Yep, the Tigers just traded Rick Porcello to Boston for LF Yoenis Cespedes and 2 bullpen guys (Alex Wilson has 2 yrs in the Bigs, Gabe Speier is a 19 yr-old lefty still in the minors). Then Dombrowski shored up the rotation by trading Suarez and a minor-leaguer to Cincinnati for Alfredo Simon. Ok.
PROS
Cespedes - Adds another big bat to the lineup, and some better OF defense. He'll play left field, allowing Martinez to shift over to his natural position in right. He's got a great arm, he's got power (winning the 2013 & 2014 HR derbys), and decent speed.
Simon - Represents some cost savings from Porcello without losing prodution ($5.1M projected 2015 salary vs. Porcello's $12.2M). Last year he finished with 196 innings, 15 wins, 127 Ks, a 3.44 ERA, and a 1.207 WHIP. These numbers are basically identical to Porcello's for $7.1M less.
CONS
Cespedes - His OF arm is great, but he doesn't get the greatest read on the ball and can look a bit like Delmon Young running around. His arm has made up for it from time to time, but he's not winning any Gold Gloves out there. He doesn't hit for average & strikes out a lot, so he doesn't fill that #2 spot in the lineup that we need. He's hit some BOMBS, but his highest HR total for a season was 26. He should be hitting 30+.
Simon - He's 33, so he's 7 years older than Porcello. He's had some legal trouble here and there, some of which he's still dealing with. Most of his career he's been a reliever and a spot starter. Last year was his first season full time in the rotation, so we don't know if he can hold that production up.
THE VERDICT
I'm going to call this one a win. Would I have preferred a trade for Justin Upton instead of Cespedes? Yes, but the Tigers would've had to give up a lot more than Porcello to get him. Cespedes is going to be huge, and Simon should be a solid #4 in this rotation. I don't know who bats 2nd in this lineup (Gose? Iglesias? Castellanos???), but the 3-4-5-6 spots in this lineup are going to have pitchers pooping their pants. I like the bench better now, I like the defense better, and I like the lineup depth. Simon LOOKS like a zero-sum substitution for Porcello, at least production-wise.
The Tigers still need to add bullpen help. The prospective closer/setup guy (Soria & Nathan, in some order) would both need to bounce back from a down year (I don't see that happening with Nathan), Bruce Rondon and Joel Hanrahan would need to bounce back from severe injuries that cost them last year (more than that in Hanrahan's case), and the younger guys (Krol, Hardy, etc.) would need to step up. If only half of those things happen, we're in trouble with the bullpen. I'm not comfortable with that, and I hope Dombrowski isn't either.
RIGHT NOW, this team is better than the 2014 team. Yes, Max Scherzer isn't coming back, and that's a big loss. But the rotation is still really good, especially if Verlander is back to normal. The defense gets MUCH better with Torii Hunter heading out and Gose, Cespedes, and Iglesias coming in. The lineup should be better also, and the bullpen is probably SLIGHTLY better, if Rondon is healthy.
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