Put On Some Motown Records

Miguel Cabrera (L) and Dontrelle Willis were traded to the Tigers.

Nashville, TN  - The Detroit Tigers made the biggest splash of this offseason on Tuesday, as they acquired both third baseman Miguel Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins.

Several media outlets have reported that Detroit will send lefty Andrew Miller, outfielder Cameron Maybin and four other players back to Florida.

Cabrera, who was rumored to be heading to Anaheim at the beginning of the week, joins a lineup in Detroit that is already loaded with the likes of Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Curtis Granderson, Edgar Renteria, Placido Polanco and Ivan Rodriguez.

With Brandon Inge at third base, Cabrera could move to the outfield. However, the Tigers will more than likely try and move Inge.

In 157 games last season Cabrera hit .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBI - both career bests. Over the course of his five-year career, the four-time All- Star has belted 138 home runs and knocked in 523 runs, while hitting at a .313 clip.

Willis, meanwhile, fits nicely into a rotation that will be headed up by Justin Verlander and rounded out by Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson.

The 25-year-old hurler, who was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2003, was just 10-15 this year with a 5.17 earned run average. He also endured a 13-start winless streak from May 29-August 14.

Willis finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 2005 after going 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA. However, he has won just 22 games the last two seasons, while pitching to a 4.49 ERA.

In five seasons, Willis is 68-54 with a 3.78 ERA.

The Tigers had been excited about the 22-year-old Miller for some time, and he was a possibility to bring up the back end of the Tigers’ rotation in 2008 as the fifth starter.

Miller started 13 games for the Tigers last year and went 5-5 with a 5.63 ERA. He also struck out 56 batters while walking 39 in 64 innings of work.

Maybin made his big league debut last year, playing in 24 games. He hit just .143 over that span with a home run and two runs batted in, but at just 20 years of age, Maybin was another prospect who was thought to fit into Detroit’s long-term plans.

The Detroit Free Press reported that right-hander Burke Badenhop was one of the other four players being shipped to the Marlins.

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