The Angels have made a non-blockbuster blockbuster trade!
The Angels have traded utility infielder Andrew Romine to the Detroit Tigers for left handed pitcher Jose Alvarez
I just explained the trade to my wife this way "The Angels traded Romine to the Tigers for a pitcher with a career minor league 3.50 ERA..." and she said "Well Romine wasn't that good so what did they expect?" ...good analysis from the kitchen (I made breakfast today, by the way).
Romine was getting squeezed since the day the Angels acquired career utilityman John McDonald and he loos certain to be on the opening day roster as a backup of Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick and David Freese. The Tigers had lost Jose Iglesias to injury so they desperately needed something. Romine was out of options so the trade had to happen or anyone might have been able to grab the them some lettuce before opening day.
This might on the surface appear to be a panic move by the Tigers but Romine is only less visible on the depth chart because he was blocked. His bat was an asset in the minors after many years of being "all-glove" so the Tigers know what they are doing and have traded value for value.
The acquisition of Alvarez is a vote of no confidence in Nick Maronde, the lefty reliever who will likely be sent down to Salt Lake in favor of an arm that can start or relieve.
Alvarez is 24, from Venezuela, and was drafted young by the Red Sox and traded to the Tigers in 2009. He has been almost exclusively a starter in the minors with numbers that scream "THIRD STARTER" (see that was all caps to emphasize screaming). He had a lusy cup of coffee last year with Detroit, maybe it was just a case of the willies and Jerry DiPoto just brought some pitching depth to the Halos!
Look for Alvarez to be in the bullpen on opening day in Anaheim a week from Monday!