Jhonny Peralta

The American League Central is one of the most interesting divisions in all of baseball this season.

The Detroit Tigers once again entered the year as runaway favorites to take the division crown, and are once again struggling at the first quarter mark, trailing the Cleveland Indians by 2.5 games.

Many fans were speculating throughout the offseason that the Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta could be replaced due to a perceived lack of range at shortstop. It seems the Tigers might have found a replacement internally.

There is not a better immediate feeling than whacking a walk-off home run before a full house at your home ballpark.

There is not a worse feeling than pitching a gem of a ballgame, only to watch your hard work sail over the right center field wall.

Such is the beauty and cruelty of baseball, as it were on full display at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday night.

When the top RBI guys are off the board, there are still value picks that can help you in that category.

Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.


Catcher

Kurt Suzuki, Oakland A’s: Suzuki had 71 RBI last year and 88 in 2009. Both years he had the fourth RBI among catchers.

With the 2010 regular season coming to a close and the playoff picture starting to become a little clearer every day, there are some teams that will focus on free agency and which players they are going to bring back or which players they could possibly land this offseason.

One of those players that will hit the free agent market is third baseman Adrian Beltre, who seemed to reinvent himself this season as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

About a month ago, I wrote a prediction for next year's Detroit Tigers starting lineup. But my how things change. 

The Tigers are still out of the playoff picture, but are currently playing with no distractions and no worries about choking down the stretch. 

Today is a day that all Tribe fans have long been hoping for, but thought would never come.  Jhonny Peralta is no longer a Cleveland Indian.  Peralta was just traded to the Detroit Tigers.  

Tribe fans are now feeling like a little kid waking up on Christmas, or a teenager on their last day of school.  In Cleveland, the summer wind feels sweeter,  and the water taste better.  Umm scratch the water, this calls for a celebration, so crack open the beer or Champagne.

The Detroit Tigers have acquired Jhonny Peralta (and cash) from the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.

Detroit Tigers

They have been beaten up with injuries recently, especially on the infield, with both Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen being placed on the DL.  

It's not often that the Indians make a trade that the fans can be happy about.

Think back to last year, when the Tribe dealt Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez away, or to 2008, when CC Sabathia was shipped out of town after his refusal to negotiate a contract extension at a reasonable price.

Even the Bartolo Colon deal of 2002—a phenomenal deal in retrospect—was heart-wrenching at the time, as it signaled the end of the team's streak of success.

Welcome to the Cleveland Indians Trading Post, a weekly segment meant to help my fellow Tribe fans sort out which of the few familiar faces left on the team won’t be around much longer.

This week’s potential trade bait is Jhonny Peralta.

The basics

Signed in 1999, Peralta made his MLB debut in 2003 but did not claim a permanent place on the Indians roster until 2005, when he replaced Omar Vizquel at shortstop.