[Lefty Noob]

Could the Detroit Tigers be getting involved in the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes? That's what the Detroit Free Press is reporting: "The working day closed without new developments in the Tigers' pursuit of Washington infielder-outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The Nationals have asked for three Detroit prospects (right-handers Humberto Sanchez and Jair Jurrjens, along with a position player) in return." Not sure this would be a good idea for Leyland's crew. What do you say?

[ThePundit]

I don't know anything about these prospects. But as far as winning now goes, it's a no-brainer. Soriano is an offensive powerhouse.

[EmpireWF]

If the Tigers are serious about wanting to go for it all right now, there's no question they should throw the house at Washington to get Soriano. He's the awesome bat that they're lacking and as long as the pitching holds up, they would be fine.

[Lefty Noob]

Looks like talks on the Soriano front have stalled. Abreu's still a possibility.

What other Detroit Tigers trade rumors have you guys been hearing?

[cochise]

The trading deadline is tomorrow and it looks like the Tigers are not going to deal for any big names. If you ask me, that is a good thing.

I noticed that those who responded to this post don't know who the minor league players we were asked to deal are. Let me run it down for you.

Humberto Sanchez - He is our best pitching prospect right now. Think of how big of an impact Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya have had this season and tell me that it is not important to keep young guns in the minors. Sanchez features an arsenal that includes the same power fastball that makes Justin and Joel so good. He is worth keeping. Remember, Kenny Rogers is in his 40s and we will need a replacement soon.

Jair Jurrgens - Another good pitching prospect. He is very young, only 20 years old, and was promoted to AA after just five starts. He is another guy who could contribute in the bullpen or the rotation in the future. Teams that dissolve after a few good years are the ones who give up guys like this for a couple weeks rental.

Brent Clevlen - Those of you watching the game today should of seen him make his first major league start. He gunned down a runner from 3rd at home following a pop fly in center field early in the game. He also got two hits and a walk and scored twice. He was rated as one of our best position prospects before he got called up.

Now think about losing all of these talented, very young players for Alfonso Soriano. Or Bobby Abreu, who by the way is not having a great season by any means. Soriano would be gone after the season, his price tag is too high for us to pay. Abreu is getting older and is owed way too much money to begin with, not to mention the fact that he is a Yankee now.

Stick with the youth movement. There is no reason to give up the future for an All-Star now. We have the best record in baseball and a good left-handed power hitter returning to form in Dmitri Young. We don't need to trade for anyone.

[Lefty Noob]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, cochise, and thanks for the great rundown on the Tigers minor league prospects!

Young pitching is always the toughest to trade. It's like mortgaging the future in a lot of ways, and Sanchez and Jurrgens sound like they'll be good ones. But doesn't the Tigers success this season make you even the slightest bit interested in dealing these guys for someone that may well help Detroit win the Series this year?

[cochise]

Well of course if I was guaranteed a championship for those three players, I would take it. But there are no sure things in professional sports, and giving up a trio of great prospects would have put immense pressure on both the coaching staff and players to win, as well as disrupting chemistry. Making a deal that big just seemed counter-productive.

The deal the Tigers did end up making, however, for Sean Casey was perfect. Casey is a good left-handed batter who hits over .300 annually. He is great with runners in scoring position, unlike Chris Shelton (the biggest loser in the trade).To give you an idea of how good he is, he bats over .300 with RISP. In addition, he bats just under .700 with a runner on third and less than two outs. .700!

And there is no drop-off in defense either, his 0.995 career fielding percentage is just about Shelton's 0.994.

A lot of people will look at Casey's numbers and think that Shelton was a better player, but the truth is that Casey was in a worse offense and will have more opportunities to drive in runs with the Tigers. I expect him to fit in nicely with the club.

I'm a big fan of Shelton, but he hasn't gotten the job done offensively since early May. It was time for a change.

The Tigers played the market right, they got a good player without giving up anything too valuable. The Nationals can keep Soriano and watch us in the playoffs from home.