So I was sitting at work today when my phone vibrated. *Buzz* Ryan Dempster traded to the Braves. Well, who knows if that’s for real. *Buzz* Ichiro traded to Yankees. WTF MINDBLOWN.



But those weren’t the only two moves that went down today – just the big ones grabbing headlines. The best trade that took place might in fact have been between the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers.

Let’s break it down:

Tigers Get:

SP Anibal Sanchez

2B Omar Infante

6th overall “Competitive Balance Round A” draft pick

Marlins Get:

SP Jacob Turner

SP Brian Flynn

C Rob Brantly

12th overall “Competitive Balance Round B” draft pick

Are the Marlins in full fire sale mode? Word on the street is they are very disappointed in their performance thus far (wonder why?) and are prepared to make a bunch of trades. Also rumored to be on the block are newly-acquired Carlos Lee, Hanley Ramirez, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Johnson and Heath Bell.

Do you smell the smoke? That’s a fire a-burnin’ down in Miami. You’d think dropping huge free agent contracts on Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle would have been enough, but the front office clearly isn’t satisfied. They want to win, and win now.

Trading for prospects, no matter how good, isn’t how winning now is accomplished. That being said, the Marlins did address some big needs. They don’t really have a catcher of the future behind John Buck. They needed help in their starting rotation. And the big ticket item in their trade with Detroit is definitely Turner.

The 9th overall pick in 2009 is just 21 years old and has already had a few starts in the bigs. Turner was, by far, the Tigers’ top pitching prospect. In about 330 minor league innings since 2009, Turner has struck out 269 batters and walked just 89.

Flynn and Brantly aren’t bad themselves, posting above average numbers as a pitcher and defensive catcher, respectively. But again, the crown jewel comes in the form of Turner, who projects to have plus control and the potential for three plus pitches as he matures, according to Scout.com. His fastball tops out around 97 MPH.

So now that I’ve waxed poetic about the next coming of Nolan Ryan (okay, not really…but the kid will probably be really good), how did the Tigers make out?

Fan-freakin’-tastic as well! It’s going to be tough to decide who wins this trade, because the Tigers wanted rotation depth and were in dire need of a second baseman. By shipping off their top prospect and a few extras, the Tigers now have an everyday, top of the order guy to play second, and a solid middle of the rotation starting pitcher to complement Justin Verlander and Doug Fister.

Detroit wants to make a serious run at the World Series this year, and this was exactly the type of move they needed to bolster the roster. Miami, meanwhile, is proving to be in fire sale mode. I expect more trades to come, but if they receive hauls anything like what they got for Sanchez and Infante, the moves will pay off.

So, I have two polls for you today. First, are the Marlins throwing in the towel? Will stars like Stanton, Lee and Ramirez go too? Are the Marlins flipping the whole roster in hopes of winning a couple years down the road?

And second, who wins the trade? Comment below and let us know!

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– Jeremy (@Jamblinman)