Trade Analysis: Peralta Trade Not So Bad

Although I am of the opinion that the Tigers should be selling instead of buying at the trade deadline, the Jhonny Peralta trade, in which they gave up Giovanni Soto, is one I agree with.

At face value, the acquisition of Peralta seems to be a mistake. His 2010 stats are mediocre at best but when examined closely, it becomes apparent that Peralta is worth the risk the Tigers have taken in acquiring him.

So far this year Peralta is batting .246 with seven HR and 43 RBI.He did that with the Cleveland Indians. All you need to know about the Indians lineup is that Armando Galarraga nearly threw a perfect game against them. Their team leader in RBI this year, Shin-Soo Choo, has 46. In other words they are not very good.  

His performance against the teams the Tigers are chasing in the division has been impressive. In 20 games this year against the Twins and White Sox, his batting average is .315 with eight doubles and 12 RBI.

Peralta has played for the Indians since 2003 and that leads a lot of Tiger fans to believe he is an older player on the downside of his career. The reality is that at 28, Peralta is only 11 months older than Miguel Cabrera. 

Peralta can play multiple positions in the infield. He broke in as a shortstop and was moved to third. So when Brandon Inge comes back, he can easily slide back over to shortstop and allow Worth to move to second base, if Guillen is unable to play defense. If Guillen is healthy and playing the field, Peralta would be a big upgrade to the Tigers bench.

If Peralta plays well, and rediscovers the swing that allowed him to average nearly 80 RBI for the last five seasons, the Tigers can keep him next year by exercising a team option for 2011. That would make him more than just a rental player. The team option is for $7 Million and if they choose not to keep him, his buyout is $250,000.

All in all, the Tigers gave up a mid-level prospect from a ball for a guy entering the prime of his career and has already had success at the Major League level. This is a low risk and high reward transaction for the Tigers. Now if only they can teach him the right way to spell Jhonny!