Marlins send Cabrera, Willis to Tigers
Detroit also sent catcher Mike Rabelo and right-handers Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La Cruz and Dallas Trahern to Florida.
"Wow. Those moves put us over the top," Detroit closer Todd Jones wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
The deal immediately raises questions about the future of current Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge. Inge is set to make $6.3 million this season, $6.3 million in 2009 and $6.6 million in 2010. The acquisition of Cabrera and Willis will add close to $20 million to the Tigers' payroll.
The Tigers already feature two veteran left-handed starters, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, which made Miller available in a deal for Willis.
"We made this trade to win now. It's obvious," Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said.
Florida didn't even approach the Tigers until Tuesday morning. The Marlins told the Tigers they could have the two stars for those six players, then Detroit called back about two hours later and agreed.
"It was kind of like, wow, when I heard. I halfway expected one of them to get traded, but not both in the same deal. So it's a little bit of a shock," Marlins left fielder Josh Willingham said.
"It's deflating because they're great teammates and good friends. It's going to be hard not seeing them around. I know we got some good players in the deal, but Miguel and Dontrelle are proven big league players, and it's going to be tough to fill those roles. Miguel brings you more than 100 RBIs, 30 home runs and a .300 batting average, and while Dontrelle had a disappointing year last year, he's a workhorse. He's going to eat up 200 innings and he's always healthy. It will be tough to replace those guys."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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