The Detroit Tigers and their All-Star shortstop Jhonny Peralta could be pretty nervous right now and the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins could be their solution. Major League Baseball got one of the major Biogenesis scandal players to admit fault yesterday, when the Brewers' Ryan Braun confessed to wrong doing and worked out a plea deal that suspended him for the rest of the season. Luckily for Braun and the Milwaukee Brewers, this year was not going to be a playoff year for the Brewers.
But the Tigers were picked by many to win the American League Central and defend their American League title in the World Series. Peralta has been connected to the Biogenesis scandal and could be subject to a suspension of his own. After last night's Ryan Braun announcement, Peralta was tight-lipped to the Detroit Free Press. A suspension would create a desperate need for the Tigers, who have been getting stellar production out of Peralta.
Part of the problem is that if 65 games ends up being the standard, time is ticking for other players. Baseball may have wanted to focus on big-name players like Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez first, but they will have to eventually get to the Peraltas and Nelson Cruzes of the world, who are name players but are smaller names.. Baseball would do teams a favor and announce these suspensions before the July 31 trade deadline so that unsuspecting teams have an opportunity to respond to suspension.
The Phillies could help the Tigers out with Rollins and catcher Carlos Ruiz. (It is kind of assumed that the Tigers do not really have interest in Jonathan Papelbon). Rollins could help the Tigers even beyond this season as Peralta is a free agent at the end of the season and fill a need for the Tigers next year, too. The Tigers' catching production has been abysmal andRuiz could help the team too, to help increase the return in the deal. The Phillies could acquire some key pieces that would help the Phillies long-term.
Could the trade land the Phillies outfield prospect Avisail Garcia and perhaps shortstop prospect Eugenio Suarez? That may be a steep price for the Tigers to pay. But the Tigers may also not want to lose this opportunity to win a World Series while their core is mostly intact.
Further, Tigers owner Mike Ilych is now 84 years old and may not have too many opportunities to win a World Series in his lifetime. The Tigers' last World Series victory came in 1984 and Ilych purchased the team in 1992. Ilych was a minor league player with the Tigers in the early 50s whose career never panned out. He opened Little Caesar's Pizza Treat in 1959 that would grow into the big pizza chain that it is today, and he made billions of dollars.
Ilych still has $2.7 billion and wants to win a World Series in his lifetime. He is close, and this could be his chance. The Phillies could take advantage.
