Marlins deal Anibal, Infante for Tigers prospects

Omar Infante

Anibal Sanchez

Jacob Turner

Rob Brantly

Brian Flynn


Marlins deal Anibal, Infante for Tigers prospects
Righty Turner main piece in trade for Miami pitcher, second baseman

By Joe Frisaro and Tom Green / MLB.com | 07/23/12 7:02 PM ET

MIAMI -- With the Marlins slipping further behind in the National League East, the team traded second baseman Omar Infante and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez to the Tigers for Jacob Turner, Rob Brantly, Brian Flynn. The teams agreed to swap competitive balance picks in 2013.

The Marlins, who are 11 1/2 games back in the NL East, announced the trade shortly before opening a three-game series with the Braves on Monday.

The deal sends Infante back to Detroit, where he played from 2002-07 and appeared in 494 games. Infante is hitting .287 and has a .312 on-base percentage this season, with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. He has also swiped 12 bags. He signed a two-year, $8 million extension with Miami last September, and he will make $4 million in 2013.

In 83 games with the Marlins this year, including 82 starts, Infante has registered a .982 fielding percentage, committing eight errors in 435 chances. He helped turn 72 double plays -- three shy of his career high set last season -- as the Marlins have produced an NL-best 97 twin killings entering Monday.

Sanchez, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, is making $8 million this year.

The righty has spent his entire Major League career with the Marlins after the team acquired him from Boston after the 2005 season. Sanchez has started 132 games for the Marlins since 2006, going 44-45 with a 3.75 ERA. He threw a no-hitter on Sept. 6, 2006, against Arizona.

This season, Sanchez is 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has 110 strikeouts against 33 walks. Sanchez has 14 quality starts in 19 outings this season. Opponents are hitting .259 against him with 12 home runs in 121 innings.

Turner, 21, is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound righty who was the ninth overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

He has made three starts for the Tigers this year, going 1-1 with an 8.03 ERA, giving up 11 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings. He earned his first win Sunday against the White Sox, when he pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up three earned runs.

Turner started 10 games for Triple-A Toledo, going 4-2 with a 3.16 ERA. He is a sinkerball, fastball pitcher with velocity clocked at 94 mph. He made four starts for Class A Lakeland in the Florida State League, going 1-2 with a 1.66 ERA.

The Marlins also acquired Brantly, a 23-year-old catcher who hit .311 in Double-A, and 6-foot-8 left-handed pitcher Flynn, who is 8-4 with a 3.71 ERA at Lakeland, and 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in one start with Double-A Erie.

Along with the five players involved, the Tigers and Marlins swapped competitive balance compensation picks in next year's First-Year Player Draft. The Tigers received the sixth pick in the compensation round between the first and second rounds from Miami, while the Marlins got the sixth pick in the comp round between the second and third rounds from Detroit.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro. Tom Green is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.