The trade between the Tigers and Rangers has dominated news in the baseball world, mostly due to the caliber of players
involved in the trade. Before the 2012 season, Prince Fielder signed a monstrous deal with Detroit, guaranteeing him $214
million dollars through the 2020 season. Just a year later, Ian Kinsler was signed to a large deal with the Rangers,
guaranteeing $85 million through the 2017 season. In addition to the trade between these two teams, Detroit has agreed
to pay Texas $30 million towards Fielder’s contract.
The details of the trade are as follows:
- Texas has obtained Prince Fielder and will owe him roughly $19.49 million each year ($136.43 million total) through 2020.
- Detroit has obtained Ian Kinsler and will owe him $17 million each year ($68 million total) through 2017, plus $30 million
towards Fielder’s contract.
With the Tigers’ former second baseman, Omar Infante, on the free agent list, a healthy Miguel Cabrera in the line up as a
potential first baseman, and the Rangers in need of a big bat, this trade seemed to be perfect for both teams. In addition
to Detroit getting what they needed, the organization has opened up some cap room, thus giving them a chance to resign Max
Scherzer after he becomes a free agent at the end of next season and Miguel Cabrera after the 2015 season.
Both Fielder and Kinsler have put up fairly similar and consistent offensive statistics, but more importantly is to look at
an analysis of each player.
It is rare for Fielder to see a pitch on the inner third of the plate because there is a good chance he will end up on first
base. In 2013, Fielder batted 27 for 65 (.415) on pitches over the inner third of the strike zone from the belt down.
Fielder also batted .500 this past season when hitting sliders into play (MLB Avg. .318), but keep a slider out of the
zone and he very well might swing and miss. He totaled 53 outs below the strike zone and 41 outs beyond the outer half
of the strike zone when he either swung and missed or hit into an out. This alone accounted for 21% of Fielder’s outs
throughout the season and 44 of his 117 strikeouts (38%).
Unlike Fielder, Kinsler struck out only 9% of his plate appearances (MLB Avg. 17%) for a total of 59 in 545 at-bats.
Kinsler is a patient hitter and puts himself in hitter’s counts by taking pitches out of the zone. In 2013, Kinsler
swung at 11% of 400 pitches (MLB Avg. 19%) he saw beyond the strike zone. This accounted for 26 of his 59 strikeouts,
far less than that of Prince Fielder.
With that being said, strikeouts do not tell the whole story about a player. Each individual is a very different type of
defensive player, but are very similar on the offensive side. The Tigers are losing slight offensive production when
comparing OPS, but Kinsler can also run the bases much better than Fielder, allowing him to score more often. Last year,
Kinsler stretched second to home on 15 of his 19 chances. He should increase opportunities to score next season by playing
on a more productive offensive team. The Tigers led the league in hits and were second in runs for the 2013 season.
At this point in the season, it is far too early to tell which team got the better of the deal, but there is no doubt
that both teams benefited tremendously. The Rangers filled a must needed spot in their roster to compete for a pennant
and the Tigers are expecting another World Series run.
NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 11/22/13
By Danny Malter
AriBall.com
