Should The Tigers Trade Spencer Turnbull For A Big Bat? // My Response To Lynn Henning

 My family knows that I am not a big fan of Lynn Henning. He rarely writes anything I agree with and when he does, it's a big deal. His latest piece was right after Spencer Turnbull's no-hitter and he voiced on his opinion that the Tigers should probably trade Turnbull for a big bat. Unfortunately, I cannot link to the article like I wanted to but you can try searching "lynn henning spencer turnbull trade" and see if you can find the piece.

To begin, we have to look at where Henning is coming from. April was a terrible month for the Tigers. We dug ourselves quite a hole with a lot of losses. Our bats were almost non-existent for long stretches. It was bad. But there is more going on than quiet bats.

It Starts With Pitching

The Tigers radio announces have, for years, talked about how winning teams start with pitching. If you don't have pitching, you will struggle. During our rough stretch with the bats this year, our starting pitching was SUPERB!!! They kept us in each game. It was hard to be constantly losing 1 or 2 to nothing, but those scores meant we had the chance to win. Spencer Turnbull is part of that great pitching and it would be foolish to breakup a pitching staff that is doing so well on a team that is still rebuilding but getting close to being competitive again. This is not a veteran pitcher; Turnbull is young still so there is no urgency to trade him.

Our bullpen has had its ups and downs and wasn't great during our quiet bat stretch, but we know it can be better and it is showing improvement.

 

Defense Loses Games

You know what else was sterling during the bat struggles? Our defense. This makes sense because great defense goes hand in hand with great pitching. Teams who aren't making the plays and/or are making errors will give up more runs, leading to more lost games. The defense is part of the equation to keeping those games low-scoring and giving us a chance to come back.

And Then There Are The Bats

Let's talk about our bats. We are a cobbled-together team. There are a few veterans but they are here on a one or two year contract. The turn-over of veterans has been crazy during this rebuild. Then we have the youngsters who, even though many of them are in their third or fourth (or more!) year in the big leagues, are still learning. Many of them have gone up and down over those years between Detroit and Toledo and we also don't have much in the way of set positioning for these guys. It's a lot. 

We weren't scoring runs, but that doesn't mean we weren't in the position to do so. The Tigers are walking and stealing bases at a rate that I don't remember ever seeing in the ten or so years that I have been following the team. It's a different brand of baseball than Detroit is used to, but is that a bad thing? 

Another thing that Jim & Dan talk about on the radio is how the best teams are the ones who take the extra base and play small ball just as much, if not more, than they hit home runs. They talk about how a team who hits doubles is going to hit home runs. The Tigers hit doubles. And we have guys who have the power and potential to hit home runs. Are any of them going to be 30 home run hitters? No, probably not. But we tried for years to win it all with power hitters and fell short. Maybe it is time to try something different.

The Tigers are a different team. We are walking, stealing bases, and taking the extra base. That did not happen in the past. Our starting pitching, defense, and baserunning have all been excellent, for the most part. Our bullpen and offense has scuffled a bit but is starting to pick up. We have guys with power who can hit the occasional home run. So do we need a big bat? That depends on your goal and what style of baseball you want to play. This team is not going to be a home run team. Why get rid of a part of what's working to add a piece that isn't your style of baseball? I think Henning is looking at things from the perspective of the Tigers teams from years past but that's not who we are anymore. 

I don't think we need to be trading for a "big bat". I think we need more consistency for our players (knowing where they are playing, for example) and I think we need to change our mindset to be one of every 90 feet and smaller ball. If you expect home runs, then you'll be disappointed. If you expect smart baseball, welcome to Detroit.

Trades & Rebuilds

 

I don't really like July. That's because July is trade deadline month. There has only been one trade in the time I've been following baseball that I was legitimately happy about. J.D. is gone and I'm sad. I knew it was coming, and to a point I understand it, but I'm still sad. I'm also pretty stunned that we won last night's game. I fully expected us to lose, so I was pleased and surprised when I woke up this morning to see that we had won, and not by a small margin. Enough with all that. I have a few thoughts I want to get off my chest today.

THE TRADES THAT MAKE SENSE

As much as I don't like to see players leave, there are some trades that I can admit make sense for a team. Usually those regard players who will be free agents. Dombrowski traded away Cespedes, Price (okay, maybe two trades I was happy about), and Soria because they were going to be free agents and we weren't going to be able to keep them. 

When you have a very talented player who you are going to lose at the end of the season anyway, I can understand that you'd want to try and get something for having that player. Otherwise, you lose this great guy and your team is just the loser. With a trade, you at least might get another good player in return.

I've been meaning to write this post for a few days, so I was going to cite J.D as an example, but Alex Avila is another. I was SO excited this past off-season when we resigned him. I don't want to see him go. But we have John Hicks and there is no guarantee we'd sign him again this coming off-season, so if a trade worked out, I'd understand it. Not like it, but understand. 

