Detroit Tigers: Grading Team’s Offseason Moves

Trading Cameron Maybin
Grade: B

According to Spotrac, Cameron Maybin will make $9 million next season before hitting free agency.

With JaCoby Jones likely to make his mark as a Major League regular sooner rather than later, it made sense from a financial standpoint to move on from Maybin.

By dealing the outfielder to Anaheim, the team got out of having to pay Maybin $9 million next season.

Despite an excellent 2016 campaign that saw the center fielder hit .315 with a .383 on-base percentage, a 2.0 WAR and a 120 wRC+, the reality is that Detroit can get by with the team’s in-house options until Jones is ready.

What’s more, Jones very well could end up winning the job out of Spring Training, or take over early in the season.

If he can start to contribute right away, the grade for this deal will go up even higher. The sky is the limit for Jones with his blend of raw power, speed and athleticism.

Should he keep the strikeouts down, he can be a dynamic player for Detroit.

Moving Maybin cleared the way for Jones while also netting the franchise an intriguing pitching prospect in Victor Alcantara.

Arguably Anaheim’s best pitching prospect at the time of the deal, Alcantara has a blazing fastball, a promising slider and a changeup in his arsenal.

His numbers in Double-A last season –4.30 ERA, 6.4 strikeouts and 4.6 walks per nine frames in 111 innings—don’t jump off the chart, but the potential is there for Alcantara to make an impact with is power stuff.