With Detroit's fourth and fifth rotation slots coming down to two of Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson, trade rumors have been circling for a little while, now. And where there was smoke, it seems, there was indeed fire, as the Tigers have traded Robertson to Florida:
Tigers Trade Lefty Starter Nate Robertson To Marlins
The cash will go towards paying a significant chunk of Robertson’s salary, as he’s due to make $10m this season. The lefty Robertson fell out of favor in Detroit by posting consecutive high ERAs after signing a lucrative extension. His fastball/slider/changeup repertoire is the same as it’s ever been, but he’s battled his command and an inability to miss a lot of bats. While he can still work well against left-handed bats, he doesn’t see a whole lot of them, and can be taken advantage of by righties.
Jay Voss - the return - is a soon-to-be 23 year old lefty reliever who had some success in AA last season. He has a fastball in the low-90s, topping out around 94, and is being developed as a specialist. He's not a prize by any means, but he's not far away from the Majors, and could prove to be a useful piece down the stretch given the unfortunate news about Bobby Seay.
The implications here? Robertson will presumably take the fifth rotation slot in Florida, which was previously going to go to Clay Hensley. And in Detroit, Dontrelle Willis will get another chance to show that he's got something left. The statistics don't suggest that he's got great odds, but you'd have a hard time trying to find an easier play to root for.
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