Tigers Trade Pudge to Yankees
Farnsworth to Detroit from New York
Rodriguez was making $13 million for the 2008 season for the Detroit Tigers, but money has never been an object for the New York Yankees and now they have acquired Rodriguez in exchange for former Tiger Kyle Farnsworth.
The move was made in response to Yankees catcher Jorge Posada's decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Rodriguez will now mostly likely step in as the New York Yankees' starting catcher in the wake of the trade.
From the Tigers' standpoint, the decision to trade Rodriguez was based partly on finances and also on his lack of performance. Rodriguez has been increasingly worse at the plate as he continues to swing at pitches out of the zone and his on-base percentage continues to be low.
The Tigers feel they will get more offensive production out of Brandon Inge at catcher even though Inge fancies himself as more of a third baseman now. Inge doesn't hit for average the way Pudge Rodriguez does, but he draws more walks and hits for much more power, including home runs, with 8 in limited action so far in 2008 for the Detroit Tigers.
The trade of Pudge for Farnsworth gives the Tigers another power arm in the bullpen, something GM Dave Dombrowski is a huge fan of. Farnsworth is pretty inconsistent but he flourished when he last pitched for the Tigers before being traded to the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline in 2005.
Rodriguez is still a tremendous defensive catcher, however, who has been known to throw out runners with ease at second base. Detroit hopes that Inge can be a good defensive catcher as well. He certainly has the athletic ability and strong arm necessary to flourish as a defensive catcher.
While the trade looks one-sided on paper, both teams received help at positions that they needed to shore up. Farnsworth's inconsistencies are well-documented but he's still a better option than some of Detroit's other bullpen pitchers.
Rodriguez meanwhile will provide the Yankees with leadership and competitive fire that they can use as they attempt to chase down the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
Pudge Rodriguez will be remembered fondly in Detroit despite his recent struggles because of the way he helped turn around a franchise that had a serious credibility problem. When the Tigers were down in the dumps, Rodriguez signed with them and opened the gates for other players such as Magglio Ordonez and eventually Gary Sheffield (after he was traded to Detroit) to sign with the Tigers and to believe in their status as a future MLB championship contender.
Now that the trade is done, the race for the playoffs wil heat up for both the Yankees and the Tigers as they appraoch the MLB's home stretch.
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