THE TRADES THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE 

Justin Wilson? Seriously? With all the struggles this team has with its closer position, why on earth would we trade a guy who is actually doing a decent job? Very rarely would I say that one player makes or breaks a team, but trading Wilson might just condemn the Tigers for a while. I know everyone talks about Joe Jimenez, but we all thought the same things about Rondon, and it doesn't look like he will pan out the way we imagined. Who's to say Jimenez won't do the same thing? Regardless, he's not ready. 

Along a similar vein are the rumors about Fulmer. Purportedly, Al Avila's goal (and that of the Tigers organization) is to get younger and cheaper. So yes, by all means, trade away one of your young, cheap players. (Do you hear the sarcasm there)? Trading Fulmer runs counter to everything the Tigers have said they're trying to do. 

I'm not even going to talk about the rumors for Verlander (what I said last off-season still applies to Verlander) and Cabrera. I think they're ridiculous and nothing more needs to be said. 

(As a side note, does anyone else find it very interesting that only in sports, can reporters get away with spreading rumors? It's all scare tactics, and in any other form of reporting, it's not allowed to write unproven information, but it's just fine in sports?)

Ultimately, we the fans have to trust Al Avila and the Tigers front office. Did Dombrowski make some decisions that didn't seem to pan out? Yes. But overall, he did a great job. I trusted him because he was in the position of GM for a reason. I don't have all the knowledge he does, so it is really my place to question? The fans have to trust that Avila will do what's best for the team. We may not always understand it, but I don't believe he'd ever do anything to purposefully hurt the Tigers. Might things not work out? Sure. He's human, the players are human, injuries happen, things don't go according to plan. That doesn't mean second guess him and blame him for everything. The powers that be have tasked Avila with the job of General Manager, and everything that goes with it. We have to trust their decision as much as we have to trust Avila himself. 

REBUILDING????

Here is something I don't understand - how is trading ONE player rebuilding? As far as I know, a rebuild is clearing your roster of almost everybody and virtually starting over. One trade does not a rebuild make. The Tigers don't have to start with a clean slate. We can - and are - changing our roster philosophy. We are getting younger. One could say we've been "rebuilding" for a couple years now. I don't think we are officially "rebuilding" with one trade, nor do I think we even need to "rebuild". I think the guys who write articles like to be dramatic. 

It's not up to me or you and we don't know what the Tigers brass will do. But I try to look at things as logically as I can and that's what I write for you here.

Cameron Maybin vs. Francisco Rodriguez

For the first time in several years, we had a dependable closer. Notice I didn't say a perfect closer. Detroit fans seem to have a short memory. A lot of them seem to have forgotten the angst caused by our slew of closers over the last few years. Rodriguez brought stability to a slot that really hasn't been good since Jose Valverde's 49-49 season. (Soria was pretty good too).

Cameron Maybin injected a spark to this lineup. This was especially important when we were without J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos for long periods of time. Maybin was a catalyst and things happened around him. 

Both players were instrumental in the success of the 2016 Tigers. But when the offseason roles around, it's decision time. Who stays and who goes?

In a perfect world, we keep both. But in reality, keeping both guys means losing someone else; someone we potentially need more. So how do you choose?

What you're really comparing is pitching vs. hitting. (We are not going to discuss Maybin's defense for now). If 2015 taught us anything, it's how important pitching is. The 2016 season would have turned out much differently if it weren't for the young pitchers who really stepped up. Pitching is extremely important. But even if you have great starting pitching, you have a problem if you can't hold a lead. It's crazy to expect a lineup to have to constantly tack on more and more runs. Enter the bullpen. 

A dependable closer is so, so valuable. We'll probably never know, but maybe the reason the Tigers never won the World Series in their four-year reign in the Central was due to the lack of a dependable closer (for the most part). 

All this to say, I will miss Cameron Maybin and the energy he brought to the lineup, but I think the Tigers made the right decision. I am extremely grateful for everything Mabyin brought to the team and the way he played all out every day. I'd love to see him come back again one day (it's not that crazy a thought!). 

K-Rod probably won't be around long. Bruce Rondon or even Joe Jimenez will most likely be taking over the closer roll in the near future. But bringing him back gives the Tigers a little more time to mold and shape Rondon. He seemed to benefit greatly from Rodriguez's wisdom and leadership this past year. Another year under the wing of K-Rod will only be good for Rondon. In keeping Rodriguez over Maybin, Al Avila is also planning for the future - even if that is only a pleasant consequence of the actual reasons. 

Is it hard to lose Cameron Maybin? Yes. But in the end, trading him seems to be what is best for the team in the long run.