Detroit Tigers: Breaking down every aspect of the J.D. Martinez trade

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SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 20: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates hitting a solo home run off of relief pitcher Dan Altavilla #53 of the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning of a game at Safeco Field on June 20, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers fans probably saw this one coming. The team traded J.D. Martinez to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Here’s a breakdown of the transaction.

Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus will no long have the luxury of penciling in J.D. Martinez into the middle of the team’s batting order.

The Tigers announced in a tweet on the team’s official Twitter account Tuesday night that the team had traded the slugging outfielder to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Detroit tweeted:

“The #Tigers have acquired INF’s Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara & Jose King from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for OF J.D. Martinez.”

We’ll get to the return for Martinez in a moment, but it’s hard to ignore the veteran’s impact in the Motor City.

Since arriving from Houston in 2014, Martinez has been one of baseball’s best sluggers, routinely notching a ISO over .220 and a wRC+ over 130.

While Martinez missed the early part of the season due to injury, he’s been an offensive force.

This year, Martinez hit .305 with a .388 on-base percentage, a .630 slugging percentage and a 162 wRC+.

He turned in a 12.5 walk percentage, 39 RBI, 38 runs scored, 16 home runs and a .325 ISO in 232 plate appearances.

DETROIT, MI – JUNE 3: Alex Presley #14 of the Detroit Tigers singles and is congratulated by first base coach Omar Vizquel #13 during the fourth inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox on June 3, 2017 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Replacements

In the short term, Alex Presley and Jim Adduci are likely to see the majority of the time in right field.

Detroit could always acquire a Major-League ready outfielder in a trade involving Justin Wilson or Alex Avila, but right now, Presley and Adduci are the team’s best bets.

Presley has seen plenty of playing time as of late, adding some speed to Detroit’s lineup. He’s hitting .299 with a .365 on-base percentage, a .418 slugging percentage and a .341 wOBA in 75 plate appearances.

The ex-Pirate also sports a 113 wRC+, a 1.2 BsR and a 0.1 WAR.

Meanwhile, Adduci returns from the minors where he was since returning from the disabled list earlier in the season.

The veteran turned in a 0.7 WAR, a 10.2 walk percentage, eight runs scored, seven RBI, four doubles, two triples, a stolen base and a 138 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances.

The combination of the two should provide the Detroit Tigers with some solid production until Christin Stewart is ready for a starting role.

Stewart may not reach the Majors in 2017, but 2018 looks a whole lot more likely.

Either way, moving Martinez clears the way for the slugging prospect to take over in right field long-term. Maybe even as early as next Spring Training.

DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 18: A detail of a Detroit Tigers hat with an official postseason logo is seen on the bat rack in the udgout againstthe New York Yankees during game four of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park on October 18, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Trade return

And now we get back to the trade return.

The Tigers netted three infielders in Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara & Jose King. Lugo is the closest to the Majors, as he’s currently in Double-A.

Lugo is hitting .282 with a .325 on-base percentage, a .428 slugging percentage and a .753 OPS in 88 games. He’s collected 43 RBI, 40 runs scored, 21 doubles, 21 walks, seven home runs and four triples.

Moving down the line in terms of minor league affiliates, Alcantara is currently at the Advanced-A level.

He’s sporting a .708 OPS, a .345 on-base percentage, a .363 slugging percentage and a .280 batting average.

The shortstop has contributed across the board offensively, with 44 runs scored, 34 walks, 28 RBI, 15 doubles, 11 stolen bases, three home runs and two triples.

He’s also an excellent defender at shortstop.

Rounding out the deal is King, who is playing his first season State-side this year.

After hitting .350 with a .815 OPS, 51 runs scored, 27 RBI, 21 stolen bases, seven doubles and four triples in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, the 18-year-old is off to a solid start in 2017 against competition that is on average 1.8 years older than him.

King is hitting .261 to go along with a .333 on-base percentage, a .348 slugging percentage and a .681 OPS.

He’s also chipped in with nine RBI, seven runs scored, three walks, two triples and two stolen bases in 51 plate appearances.

Overall

The overall haul for Martinez may seem somewhat underwhelming, but the Detroit Tigers were able to snag a potential long-term successor to Ian Kinsler at second base in Lugo should they decide to move him there.

Lugo has predominantly played third base this season after previously spending time at shortstop.

Detroit has a pair of promising infield prospects in Hector Martinez and Anthony Pereira, but both are still in the low minors and a few years away from making it to the Major League level.

Other than that, the Tigers’ closest option to the Majors was A.J. Simcox, who is sporting a .274 on-base percentage at Double-A Erie.

DETROIT, MI – JUNE 29: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Detroit Tigers avoids an inside pitch during the third inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on June 29, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Royals 7-3. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Moving forward

Detroit will save some cash in the deal. According to Spotrac, Martinez is making $11.75 million this year, so the Tigers will be able to shave the remainder of that salary off the team’s books.

Additionally, the Tigers should also improve in some areas.

Martinez is an excellent slugger, but he struggled at times defensively this season.

In 438 defensive innings, Martinez logged a -5 DRS, a -14.1 UZR/150, a -4.5 UZR and a -4.4 ARM.

Adduci will see some time at the positon, where he logged a DRS of 2, a 41.1 UZR/150, a 3.1 UZR and a 2.0 ARM in limited playing time earlier this season.

Elsewhere, having more mobile outfielders like Mikie Mahtook and Alex Presley covering ground in the outfield should help Detroit save runs defensively.

The Tigers should also get some improved base running in the absence of Martinez.

Improved production on the base paths

The slugger owned a -1.2 BsR and had grounded in to 10 double plays with Detroit in 2017.

Now, the team will replace him with a pair of outfielders who have been among Brad Ausmus’ best base runners from a statistical standpoint.

Presley (1.2 BsR) and Adduci (0.4 BsR) rank fourth and fifth among Detroit players this season.

The presence of Presley in the lineup on a more consistent basis should certainly help matters. In only 25 games this season, the outfielder has already swiped three bags, good for fifth-best on the team.

If he gets consistent playing time down the stretch, he could very well lead the team in steals.

So yes, J.D. Martinez is gone. He’ll be sorely missed in the Motor City. However, Detroit arguably improved defensively and on the base paths via subtraction. The move also helped replenish some of the farm system and saved money in the process.

Next: The Tigers best and worst trade partners

Also, don’t look now, but the Detroit Tigers have won four games in a row.

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