So. Seems that all this talk about Eugene Kingsale being the answer in center field wasn’t meant for our ears but for those of Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski. And it seems that Dombrowski believed the message. For that, on behalf of Padre fans everywhere, I thank him.

New Tiger manager Alan Trammell, who cited Kingsale’s work ethic and improved hitting ability, admitted that the move to start his new charge in center might be a long shot. But if nothing else, Detroit has finally filled the void left by Kimera Bartee following the 1999 season.

And in return for Kingsale, the Padres land catching prospect Michael Rivera and thus help shore up one of their biggest trouble spots. Check out Rivera’s MLEs for the past two years. They just scream Bobby Estalella:

Year  AB  BA OBP SLG BB  SO
2001 396 255 310 449 32 101
2002 259 232 317 442 30  67

I’ll grant you, those aren’t great numbers. But this organization doesn’t need a great catcher. They need a serviceable catcher. And between Rivera and Wiki Gonzalez, they may have one. Plus there’s talk (or at least there was before this trade) that the Pads were interested in Phillies’ backup Todd Pratt. A Rivera/Gonzalez/Pratt troika would be pretty interesting, no?

Oh yeah, and rumor also has it that the Padres are pursuing free agent outfielder Orlando Palmeiro to back up Mark Kotsay in center field. Palmeiro hit .300/.368/.354 in 2002 and has hit .281/.361/.348 over parts of eight seasons in Anaheim. He would be an upgrade over Kingsale in my estimation.

The great irony in all this is that now that Randy Smith is with the Padres, he’s able to identify top Tiger minor-league talent. Makes you wonder if the problem lies elsewhere in that organization.

And here’s my favorite passage from the U-T: "Devoid of front-line catching prospects in their farm system, the Padres had sought Tigers catcher Brandon Inge, a defensive standout. But the Tigers wanted Sean Burroughs, or more, in return."

How exactly does that work?

Towers: We’d like your good-glove, no-hit catcher; what’ll he cost?
Dombrowski: For starters, you can give us the best postional prospect you’ve had since Robbie Alomar. Maybe throw us a little something more.
Towers: Um, how about your other catcher: the kid who can swing the bat a little? What do you want for him?
Dombrowski: Sure, he’s available. Got anybody you claimed off the waiver wire lately?
Towers: As a matter of fact, we’ve got just the man for you.
Dombrowski: Great, let’s do it.

Either somebody’s very confused about player valuation or somebody else is lying to the media.

In other news, the big ideas being tossed about on Fanstop (these are not rumors, just thoughts we’ve had) are Dennis Tankersley to the Blue Jays for Felipe Lopez, or Brett Tomko to the Braves for Marcus Giles. The catching situation has been addressed, if not solved; now move onto the other black hole. Solidify the middle infield situation at the big-league level. Buy some time for Khalil Greene and Jake Gautreau. Stay tuned…