Tigers, Marlins Discussing Blockbuster Maybin, Miller, Cabrera, Willis Trade

Filtering over one of my MLive.com Cutoff Man blog entries FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting the Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins are working on a potential blockbuster trade which would net the Tigers 24-year-old stud third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in exchange for a package of prospects which likely includes the top two prospects in the Tigers organization, Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin.

The Marlins, stalled in their attempts to trade third baseman Miguel Cabrera, could be laying the groundwork for an even bigger deal.

The Marlins and Tigers are engaged in preliminary talks about a blockbuster that would send Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package of young players, according to major-league sources.

Outfielder Cameron Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller likely are among the Marlins' targets. The Tigers already feature two veteran left-handed starters, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, possibly making Miller available in a deal for Willis.

Some quick thoughts, even though the Tigers would likely have to give up more than just Miller and Maybin, I'd make the trade is a heartbeat. Yes, Miller has the potential to be a phenomenal pitcher at the major league level, and Cameron Maybin has all the talent in the world (and if he's not a consistent All Star in five, six years, then every single Major League scout that has ever seen him play would have to be wrong) but you'd be trading for two sure-things in exchange for two maybes (even if those maybes have a very very high likelihood of turning into top big league players). Cabrera is only 24-years-old, hit .320 last year with 34 home runs and 119 RBI on a poor Marlins team, and would be a cornerstone at third base for the next decade. Willis, while struggling since his 22-10 season of 2005, is still only 25, and with a team like the Tigers, and a park like Comerica, he could be an elite pitcher. With Bonderman, Verlander, and Willis, and young Rick Porcello to join in a few years, that's the making of an incredible pitching staff.

And most importantly, Willis and Cabrera would be parts of the Tigers future for the next decade (I can't emphasize that enough -- You are trading young players, but you are getting young players in return) and they make it much, much more likely you can win a World Series right now.