Detroit Tigers complete Justin Wilson trade with Chicago Cubs

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 21: Alex Avila #31 and Justin Wilson #38 of the Detroit Tigers celebrate winning the game against the Minnesota Twins on July 21, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Tigers defeated the Twins 6-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila and the rest of the front office have completed July’s 31 Justin Wilson trade. The Tigers’ announced the news in a tweet on the team’s official Twitter account Thursday.

Detroit Tigers fans saw the team trade away two impact players on July 31 when closer Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila were flipped to the Chicago Cubs for third base prospect Jeimer Candelario, infield prospect Isaac Paredes and a player to be named later or cash.

Now it seems, we know what the last component of the deal will be.

Detroit announced in a tweet on the team’s official Twitter account Thursday afternoon that the trade had been completed.

The Tigers tweeted the following:

“To complete the Alex Avila/Justin Wilson trade, the #Tigers have received cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs.”

Early-season success

Wilson and Avila were both excellent in a Detroit uniform early in the season.

The left-handed pitcher registered a 0.9 fWAR, a 83.9% strand rate and a 35% strikeout percentage in 40.1 innings for the Tigers.

He also missed plenty of bats, with 12.27 punch outs per nine frames and a team-high 14.3% swinging strike percentage.

Wilson also turned in a 2.68 ERA, a 2.90 SIERA, a 3.23 FIP and a 3.47 xFIP. He served as closer for a spell after Francisco Rodriguez was released, finishing with 13 saves.

Alex Avila

Meanwhile, Avila finished third among Detroit Tigers position players in fWAR in 2017 despite logging just 264 plate appearances.

The veteran hit .274 with a .394 on-base percentage, a .475 slugging percentage, a .373 wOBA and a .201 ISO. He also logged a 133 wRC+ to go along with a 16.3% walk rate and 11 home runs in his short-lived return to the Motor City.

His high on-base numbers often pushed the backstop towards the top of the order, where he hit second 35 times between the likes of Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Upton.

The aftermath

Following the trade to the Cubs, neither Wilson or Avila was able to replicate the form they showed in the Motor City.

Wilson in particular struggled, pitching to a 5.09 ERA, a 5.33 xFIP and a 3.72 FIP in 17.2 innings spread across 23 games.

Of course, part of that was due to a .391 BABIP that dwarfed the southpaw’s .210 number with the Tigers.

Still, the reliever had trouble with walks, seeing his walk rate jump from 10.2% with Detroit to a staggering 20.9% number with the Cubs.

His fWAR with Chicago in 2017 finished at 0.2.

The former Detroit Tigers closer will become a free agent following the 2018 season.

Avila was somewhat more productive, registering a 103 wRC+, a .335 wOBA and a .369 on-base percentage in 112 plate appearances (35 games).

While those numbers were solid, they weren’t quite at the same level as the catcher’s stat line in Detroit.

The veteran is currently a free agent after his contract expired following the conclusion of the World Series.

PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 08: Jeimer Candelario #46 of the Detroit Tigers singles to right field in the sixth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on August 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Detroit’s side of the deal

In return for the duo, the Tigers received Candelario, Paredes and the recently-announced cash.

Candelario made his presence known down the stretch for the Tigers, all but solidifying his role as the team’s third baseman for the better part of the next decade.

The 24-year-old hit .330 with a .406 on-base percentage, a .468 slugging percentage, a 137 wRC+ and a .379.

He also posted a .138 ISO to go along with 16 runs scored, 13 RBI and a pair of home runs in 106 plate appearances.

Some of his production was likely aided by a .392 BABIP, but the switch hitter did show promising plate discipline with an 11.3% walk rate, while also distributing the ball to all fields.

Overall, his fWAR in a Detroit Tigers uniform finished at 0.6.

Heading into 2018, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Candelario either hit second ahead of Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos, or behind the slugging duo as Detroit’s fifth hitter.

Isaac Paredes

Elsewhere, the Tigers brought in Paredes, who looks like a key piece of the team’s future.

MLB.com’s MLB Pipeline wrote the following about the 18-year-old in their profile of the prospect:

“Paredes has more pop than the other teenaged infield prospects he just left in the Cubs system, Aramis Ademan and Carlos Sepulveda, but is less likely to stay up the middle long term. He has enough loft and bat speed from the right side of the plate to develop into a 15-homer threat. He also has a good feel for hitting, already showing the ability to control the strike zone and use the whole field.”

Paredes recently spent 2017 in the Midwest League against significantly older— by 3.2 years on average—competition.

He hit 11 home runs to go along with a .725 OPS, 70 RBI, 28 doubles and a pair of stolen bases.

Hindsight is obviously 20-20, but the trade was a definite win for the Detroit Tigers.

The team essentially traded a season and a half of Wilson and half a season of Alex Avila for six years each of Candelario and Paredes.

Those six years of controllability each of Candelario and Paredes could increase in the future if either ever signs a contract extension with the Tigers.

Next: Tigers prospects added to the roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft ranked by likeliness to crack 2018 Opening Day roster

Either way, Detroit came away the obvious winner.

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