The Rays announced that they’ve traded outfielder Mikie Mahtook to the Tigers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Detroit, too, has announced the move, adding that fellow outfielder Anthony Gose has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the roster for Mahtook.
[Related: Updated Detroit Tigers Depth Chart]
Tampa Bay selected Mahtook, now 27, with the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft, but the LSU product struggled in his second stint against Major League pitching this past season. Mahtook debuted in 2015 and batted an impressive .295/.351/.619 with nine home runs in just 115 plate appearances, but he’d never shown that type of power throughout his minor league tenure. Mahtook’s bat regressed (and then some) in 2016, as he received 196 Major League plate appearances but slashed just .195/.231/.292 with three homers over the life of 65 games. A broken left hand did sideline Mahtook for a good portion of the 2016 season, though it doesn’t seem likely that the injury had much to do with his lack of production, as Mahtook wasn’t performing at the plate even prior to being hit by the pitch that ultimately caused the fracture.
Defensively, Mahtook is capable of playing all three outfield spots and has split his time across all three slots fairly evenly (though he’s played a slight bit more in center than in either outfield corner). Mahtook has been primarily a center fielder throughout his minor league career, so he’ll give the Tigers an option in center field for the team to consider. And it should be noted that he does come with a sound track record of performance in Triple-A, where he’s batted .277/.342/.420 with 17 homers and 33 steals (40 tries) in 1088 plate appearances.
Mahtook will compete with out-of-options Tyler Collins and his former college teammate, JaCoby Jones, for playing time in center field. He could also serve as a right-handed complement to Collins in a platoon setting. Mahtook does have a minor league option remaining, so the Tigers can also send him to Triple-A for further refinement if he struggles this spring.
As for Gose, his time with the Tigers has long looked to be in jeopardy. Though the 26-year-old has been mentioned by GM Al Avila as an option in center field at times this offseason, he’s out of minor league options and hasn’t hit in the Majors with the Tigers since being acquired from the Blue Jays in exchange for Devon Travis two years ago. The fleet-footed Gose has batted just .247/.315/.363 with Detroit. That includes a .209/.287/.341 slash in 30 games last season and an even more disheartening .203/.276/.312 slash in 90 games between Triple-A and Double-A. Beyond his on-field struggles, Gose also received a brief, team-issued suspension due to a dugout altercation with Triple-A skipper Lloyd McClendon (followed by a demotion to Double-A).
As for the Rays, the trade of Mahtook opens a spot on the 40-man roster which could clear way for fellow outfielder Colby Rasmus, who has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with Tampa Bay that has yet to be formally announced. The Rays are also reportedly nearing a Major League deal with right-hander Shawn Tolleson, so Mahtook’s spot could go to him as well. Either way, it seems that the Rays stand to make at least one additional 40-man roster tweak in the days to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
cool last name.
His last name comes from the choice of suitors his Mahtook.
Utterly. Spectacular
Bravo! Ha
I don’t understand this at all
That Gose/Travis deal doesn’t look so good for the Tigers. 4 more years of Travis with the Jays to see just how lopsided it will be
Gose was the greatest of all time wym?
Considering Travis would never have played with the tigers bc of Kinsler. Not to mention the benefit of playing in the AL east. Besides, Travis has had .75 good years
Yeah but Gose is awful so in that short time it’s already lopsided
The premise of the trade was sound. Tigers needed a CF and Travis was strictly a 2b which was blocked. Travis was a doing really well coming out of nowhere so it seemed even at the time but this one will definitely tilt in the Blue Jays corner. However, lets not think they lost an All-Star because they did not but Travis is very solid.
Just because Travis was blocked he then has no value? And AL east may have some friendly parks but oppo pitching in the division is tough. Granted he has had injuries but to suggest the Gose trade has been anything but a fleecing thus far is outrageous.
A player is only worth what somebody will give for him. Travis is worth a lot more now than he was then. One more example of an underrated Tiger youngster.
Since Travis has had the AB’s of a utility IF, calling it a fleecing is a bit extreme.
At this point Gose doesn’t have anywhere near the value of an utility IF. Truthfully, I’m not sure Gose has all that much value as a AAA OF anymore.
I liked the deal at the time, but Gose did not provide the level of defense he was expected to. Travis has spent half his time in Toronto on the disabled list. Travis has been better than Gose, but considering he likely would not have had a spot in Detroit, its not like the Tigers lost all that much with that trade.
Travis Can just hit, even with Kinsler he would of played his way on to the tigers. At the time, the trade looked like a win win for both clubs.
yea we got nothing for Travis . Bad trade, big gamble. They would not have to gamble if the drafted better and developed players better and planned better but Noooooooooooooooooo.
Who is the player?
His name: Tobe Named-Later”….traded often, feel bad for him because he keeps having to uproot his life like these DFAd players that we claimed 3-4 times during the Hot Stove season
Don’t feel bad though Tobe Determined usually feels the same struggle.
Remember when Gose was supposed to be really good? Naw, me neither.
Gose is better than Mahtook lol
That’s debatable.
Last year Gose had a higher batting average, OPS, ISO, wRC+, a better BB/K rate, higher WPA, and a higher WAR both on Fangraphs and Baseball Reference. Gose was a better baserunner (-0.6 BsR for Gose, -2.3 BsR for Mahtook), and they had the exact same UZR in CF. Not to mention Gose is a year younger than Mahtook.
