The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the New York Yankees traded OF Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for three minor league pitching prospects.
The deal comes on the heals of Sheffield’s comments last week that he wanted the Yankees to trade him and that Bobby Abreu (who replaced Sheffield in the outfield after he was acquired at the All-Star break from Philadelphia) wasn’t a better player than him. The three prospects that the Tigers traded to New York were Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.
This is a good move for both ball clubs. For the Yankees, they get rid of a potential bad situation next year with having to possibly move Sheffield to first base permanently (where he wasn’t that good defensively), as well as ridding themselves of an overall headache. Detroit is chalked full of young pitchers already on its major league roster, so the Tigers aren’t depleting their farm system by shipping off the three prospects.
The only real concern now for the Tigers is Sheffield’s health. He only played in 39 games last year for the Yankees and is already 38 years old. Detroit also extended his contract for another two years, making him a Tiger through 2009. However, Sheffield adds a lot of pop to an already solid lineup and this kind of move signals that the Tigers aren’t going to be complacent coming off of their World Series appearance. Plus, Sheffield reunites with manager Jim Leyland, who he won a title under while in Florida.
