Item #5: Armando Galarraga to be Dealt to Tigers

There are reports out of Detroit that the Rangers are set to deal Armando Galrraga to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league outfielder Michael Hernandez. Galarraga was designated for assignment to make room for Jason Jennings which gave the Rangers ten days to trade him. We had speculated it may have been part of something involving Marlon Byrd to the Cubs but it appears now it will be a prospect swap with the Tigers. The Tigers will likely assign Galarraga to AAA and use him as a spot starter and/or long reliever.

A little transitive logic now means the Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez and cash for Joaquin Arias and Michael Hernandez. Just a little fun fact.

We are currently doing some digging on Michael Hernandez to assess what he could bring to the organization. Hernandez was drafted 3 times without signing before signing with the Tigers as a result of an open tryout. He went through High-A ball at the age of 23 last year before playing his final 18 games at AA. He has played LF, RF, 1B, and been a DH. He has shown some power potential and finished 2007 with these cumulative stats:

BA: .259
OBP: .321
SLG: .477
OPS: .798
HR: 24
RBI: 106
BB: 45
SO: 117

Once this deal is finalized we will try and do a more in depth scouting report on Hernandez. Here is his Bio Page from milb.com.

photo courtesy of milb.com