MLB Trade: Detroit Tigers Get Infield Help, Deal for Jhonny Peralta

The other day I wrote that Detroit Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski had a tough job on his hands at the trade deadline because of the Tigers' many needs.

Peralta is headed to Motown

Dombrowski decided to fill one of those needs on Wednesday by getting a third baseman. The Tigers acquired 3B Jhonny Peralta from the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto. According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney via Twitter , the Indians will pick up most of the $1.8 million still owed to Peralta this season.

So what exactly are the Tigers getting here? With Peralta, the Tigers are getting a stop-gap third baseman, who they hope can get hot down the stretch. Peralta does have a club option for $7 million in 2011 with a $250,000 buyout and there is a better chance of me playing third for the Tigers next year than Detroit picking that up.

Peralta was hitting just .246 with 7 HRs and a .308 in 334 ABs with the Indians. At the age of 28, it appears Peralta’s best days are behind him. We won't see his 2008 season again, when he hit .276 with 23 HRs and had a .804 OPS.

Despite Peralta’s declining offensive skills, he should give the Tigers more than what Don Kelly or Scott Sizemore could give them.

In Soto, the Indians are getting a 19-year-old, left-handed pitcher who has a 2.10 ERA in two minor league seasons between Rookie and Single-A ball. He was the Tigers’ 21st-round pick in the 2009 Draft.

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