced? Was the deal honestly that good to take on that moment? Was Avila afraid he wasn't going to get it later?
Nobody knows anything about prospects, because many pay off when they're not supposed to, and many fail when they're supposed to pan out. The Tigers got young controllable infielders to add in the minor-league system, while the Diamondbacks got an elite right handed hitting corner outfielder to add to their slug festival lineup, which will add to their playoff push.
Martinez suffered a minor injury in his Diamondbacks debut last week, after being hit in the hand. He missed multiple games over the weekend, but according to AZ Central, Martinez is hopeful that he will start in right field on Monday, July 24, against the Atlanta Braves.
Everyone knows what Arizona got, but it's going to take time to see if Detroit made the right decision. The rest of the trade deadline, the microscope will be on Avila to maximize his potential earnings via prospects from players such as Justin Wilson, Alex Avila, and maybe even Justin Verlander, because if he doesn't he may not have job much longer.
Photo Credit: Arizona Sports.