Tigers Trade Scott Sizemore

Quite a bit of roster and positional maneuvering on Friday. Scott Sizemore was traded to the Oakland Athletics for relief pitcher David Purcey. A left-hander that according to Dave Dombrowski: “We've tried to get David Purcey for a long time."

Purcey, has played most of his career in Toronto, and with an ERA over 5 for his career you may wonder just what the heck Dombrowski saw in the guy. Purcey was drafted int eh 1st round in 2004, and was slated to be a starter. He pitched as a starter for his first two years in the majors, but was converted to a reliever sometime in 2009. Last year he pitched 30+ innings in that role only and posted an ERA of 3.71 with a K/9 hovering right around 9. This year he had an ERA in the low 2s for Oakland before being dealt to Detroit. He actually started the year in Toronto and had an ERA over 11 in just about 2 IP before being traded to Oakland.

The deal with this guy is that he just wasn't starter material. His draft preview seems to be similar to Ryan Perry in that he has a good arm and was supposed to be a starter, but issues with some pitches and his ability to keep hitters off balance for extended periods just weren't what he was cut out for. As a RP it appears he may be finding his groove, and this may be what DD has seen in him all along. The jury is still out obviously on the 29 year-old.

The move means that Ryan Perry has been demoted once again to the minors. With the departure of Scott Sizemore Ryan "KO" Raburn is said to be taking over 2B. This likely means that Dirks, Casper wells, or even Don Kelly will be playing out in LF. Obviously not much of a downgrade in the hitting department anywhere here as they all are pretty much worthless.

Sizemore just never got it together in the big leagues while in Detroit. After putting up a solid average in the minors while here he couldn't adjust to MLB pitching.

“We couldn't get him over the hump from an offensive perspective with us,” Dombrowski said. “Maybe a change of scenery will help him.”

Sizemore, who is expected to report to Oakland's Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, hit .408 with Triple-A Toledo in 23 games this season. At least he can eat some more exotic foods like african mango extract over there.

Purcey has a 3.60 ERA in 14 games this season with Toronto and Oakland. He had a 2.13 ERA while striking out seven in 12 2/3 innings with Oakland following an April 18 trade from Toronto to Oakland.

Purcey was a first-round selection by the Blue Jays in the 2004 draft. He has a 5-10 record with a 5.17 ERA in 68 appearances -- including 21 starts -- in the majors.

“He's a hard-throwing left-hander,” Dombrowski said. “He's got an above-average arm, a good breaking ball and a good changeup. He does have a three-pitch mix having been a starting pitcher before.”
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