DETROIT -- Brandon Inge's catching slate is now cleared for him to become an ev eryday third baseman. The Tigers filled their backup catching needs Thursday by trading minor league shortstop Anderson Hernandez to the Mets in exchange for veteran backstop Vance Wilson. The deal fulfills a need the Tigers recognized from the start of the offseason, as soon as they determined Inge would go into camp as a starter somewhere in t he field. Inge went into last season as a utilityman, backing up everywhere fro m catcher to third to the outfield. By August, however, he was earning most of the playing time at third base while still serving as the No. 2 catcher behind Ivan Rodriguez, who needed short rests down the stretch. Manager Alan Trammell said at season's end that he hoped to give Rodriguez more days off in 2005. Wilson makes that possible without displacing Inge, though T rammell said Tuesday that Inge will still work out as a catcher in Spring Train ing. "Hopefully [the Tigers] realize how good I am, and Pudge will get a few more da ys off," Wilson told MLB.com Thursday. "And with their staff in Alan Trammell a nd Kirk Gibson, in that division, I'm really looking forward to it." Dombrowski called Wilson a "professional backup catcher" and "one of the best o f the business." The 31-year-old served the past three seasons as a backup to M ike Piazza and later Jason Phillips. He batted .274 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs in 79 games, 69 of them behind the plate, before missing most of September with season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left ha nd. More important to the Tigers are Wilson's defensive skills. He threw out 11 of 32 would-be basestealers last year, his first full season below 44 percent thro wing out baserunners. Wilson signed a one-year, $760,000 contract last month. "He's a legitimate quality ML backup catcher that's done it for a while," Dombr owski said. "He's a good defensive catcher. He's got quality makeup. He knows t he role, he works well with pitchers, and he's put up solid enough offensive nu mbers." Wilson started a career-best 71 games at catcher in 2003, when he hit .243 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs in 296 at-bats. Hernandez was rated a top-10 prospect in the Tigers organization as recently as 2003 and was considering the top defensive shortstop in Detroit's farm system the last three years. With Carlos Guillen in his prime, Omar Infante enjoying a breakout season last year and Tony Giarratano emerging as a top prospect just behind Hernandez on the developmental ladder, however, Hernandez's chances for advancement were long. He batted .274 with 19 doubles, five home runs, 29 RBIs and 17 stolen bases for Double-A Erie in 2004 after hitting .309 at the start o f the year for Class A Lakeland. To make room for Wilson on the 40-man roster, the Tigers designated outfielder Alexis Gomez's contract for assignment. Gomez was claimed from the Royals at se ason's end, one of three outfielders the Tigers plucked from the waiver wire. -- 意者可回信 正式交易時請用ATM轉帳 --

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