Gose going AWOL after arguing with his manager in AAA last year is the only reason this move makes sense for Detroit
Gose has had more opportunity in MLB, but that’s been about it. Gose has a career .656 OPS and 82 OPS+, compared to Mahtook’s .685 OPS and 87 OPS+. Mahtook has also been better in AAA where both players have 1000+ PA. Mahtook has a .762 OPS in AAA, compared to Gose’s .679 OPS in AAA.
Neither player has a large enough sample for me to feel very comfortable with their defensive metrics, but for their careers Gose is below average in both DRS and UZR while Mahtook is average in DRS and above average in UZR. Mahtook has also flashed at the MLB level in 2015, which Gose has never done. Add all of this up and combine it with Gose’s poor attitude and Mahtook’s good one and I don’t think it’s even really that close at this time who most, if not all teams, would choose.
We’re in agreement on the attitude part. Regardless of whether or not Gose’s numbers are better than Mahtook’s, they aren’t worth putting up with his attitude. I have zero doubts Gose’s attitude was the driving force behind this trade
At least Mahtook wasnt demoted to double A last year for poor performance and arguing w his triple a manager
And so it Gose….
I’m quite happy and impressed with this move by Al. Career .859 OPS vs Lefties and plays some solid defense. A platoon of him and Tyler Collins oughta be cheap and solid to open the year.
You have no watched him play everyday. He is a below average player. Does not have anything to offer. That OPS was from his first stint because he hit like .900 off them. Last year he couldn’t hit a beach ball. Absolutely horrid to watch
That’s fair, it’s nice to hear from someone who has watched him. But even last year when he sucked he was drastically better vs lefties. How is his defense and base running?
Us Rays fans have been spoiled by some pretty good defensive outfielders in the past few years. I remember saying that he didn’t look that good playing in CF, but realized I was comparing him to Kevin Keirmaier. He has a pretty good arm and a good glove I would say.
I didn’t know rays fans existed
Wow so clever, I don’t think anyone has ever made that joke before. Did you come up with that all by yourself?
This comment from lohse made me die laughing lol. Yeah I’m a season ticket holder this year for the first time for the Rays and very excited. We do exist
They went from Davis/Rasmus 2 dependable players at the time to the rushed to the big leagues Gose to the rushed to the big leagues Pompey but it seems like they finally got lucky with Pillar(someone who wasn’t rushed through the minors) do you see the trend
Pillar can’t hit.
Pillar hits just enough for the elite defense he provides
In 2015 he played 159 games, had an OPS+ of 93, along with 25/29 on SB attempts. That ain’t exactly terrible offensive at CF, but obviously his defensive is why he plays.
Rasmus wasn’t even a Jays prospect and already had two full seasons under his belt when they acquired him. I have no idea what Davis you’re talking about, if it’s Rajai the guy already had 5 years in the bigs when they got him. Gose was finishing an extremely productive year at AAA when he got his first call up. Dalton Pompey had an extremely productive year when he was given a cup of coffee in 2014 and played his way onto the team out of spring training in 2015 before flopping. Toronto doesn’t have a great track record of homegrown hitters but they also don’t exactly have a track record of drafting them very high. Their drafts have been very pitcher heavy in recent years.
I read it that he stated that the Jays had two dependable OFs in Rajal Davis and Cody Rasmus but rushed Anthony Gose and Pompey to the show too quickly,… but waited for Pillar…. I don’t see his point, however.
Pompey is just a 4th OF’er with great secondary tools. His bat will never play, but his speed and defence will.
Gose wasn’t even a good defensive outfielder. I’m happy with this but still hoping they try to do more
Didn’t Ivan Rodriguez take steroids?
Wrong post lol
I had high hopes for Gose when he came up but so far he just hasn’t been able to put it all together.
yea he swings too hard, like a lot of guys. Most of them now. Kaline even said that. They would rather hit 15 hrs and bat 240 than hit 280. They strike out all the time.
Yes, finally some news about the Tigers.
“Tigers acquire Mikie Mahtook”
Oh….
Well he isnt better than Maybin by a longshot but at least theres someone patrolling centerfield that isnt Collins and tbd Jones?
But mostly Tigers, wyd???
He seemed to be a guy that did not adjust to a part-time role. Maybe pitchers found a way to expose him, but I got the impression he sucked more after inconsistent playing time and the shuttle between AAA. He might have a decent year in him ala Justin Ruggiano, but hard to see him as a long term regular.
I’d take Gose back in Toronto anyday…. Decent speed and great AAA depth in my eyes
Avila is a clown. First he brings back his worthless ballplayer son and gives him a few million dollars, now this. How much more garbage do we have to look at? Fire Avila (both of them!) and bring in a real GM.
Avila is not that bad. Lots of catchers don’t hit much. Avila walks and is decent behind the plate. Saltalamacchia hit about 190. The fact that Avila and Avila are father and son is a factor but it always is. Leyland’s son was drafted. I think Kalines son or nephew was drafted years ago and he was not very good. I just cant understand why Avila whiffs so much in big situations. I think we are lucky to have his dad as a GM. I think he is wise and will get some Latino players.