Tigers strengthen lineup with Huff trade
The Detroit Tigers sat and watched the Chicago White Sox add a nice bat in Alex Rios after the trade deadline, so perhaps the Tigers felt compelled to make a move to combat that one as the White Sox appear to be the sole competition for the AL Central title.
Well, the Tigers did well to get Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff on Monday. Huff was hitting .253 with 13 home runs and 72 RBIs in 110 games for Baltimore this season. He is hitting an excellent.324 with runners in scoring position. Huff might also play some third base for Detroit to give Brandon Inge an occasional day off.
All the Tigers gave up was Class A pitcher Brett Jacobson. Ranked 10th in Detroit’s system by Baseball America heading into 2009, the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Jacobson was a 2008 fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt.
“Huff is a quality major league hitter, who adds a left-handed bat to our lineup and brings versatility to our club with his ability to play numerous positions,” Tigers president and general manager David Dombrowski said.
Huff signed a three-year, $20 million deal with the Orioles in January 2007. His best of three seasons with the club came last year, when he hit .304 with 32 homers and 108 RBIs, earning Most Valuable Oriole accolades and a Silver Slugger Award.
“I’ve been in last place basically my whole career, so this is an exciting time for me,” Huff said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Detroit leads Chicago by 2 ½ games in the Central. The Tigers rank just 11th in the AL in runs and seventh in homers.
With Huff gone, Luke Scott will probably be the main first baseman for the Orioles.
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