Detroit Tigers: Analyzing all aspects of the Justin Wilson trade

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KANSAS CITY, MO – MAY 31: Catcher Alex Avila #31 and Justin Wilson #38 of the Detroit Tigers congratulate each other after the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5 to win the game at Kauffman Stadium on May 31, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila pulled off another trade on Sunday. The Tigers brought in infielders Jeimer Candelario in a deal that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Chicago Cubs.

Detroit Tigers fans will see a few new faces join the team’s farm system, as infielders Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes have joined the franchise.

The Tigers used two of the franchise’s best trade chips in the transaction, parting with closer Justin Wilson and backstop Alex Avila in the deal.

The move was announced in a tweet on the Tigers’ official Twitter account.

Detroit tweeted:

“The #Tigers have acquired INF’s Jeimer Candelario & Isaac Paredes and a PTBNL or cash from the Cubs for LHP Justin Wilson and C Alex Avila.”

Wilson and Avila were in the midst of strong seasons for Detroit.

At the time of the deal, Wilson paced Detroit relievers with a 0.9 WAR. Meanwhile, the catcher was third among position players with a 1.9 WAR.

Dealing the duo obviously negatively impacts the Tigers’ current roster, but it made sense to trade the veterans.

Justin Wilson

Wilson’s value probably wasn’t going to be higher given his (relatively speaking) newly-minted closer stats, effectiveness and controllability.

Conceivably, the Tigers could have held on to the 29-year-old considering he isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2018 campaign.

However, the southpaw was only going to get more expensive with another year of arbitration remaining, as well as a potentially significant free agent deal if he remains effective through the 2018 campaign.

Trading him now allows Detroit to ease Joe Jimenez, the team’s long-term answer at the end of games, into high-pressure situations.

The Tigers will surely miss Wilson late in games. Still, there’s more to gain long-term if Jimenez can get acclimated to pitching in the later innings sooner rather than later.

Alex Avila

In the midst of a resurgent campaign, Alex Avila was the perfect trade chip.

Inked in the offseason on a one-year deal to compliment James McCann, Avila slugged his way into more playing time with some excellent numbers.

The veteran notched a .201 ISO, a 16.3 walk percentage, a .394 on-base percentage, a .373 wOBA and a 134 wRC+.

At 30, Avila obviously wasn’t the team’s long-term answer behind the plate. However, he showed he can add still add value.

What’s more, considering he’s a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series, Detroit can always try to re-sign the veteran in the offseason.

MESA, AZ – MARCH 13: Jeimer Candelario #75 of the Chicago Cubs returns to the dugout after hitting a homerun in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics on March 13, 2016 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /

The Trade Return

In exchange for Wilson and Avila the team was able to bring in a pair of promising prospects in Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes.

Similar to the J.D. Martinez’ deal a few weeks ago, the Tigers were able restock the minor league system with promising position-player prospects.

Entering the month of July, Detroit’s farm system was pitching heavy, with the likes of Matt Manning, Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser leading the way.

Fast forward to today and Candelario, Paredes, Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara and Jose King have helped replenish the farm system.

Jeimer Candelario

Candelario is the centerpiece of the deal.

A 23-year-old corner infielder, he’s ranked by MLB.com as the 92^nd-best prospect in the game.

Able to play both corner infield spots, Candelario could eventually replace Nicholas Castellanos at third base or Miguel Cabrera at first base.

This could be sooner rather than later. The prospect is currently a .298 hitter with 76 extra-base hits and a .912 OPS in 157 career Triple-A games.

The fact that Candelario is close to the Majors makes this an extremely successful deal for the Detroit Tigers.

Not only does the infielder have a promising future, but he’s also close to breaking into the big leagues.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 03: Jeimer Candelario #7 of the Chicago Cubs follows through on a seventh inning base hit against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 3, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The hit was Candelario’s first in the major leagues. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

More on Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes

Paredes, Alcantara and King are all promising talents as well.

However, they’re more likely to break into the Majors alongside the likes of Manning, Faedo and Derek Hill in the next three or four years.

Candelario has already played 16 games with Cubs in the Majors. He could conceivably be with the Tigers before the 2017 season is through.

He’s exactly the kind of player Detroit should be targeting in deals moving forward as the team looks to get younger while staying competitive.

Isaac Paredes

Obviously the prospect further away from the minors of the two, Paredes was playing in Single-A before the Tigers acquired him.

He was impressive at the level, batting .264 with a .343 on-base percentage, a .401 slugging percentage, a .744 OPS, 49 runs scored, 49 RBI, 25 doubles, seven home runs and two stolen bases.

Numbers obviously aren’t everything when evaluating prospects.

However, Paredes was posting those numbers against competition that was—on average—over three years older than him.

That certainly bodes well for his future as he makes his way up the organizational ladder.

Long-term, he gives the franchise another young piece to build around for the future. The presence of prospects like Paredes in the Detroit Tigers system should help the team stay competitive down the road.

Next: More prospects are coming

There’s also the possibility of a player to be named later. Said player could bring even more minor league talent to the Tigers’ organization.

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Detroit Tigers: Breaking down all aspects of the Justin Wilson trade