Well it appears the hint was, as intended, a bit misleading for the folks following the blog. So let's set the scene, it's 2022 and the AL Central is tightly contested. So for this trade we're of course talking about Rocky and Bullwinkle's arch enemy: Boris....Turner. This trade is all about the AL Central - two division rivals making a huge deal to help propel one to greater heights.
Coming into 2022 the Cleveland Indians were in terrible shape. 71-91 in 2021 and on their way to 65-97 in 2022. Their prize player was Boris Turner, the only notable star to help fuel their rebuild. In contrast was Detroit, coming off of a 90 win season that still found them 23 games out of first they entered 2022 with playoff hopes. With Brian Colley already in the fold, they saw the chance to pair him with one of FCM's best - a pitcher in his prime with a tremendous amount of ability. Boris Turner was 80-46 in his time with Cleveland including four all-star games and a gold glove. There was debate in the league about his status among the best arms, but there was no question he had been a very productive pitcher.
To land Boris the Tigers gave up one of the largest bounties in league history: SP Brian Singer, RP Bill Jensen, 2B Humberto Currione, C James Stout, and SS Juan Zoragaza. At the time these were excellent prospects, in my deals any one or two of them would be an outstanding haul. Not all of them have lived up to that billing. Humberto Currione has never made the big leagues and at 23 years old his future looks destined for a bench role at best. Juan Zoragaza has been a mediocre offensive and defensive player in his time in the league. In 1700 at-bats he's had 55 homeruns, 207 RBI, and a .771 OPS. Nothing special, probably a roleplayer on a good team. James Stout flashed on to the scene with very good 2023 and 2024 seasons. However, his 2025 was a major disappointment and his career looks to be trending downwards after a fast start.
The studs that highlight the deal are Singer and Jensen. Singer is in his fourth full season and is developing into a top of the rotation type of pitcher. So far he is 48-32 with an ERA of 4.00 but his talent and some of his peripherals are showing him to be trending upwards. At only 24 years old, there is no doubt that Cleveland found itself a prize gem in this trade. Whether Singer ends up being as good as Boris is hard to say, but there is no question that they came away with serious value in Singer.
When you couple that with Jensen, a reliever converted to a starter, it's possible to say that Cleveland got 2/5 of a starting rotation out of this deal. Jensen is a lefty with a heavy fastball, but at 26 he's only cracking the rotation for the first time this year. In 2025 he managed to give up 20 homeruns in only 120 innings, not a promising sign for a future starter. The talent is there and along with Singer it's hard to argue that the Indians didn't get great value for their ace.
In Detroit, Turner's first two full seasons lead to AL Central titles and appearances in the ALCS. Turner's 2023 was amazing, earning him a Cy Young award in the process. Boris went 21-7 with a 2.69 ERA, 205 strikeouts, and an opponent BAA of .224. He was the clear ace of the staff and lead them to a 98 win season and won two games for the Tigers in the playoffs, including a dominant shut-out performance against Toronto recording 11 strikeouts and giving up only one hitter. It was an electric performance, but ultimately not enough for the Tigers to move on. Boris continues to give the Tigers a significant edge in their division as a pairing with Brian Colley.
This deal moved a Cy Young caliber pitcher inside the same division. It lead to two ALCS appearances for Detroit and shifted the balance of power in the central. The Indians were in full rebuild and were given a chance to land two excellent future parts of their rotation and some other spare parts, including a catcher who was outstanding his first two years. Again, the impact was all about shifting the balance in the AL Central - and rescuing one of FCM's most underrated starters from obscurity.
Next Up: FCM's 12th Most Impactful Trade: Bases Aren't the Only Thing Gardner Steals
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