Defense First

Well I am back to writing after feeling under the weather for the past few days. I would like to take the time today to talk about the trade the Tigers and Blue Jays made this off-season. The Tigers sent Devon Travis, second basemen to the Blue Jays in exchange for Anthony Gose, a center fielder.

Devon Travis was a 13th round draft choice out of Florida State University in 2012 for the Detroit Tigers. He had fallen to the 13th round most do to him being injury prone  and the fact he is a rather small player only listed out as 5'9" and 195 lbs. In his first full year of professional baseball he had a slash line of .351/.418/.518 with 16 homers and 22 steals in 26 attempts. He would follow that season up with a .298/.358/.460 slash line in Double A in 2014. As a hitter Travis shows he can carry his weight with the bat. He has a nice compact swing and can work the count. His speed has been something many scouts debate about. Some will say above average speed while other say average at best. Defensively according to mlb.com they have rated his arm a 50 and fielding a 55.

Anthony Gose was a 2nd round pick out of high school for the Phillies. He has been involved in a few different trades in his short career. His first trade was when the Phillies sent him and others to the Astros for Roy Oswalt. Then they flipped him to the Blue Jays for Brett Wallace. Gose skills are dominated with his defense and his speed. He is a plus defender with a rocket of an arm that can sometimes get a little wild. His speed will make him a threat on the base paths and he has the ability to be out infield hits. He has spent parts of three seasons in the majors, but only carries a slash line of .234/.301/.332. Does need some work with his bat, but the glove and the speed should be a plus to have on any team.

Overall this looks like a good trade for both players and both teams. I was really a fan of Travis and enjoyed following him the past two years. I have heard comparisons to players like Jose Altuve and I kinda thought of Dustin Pedroia with his size and grit Only time will tell how good he will be, especially if he can stay healthy. He was blocked at second when the Tigers traded Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler last off-season. Now with him on the Blue Jays he should have a chance to be mid to late call this year for them. On Anthony Gose the Tigers need some outfield help. He will be platooning with our other speed threat Rajai Davis in center. I would expect him to bat towards the bottom of the lineup for the Tigers this year. I am really excited to see his speed and even more excited to see him and also newly acquired Yoenis Cespedes throwing out runners from the outfield this year. If Gose and bring up that average and and OBP about 20 points and continue to do what he does with his speed and defense he will do alright for the Tigers.