Detroit Tigers Acquire Erick Aybar from Braves
By Jason Evans
After losing Jose Iglesias to a hamstring injury, the Detroit Tigers were looking for a shortstop. They found their replacement with Erick Aybar.
Jose Iglesias isn’t the best hitter out there, but he’s 26 and an exceptional fielder. With him landing on the DL, the Detroit Tigers didn’t want to run out Andrew Romine and Dixon Machado at short. So they went the veteran route.
Mike Aviles has been traded to Atlanta in exchange for INF Erick Aybar
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) August 16, 2016
Along with Aviles, Tigers are also shipping Kade Scivicque to Atlanta in the deal. Steven Moya has been recalled
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) August 16, 2016
The 32 year old is a free agent after the season. For the Braves, Aybar hit .242 with a .607 OPS. He’s got a -0.2 WAR for the year. Not exactly an All-Star.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Aviles is 35 and has not has a great year as a super utility player for the Tigers. He’s hitting just .210 with an .528 OPS this year and a -1.4 WAR.
Makes Aybar look like an All-Star.
Scivicque is a catcher who was the Tigers fourth round pick last season. He was the Tigers’ 20th prospect according to MLBpipeline.com. At high-A Lakeland he is .282 with a .706 OPS in 105 games this season.
He was their highest ranked catcher in their system, though they also have Grayson Greiner and Arvicent Perez in their system who are ranked.
Here is a breakdown of Scivicque:
"College catchers are often in high demand and short supply. Scivicque parlayed a strong senior season at LSU into a fourth-round selection by the Tigers and ended up being one of several 2015 draftees on the West Michigan club that won the Midwest League title last year.Scivicque reminds some within the organization of Curt Casali, a former college backstop drafted by the Tigers, in terms of thinking he has the stuff to catch in some capacity in the big leagues. With a solid average arm, Scivicque threw out 50 percent of would-be basestealers during his pro debut and pitchers liked throwing to him in full-season ball. Offensively, he tries not to do too much and barrels up balls while not being afraid to go the other way. The bat might be a little light for him to be an everyday catcher in the future.A natural leader, Scivicque has the kind of confidence teams like to see from their backstops. He brings a bulldog mentality to the field on a daily basis. He might profile best as a backup at the highest level, but one a pitching staff loves to have on the roster."
For the Tigers, they get an upgrade at short over what they had, plus someone who can backup once Iglesias comes back.
Next: Crisp frustrated with lack of playing time
For the Braves, it’s another prospect to add to their stable and someone they can have as a stop gap for the rest of their season.