OT: Tigers sign Rajai Davis
Tigers have signed OF Rajai Davis to a two-year deal, in the range of $9-10 million ($4-5 million/year). Here's a link to his stats page. And a summary from MLB Trade Rumors:
Davis, 33, hasn't played in an everyday role for the Blue Jays over the last three seasons, but has seen enough action to rack up nearly 1,200 plate appearances, recording a .252/.299/.369 slash line. The speedster has also added 125 stolen bases over that period. That batting line may not be particularly impressive, but his .297/.363/.455 line against left-handed pitchers dating back to 2011 certainly is.
Not a blockbuster signing, but I like it. He's got good speed, can hit for average, and looks to be about an average-to-below average fielder. I think this could turn out to be a good signing.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
The team is unquestionably weaker where it sits now.
Kinsler/Infante is a wash, and we're losing two big sticks (Peralta and Fielder, no matter how disliked they were) and replacig them with a completely unproven rookie at third and a light hitting shortstop. The rotation is definitely weaker with out Fister.
There is a slight upgrade to Nathan in the pen (Benoit was actually pretty damn good) but it doesn't begin to offset where we've regressed.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:33 PM ^
I completely agree with you, but I doubt the Tigers are done adding players. It's also woirth noting that some baseball guys disagree with us.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^
Most of the critics talked about nothing but how bad the infield defense was and how slow the team was in the field and on the basepaths, and how bad the bullpen was. DD apparently decided they were right. I realize you may not have been one of them, but finding a guy with Peralta's bat and Iglesias's glove costs $18 million.
December 10th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
I would have liked to see them add another big bat (particularly Choo), but it's clear they didn't want to take on anymore large contracts at the moment. However, theyr'e revamping the roster away from a power-hitting lineup, to one with better defense, more speed and better baserunning. That suites CoPa better than the more stationary lineup they had before.
But to address your arguments... Kinsler/Infante is not a wash. Infante had a career year (or clsoe to it) last season. He has a career .721 OPS and has hit more than 15 HRs once in 12 seasons. Kinsler has a career .804 OPS and has hit over 30 HRs twice. In fact he has over twice as many career HRs (156) than Infante (74), in four fewer seasons. He also steals far more bases than Infante. Yes, Kinsler has had a down couple of yaers, but even then his numbers are better than Infante's (with the exception of last year). I like Infante a lot, but to argue that he was anything other than an average 2B offensively is silly.
Peralta is certainly a loss offensively, but I think a lot of Tigers fans overrate his 2011 and forget just how dysmal he was in 2012. He bounced back in 2013, but we're looking at a guy with a career .755 OPS and some nice pop for a SS. While not a defensive liability, he was losing significant range as he got into his 30s. Iglesias is a huge defensive upgrade over him, and still an extremely young and raw hitter.
The loss of Fielder's power certainly hurts, but hopefully it can be made up for with the improvements in defense and speed. This team is built completely differentlly than the Tigers of the past. They're going to be manufacturing a lot more runs, and hopefully the defense will save a lot of runs, too. I thikn Porcello will particularly be helped by it.
They really need to sign a few more arms for the bullpen, though. I'm hoping for Jesse Crain, at least.
December 10th, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
but a platoon of dirks/davis may put up pretty good #s; very choo-like, for a fraction of the cost. now, if DD goes out and gets a lefty hitter that can poke 15-20 HRs, i think the team is pretty much set to start the season. the O will be down a bit, but the D will be much improved. once the season unfolds a bit, DD will likely go out and fill any holes. just my two cents.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
kendrys morales (swith hitter) - price might be a bit too high; raul ibanez - perhaps a one-year deal for a chance to play for a winner.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:44 PM ^
Where is Morales going to play, though?
December 10th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
Two players with normalized 600-at-bat seasons from their 2013 numbers:
A: .256-12-51, OPS .686. Career BA .276, career OPS .745, career FP .986
B: .260-11-44, OPS .687. Career BA .268, career OPS .693, career FP .986
Obviously one is Davis and one is Dirks. Other than the basepath speed, why is one so obviously better than the other?
The answer is that Tigers fans seem to always hate what they have and want what they don't have.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
You just said it, the basepath speed.
December 10th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^
Let's face it though: I know that's not what was specifically said here, but when people complain about Dirks, foot speed is not usually why.
The platoon is probably a good idea, and Davis will be very useful in PR situations, but hopefully people aren't expecting him to be an upgrade at the plate, except to the extent that the platoon does that.
