The Trade

The rumors yesterday afternoon rang true by the evening time as the Rangers and Tigers essentially swapped all-stars with Ian Kinsler going to Detroit and Prince Fielder moving to Texas. 

The trade isn't exactly a simple swap as Detroit is also throwing $30 million to Texas (paid out in the final five years of the contract)  but as far as the players are concerned, Prince and Kinsler are the only pieces moving. We still have a lot of offseason left to see how everything else shakes out, but this is certainly too big of a trade to not analyze immediately after.

Of course, several people have already written several great words on the trade, including Dave Cameron here and here and Jonah Keri here, but the more the merrier right?

The Tigers entered the offseason with essentially three designated hitters, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez. Prince Fielder and the $168 million owed to him until 2020 was largely and appropriately considered an immovable contract but moved he was for Ian Kinsler. With this trade, Miguel Cabrera and his achy groin can now move to a position more suitable to his size, Nick Castellanos can move back to the hot corner or the Tigers can resign Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez can comfortably play out his final year in Detroit at DH. 

Although the Tigers are sending $30 million to Texas in the deal, that doesn't start until 2016 and for the next two years, have $48 million to spend that was previously allocated to Prince. The Tigers were originally committed to $168 million to Prince, now with Ian Kinsler ($62 million) and the $30 million going to Texas they've secured $76 million to play around with. That's some significant coin. When you add in the fact that Kinsler's contract is somewhat front-loaded, that Victor Martinez is off the books next year, and that Tigers are paying the Rangers in 2016-2020, the Rangers have plenty of cash to spend. Whether that means they will resign Max Scherzer, brin gin a top tier free agent like Shin-Soo Choo or what, I don't really know. 

However, what I do know is that before this trade the Tigers didn't have many options and were resorting to possibly having to move Scherzer. Now, the Tigers filled their need at second base with Omar Infante's departure, they aren't looking to move their recent Cy Young Award winner and have some serious elbow room both in this offseason and in the future. Elbow room is important. 

Regardless what the Tigers do after this move, this has to be considered a big, big win for them. They had a hole at second base and money tied up in three players playing the same position handcuffing the team. With one trade the Tigers fixed all of those problems. Even if Prince was a more valuable player than Kinsler this would be a nice swap but that isn't even true. While Fielder certainly hits better than Kinsler he does it at first base, Kinsler makes his money at second base. Prince is an unquestionable iron horse essentially playing in every game since he's entered the league while Kinsler is prone to miss several games each year, but including those missed games Kinsler has accrued 12.8 WAR since 2011 while Prince has 11.9. There might be a selection bias there, including Kinsler's career year in 2011, but Steamer projects Kinsler to be worth 3.6 WAR in 2014 and Prince 3.7. Any way you want to slice it, these players have equal value, the only thing not equal is the salaries they're being paid.

Meanwhile, while I certainly think it's a fantastic trade for the Tigers, that doesn't mean it's a horrible one for the Rangers. The Rangers entered the offseason with a crowded infield, one of Elvis Andrus, Jurickson Profar or Ian Kinsler had to go, or switch positions. The Rangers also lacked punch in the lineup losing Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli last year to free agency and while I doubt the Rangers wish they were paying Josh Hamilton $25 million for the next few years, Mitch Moreland isn't really making the Rangers forget their absence.

So with this trade the Rangers were able to fix their middle infield log jam, allowing their prized prospect to play and they received a big bopper at a position of need. That's not bad but they're also paying a pretty penny for it to happen. I have a lot of issues with Prince Fielder's body type and just paying first basemen a lot of money into their thirties in general, but a seven year/$138 million deal for Prince isn't necessarily breaking the bank. It's not considering what else they could have acquired for Kinsler, but the trade market for a second basemen in his 30s, even a great one, might not be as fruitful as I would have normally assumed.

Overall, as I said, I count this as a huge win for the Tigers and a wait-and-see for the Rangers. Jonah Keri has a good point bringing up the TV money the Rangers will have flowing in but with this trade the Rangers are closer to making their bed and getting ready to sleep in it. The Tigers now have the flexibility to buy a nicer bed for themselves or dress it with Egyptian cotton, even though I might prefer your cheaper, standard T-Shirt sheets.

I was shocked a few years ago when the Tigers signed Prince, now I'm a little shocked they were able to trade him and his contract. Either way, this is a fantastic start to the hot stove season and I can't wait to see what follows and how Prince Fielder's body is going to look in 2018.