Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said he would let manager Brad Ausmus address how the closer duties would be handled after the game. It didn’t sound like Bruce Rondon would get first crack, although Dombrowski said he still believes Rondon can be a closer.
Dombrowski said Jose Valdez would be called up from Triple-A Toledo for today’s game. He said Jones would play shortstop at Double-A Erie.
“Jones is a quality young prospect,” Dombrowski said. “He was a third-round choice a couple years ago out of Louisiana State University. Just promoted to Double-A. Was one of the leading hitters in the Florida State League. It was a situation to get a real good middle infielder in our organization in exchange for Joakim, based on what we’ve been discussing.”
Dombrowski said Jones also has played centerfield and third base.
“We’ll just let that play out,” Dombrowski said of Jones playing shortstop in the minors. “But (Jones) does have some versatility. He’s got enough bat to play other positions if need be.”
David Price dealt to Blue Jays for three lefties
Dombrowski said David Chadd, the vice president for scouting, saw Jones at LSU.
“We liked him there,” Dombrowski said, adding several people saw him recently in the FSL, including Chadd and Alan Trammell.
Jones, 23, hit .500 (5-for-10) with two runs scored and two RBIs in three games at Double-A Altoona. He has spent most of the season at High-A Bradenton and hit .253 (96-for-379) with 48 runs scored, 18 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 58 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.
Jones was ranked the 12th-best prospect for the Pirates by MLB.com.
Dombrowski said a handful of teams expressed interest in Soria. The Pirates did Wednesday and the sides continued to talk today.
Soria, 31, said earlier today that he couldn’t worry about things out of his control and hadn’t heard anything about a potential trade.
“Whatever decision they make, it’s their choice,” Soria said. “I like the team. I like the guys in here. But at the same time, the front office know what’s best.”
Soria said he had not kept track on social media about the trade rumors.
“If you focus too much on that, you’re going to lose it,” Soria said. “If it happens, this is God’s will.”
Dombrowski said he did not have contract-extension talks with Soria.
Soria was 3-1 with 23 saves and a 2.85 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 43 appearances this season for the Tigers. He was acquired from the Rangers on July 23, 2014, and had 24 saves in 56 games last year.
The Tigers gave up right-handed pitcher Jake Thompson, a 2012 second-round pick, and right-handed pitcher Corey Knebel, a 2013 first-round pick, to get Soria.
“We gave up a lot,” Dombrowski said. “We got a good quality player in return. The difference is we had the ability to have him for another year. The (Pirates) have the ability for a couple months.”
Read about new top Tigers prospect Daniel Norris
Gose knows: Tigers outfielder Anthony Gose said he has never been in the van that new Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris lived in during spring training.
Gose and Norris were briefly teammates on the Blue Jays and in Triple-A. Gose said he did know that Norris, acquired in today's trade for David Price, was fond of surfing.
Gose did have good things to say about Norris, who will start for the Tigers on Sunday against the Orioles.
"Good arm," Gose said. "Great curveball. Great kid. Very quiet. Very respectful, polite. Works hard. You can tell that. He's going to come in, he's going to work hard, he's going to compete. He's going to give it everything he's got.
"I've only faced him two at-bats in spring training, but I've been there to play against him. He gets a lot of swing-and-misses, a lot of foul balls because his fastball jumps out. He's got a lot of life on his fastball."
Gose said he didn't know anything about the other two prospects — lefty pitchers Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt — that were included in the trade.
Top three (or four): Ausmus said Price was in his top three of all baseball people he's met "In terms of being a good teammate."
Who were the others in the top three?
"Luis Gonzalez," Ausmus said. "Jeff Bagwell is one. Trevor Hoffman. They're the elite in terms of teammate.
Ausmus said you don't see players like Price who have "that type of selflessness."
Skip the meeting: Ausmus said he found out the Tigers were prepared to trade Price after Wednesday's game. Ausmus said he was offered the chance to be in trade talk meetings but opted not to attend.
Why?
"Because I don't want to see those people go," Ausmus said, joking that he'd be telling them the trades were bad so they won't give up players like Price.click here !
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