Detroit Tigers: Winter Meetings Day 3 Roundup

Day 3 of this year’s Winter Meetings finally saw the Detroit Tigers send second baseman Ian Kinsler to the Angels.

In return, the Tigers will be getting outfielder Troy Montgomery and right-handed pitcher Wilkel Hernandez. Both are top 30 prospects in the Angels organization.

Troy Montgomery posted .271 with eight home runs, 38 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and a .771 OPS in 2017 with the Angels farm system.

Hernandez meanwhile went 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 12 outings, seven of them starts, between two stops, allowing 25 hits over 44 1/3 innings with 22 walks and 44 strikeouts.

On Hernandez, GM Al Avila had this to say:

“The pitcher’s very young, so there’s still upside there,” Avila said. “The guy has a good pitcher’s body. He throws in the mid-90s, he’s topped out at 96. Obviously with young pitchers, the younger the guys are, the farther away [from the Majors] they are, but you like the upside. There’s definitely upside there. He’s definitely a prospect, a legit prospect.”

2016 saw Kinsler post a .288 average, 28 home runs, 83 RBIs and .831 OPS. While 2017 saw him post a .236 average, 22 homers, 52 RBIs and a .725 OPS. Despite a down 2017, Kinsler is still regarded as one of the best second basemen in baseball.

The St. Louis Cardinals got the impact bat they’ve been looking for when they acquired Marcell Ozuna from the Marlins.

In exchange for Ozuna, the Cardinals will send outfielder Magneuris Sierra and pitchers Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen and Daniel Castano to the Marlins. The Cardinals had originally sought after Giancarlo Stanton.

Ozuna is coming off a breakthrough season where he hit 37 homers, with 124 RBIs and is under team control for another two years. The Cardinals, for their luck, didn’t have to give away a top prospect for Ozuna, which is likely to add to Derek Jete’s growing rift with the Miami fanbase.

Skipper Don Mattingly had this to say about Jeter’s moves so far:

“Derek may be the first to admit, ‘Hey, I would do some things maybe a little differently,’ ” Marlins Manager Don Mattingly said, comparing Jeter’s growing pains as an executive with the ones he faced as a player, when he made 56 errors his first year in the minors. “We know what happened after that. . . .”

The sending of Ozuna is just the latest dump by the Marlins during their rebuild mode and now Derek Jeter is being accused of turning the Marlins into a “pawnshop”.

The Houston Astros signed veteran reliever Joe Smith to a 2-year deal Wednesday adding depth to their bullpen.

Smith posted a 3.33 ERA last season in 59 games. Along the way, he struck out 71 batters and walked 10 over the span of 54 innings. In his career eh has 44-28 record with a 2.97 ERA.

Per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Smith had this to say as to why he signed with the Astros:

“They have the best chance to win the World Series,” Smith said of the Astros while being introduced at a news conference on Thursday.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the two-year deal is valued at $14 million. Smith joins Rule 5 draftee Anthony Gose alongside Ken Giles, Will Harris and Chris Devenski in the Astros bullpen.