All the rumors this week are swirling like tornadoes around Roy Halladay and Matt Holliday. I think I saw Helen Hunt and John Paxton chasing these rumors. Halladay and Holiday (or Christmas and Thanksgiving as some might call them) are obviously a pair of studs I’d love to see in the Old English D. They are also far fetched. Given the Tigers depleted farm system, it’s not likely that we are going to be able to pull off a trade for one, let alone both, of those guys. To be honest, you might be dreaming if you think the Tigers are going to get a big named player at all.
That being said, the Tigers are still in need of another starting pitcher (Porcello, our No. 3 has a 7.85 ERA over his past 4 starts and will most likely be shut down before the post-season) and a bat that at least helps somewhat. There’s no denying that our hitting has been suspect and with the news today that our most, and only, overachieving hitter of the season, Brandon Inge has been playing with a 75% torn tendon in his knee, grabbing an extra bat at this deadline is a necessity in my eyes.
One guy that was brought to my attention today as I peeked at Pat Caputo’s tweets is Chad Tracy, a lefty stick on the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s a “chip the D-Backs would like to move” and one that the Boston Red Sox were interested in earlier this month, presumably before the Red Sox moves today. If the Red Sox were interested in him, why shouldn’t the Tigers be?
Tracy is a 29-year old who has spent his entire career with the Arizona Diamondbacks (drafted in 2001, made his debut in 2004). He is set to make $4.5 million this season with a club option worth $7 million for next season. He started his first three seasons in the bigs, during which he hit .291 and averaged 18 HR and 68 RBIs.
Since then, he’s been used primarily in a platoon and a reserve’s role. His stats have taken a hit as a result of the demotion, but the past two years were still not that bad. This year he has battled an oblique injury for the better part of the season, so his overall line looks awful. However, in the month of July, since he returned from the DL, he’s been hitting .286 with a HR and 7 RBIs. Still not great, but a healthy Tracy has put up quality numbers throughout his career.
Tracy has been playing predominantly at 1B the past couple years, where the Tigers are obviously set, but Tracy has played more games in his career at 3B and had experience early in his career in the OF (54 games). A versatile, lefty bat like Tracy’s could be something the Tigers could definitely benefit from. He hits righties at a .298 clip in his career and would be able to fill out either corner OF spot, or 3B if Inge’s injury winds up preventing him from playing. This is a type of guy that probably wouldn’t take much to acquire, either.
So during the next week while a majority of Tigers fans are wearing their fantasy hats and expecting Dave Dombrowski to sell the farm, or what few cows we have left, I’m expecting an under the radar type move (if anything) to occur. Chad Tracy would be a great one in my book.
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