Tigers Trade Two Prospects For Yankees Reliever Justin Wilson
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
The Tigers have been searching for a left-handed reliever to fill out the rest of their bullpen, and the Yankees' Justin Wilson is that man.
General manager and VP of baseball operations Al Avila confirmed Wednesday the team had traded away pitching prospects Luis Cessa and Chad Green, receiving Wilson in return.
Wilson, who pitched for the Yankees last season after three years with Pittsburgh, threw in 74 games in 2015 with an ERA of 3.10. He struck-out a career-high 66 last season in 61 innings pitched, while allowing 49 hits, 21 runs (all earned) and 20 walks.
"Compared to the players out there in free agency, we felt Wilson was the best player to acquire at the time for our bullpen," he said. "Here in this room with our scouts and our analytics department and our advisers we came to the conclusion, 'Let's go hard after Wilson.'"
The deal was discussed for about two days, according to Avila, who was "struggling" because he initially didn't want to give up young prospects.
But, "I had to pull the trigger," he said.
"He's a power lefty that can dominate," Avila continued. "He can pitch in the back end of the bullpen. He can pitch the eighth inning if needed. He's a guy we don't have in the system. We don't have him in the minor leagues. We don't have him at the big league level. ... That's the kind of guy we're really excited to have."
This offseason has been a busy one for the Tigers, as far as pitching acquisitions have gone. They have already signed closer Francisco Rodriguez, reliever Mark Lowe and a couple of starters, Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey. Avila said on Tuesday he was happy with the club's potential starting rotation, but that the bullpen still needed work. With the addition of Wilson, that satisfaction level is higher. And although acquiring a utility man is the remaining top priority in the offseason, Avila said it's still possible the club adds another arm to the bullpen at some point.
With the way the bullpen shakes out now, manager Brad Ausmus said Rodriguez would certainly be the closer, with both Lowe and Wilson serving as set-up men.
"I feel like there's a lot less mixing and matching with what we have right now," Ausmus said. "I've said all along, I'd love to have guys where I can say, 'This is the guy in the eighth, this is the guy in the seventh,' or seventh, eighth, ninth. I think, assuming health, I think we kind of have that."