December 10th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^
But, I don't think they're replacing Dirks with Davis. They're going to platoon them. Davis hits lefties far better than righties, and provides significant speed on the basepaths and steal potential. If Dirks can be more the player we saw in 2012, I actually really like this platoon.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:47 PM ^
by saying you don't think they will platoon them---platooning Davis and Dirks is the obvious intent. Two decent full-time players may well make one very good full-time player.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
I like the signing. It's hard to believe how radically different this team is from last year. The lack of power makes me nervous and there's alot riding on Martinez and his ability to protect Cabrera in the lineup.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
Tigers will have the same amount of power as they did last year, they will just be paying $20 million or so less per year for it.
December 10th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^
not true w/o fielder and peralta. that said, i like their replacements for the improved D. the fister deal still confuses me though.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
Hopefully the link works. Posting from phone.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
Good article, thanks for the link.
December 10th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
it may be true regarding Cabrera, but a team is much better off having a good hitter behind a cabrera so he can drive in 100+ runs and make a team pay for walking him.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:48 AM ^
We have enough power. Comerica isn't the kind of park where you want guys who can't hit for average or get on base. That's been a problem with this team for too long.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:01 PM ^
I thought it was pretty obvious we missed Peralta's power the last 50 games of the season.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:10 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^
more like when they went 20-27 after that 14 game streak in August and September., and hit the second fewest homers in the AL during September.
December 10th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
Which is when Miggy hit... 0 homers.
(Maybe 1, I forget. But you get my point).
December 10th, 2013 at 1:13 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^
this actually suits them better for their home park....speed, defense, and line-drive power plays well in this park and will give them a slight advantage vs. many teams...an advantage that they didn't have last year...
I guess this means that the Choo deal is dead
December 10th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
I would like to see the tigers to trade for Domonic Brown. Wouldn't come cheap but the team still needs a left handed bat.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
all 3 fields so he'll give Jackson and Tori rests when they need it as well. Not to mention a nice PR option.
December 10th, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
Dirk against righties and Davis against lefties. You maximize both players value. Look at the A's, they pretty much platoon a lot of players and they were successful last season, winning the division. Yes, they lost to the Tigers in the playoff because Tigers have better pitching. Tigers will still have better pitching in the playoff with JV, Max and Anibal (all essentially aces). If they can improve the production and depth from the roster as whole, the Tigers should be a better team in the long run with less money on the book.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
Yep, more role-playing outfielders are exactly what this team needs.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 3:46 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
I like this signing as well, just perusing the stats page at Fangraphs. Perhaps most notably, I like the idea of having someone who can get on base and is a realizable threat to steal a base or two. I don't think we've had someone like that for a while in the lineup - it is a nice added dimension to any offense.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:49 AM ^
He stole bases on about 40% of his hits. So 40% of the time he gets a single, it becomes a double. That could be huge for getting RISP for Miggy and VMart.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
If he steals them at an 80% success rate, then 8% of his singles become outs.
December 10th, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^
I'd gladly sacrifice 2 singles to get 8 doubles (out of 10 that is). Especially from a guy like him, who can score on most hits outside the infield if he's on second base.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^
batting at the top of the order or on base with no outs, he better steal at a higher rate than 80% to make it worthwhile.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 11:53 AM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 12:12 PM ^
are makig solid moves..cutting pay but keeping world series type team in tact. Sucks to lose Prince but it was the right move.
Great moves, looking forward to seeing this team gel.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ^
I've liked pretty much every move we've done this offseason, except for the Fister one. I understand it most likely had to be done, but I think we should have gotten some better prospects than what we got for a player of his caliber.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
about that Fister move...ya that one irked me a bit. I like Fister, agreed that we should have got more for him.
December 10th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^
He was worth a good everyday outfielder. Anything less, keep him. Still shaking my head.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^
Yup. That seemed to be a lopsided trade. I think most estimated Fister as one of the top 30 pitchers in all of baseball.
December 10th, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^
i just don't understand the rush to trade fister. i think he could have got a lot more had he waited for the winter meetings (going on now) got multiple offers and took the best deal at that time. i doubt there was a rush on the guys we got in return.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:25 PM ^
December 10th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^
and your point??? This team got to the finals the last few years with their past build, yet never advanced and lost to teams who had many qualities more comparable to this team. Their is still money available, so lets see what they will do before judging. Staying the same would have been the worst thing of all.
December 10th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
Not a big power guy. Would 20-25 HRs combined with Dirks be a close estimation?