Lynn Henning

Tigers' Dombrowski stays practical in dealing for Peralta

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- No, the Tigers will not be spared of their July anguish because Jhonny Peralta rode onto the roster today.

But they'll be a more competent team.

The Tigers made an interesting deal Wednesday -- interesting, as in the interesting car the body shop gives you when your gleaming vehicle is getting a new fender.

All the Tigers did Wednesday in trading a minor-league pitcher, Giovanni Soto, for Peralta was to put a more competitive team on the field.

That's all it was about. Filling a void with a capable body.

Peralta isn't coming back to the Tigers next season ($7 million option on his 2011 contract). He's not a star. He has been on a downhill run with the Indians for the past several seasons.

But the Tigers couldn't be choosy. They needed a serviceable big-leaguer to play third base while Brandon Inge heals. And they at least got a stop-gap player, who has seen seven years of big-league pitching, and who can swing a bat, and most times, hit the ball somewhere.

For that noteworthy upgrade at a position, too many fans believe is a piece of cake -- you can't believe the e-mails -- the Tigers shipped a 19-year-old left-hand pitching prospect, Giovanni Soto, to the Cleveland Indians. Soto is the kind of pitcher Detroit's front office believes is thoroughly replaceable.

And that's all you need to know about Soto. He might be fine with Cleveland, in time. But in that time, the Tigers believe he'll be replaced several times over.

To appreciate fully how desperate was Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers president and general manager, he did something Wednesday he does about once in his career.

He traded within the division.

Dombrowski has certain codes, some of which are so rigid his credos can make the Marine Corps handbook look wishy-washy.

And one of those is that you don't make a trade with your division rivals. It has to do with seeing some guy 19 times a season that once was on your roster. If he happens to have made it big with the other club -- imagine Jair Jurrjens starting for the Twins or White Sox -- you can look forward to a spring and summer full of nasty flashbacks.

So, in Dombrowski's world -- and that of most GMs -- you don't court the politically dangerous by risking a deal that makes your rival better.

Soto wouldn't be heading for Cleveland today if the Tigers believed there were serious consequences at stake.

They also faced the reality of this year's trade deadline, which arrives at 4 p.m. Saturday. They accepted a fact of life, at least this week, that there haven't been any significant players available at an affordable price.

Adam Dunn would have excited everyone, no question. But if the Tigers were to get a hitter on the scale of Dunn, the Washington Nationals slugger, it would bankrupt their farm system.

It would be like emptying your savings account for a weekend at Mackinac Island.

The price was, and is, too great for Dunn. And the return would make a two-month rental of Dunn impractical when he becomes a free agent in three months and when the Tigers likely aren't going to the playoffs with him, anyway.

The price paid for Dunn (heavy prospects) would not be justified, even when the Tigers stood to get two early-round draft picks for him next year as compensation for losing him to free agency.

Peralta's move to Detroit was about several things.

It gives Tigers manager Jim Leyland someone other than a rookie to plug in at the half-dozen holes this lineup has on any given day, which is largely due to injuries. And while Peralta isn't going to make a lick of difference in terms of a playoff shot that's realistically long gone, he helps a team obtain something fundamental to baseball.

He provides a bit more competitive integrity. Remember, this isn't all about the Tigers. They will be playing good ballclubs down the stretch, teams fighting for a playoff spot, and the Tigers owe it to baseball, as well as to their fans, to not pack it in, which would be the easy call the way this team and the standings are today constructed.

You can also excuse the Tigers from doing anything cynical here, which isn't something that is always avoided in the cutthroat world of professional sports.

Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is 81. Leyland is 65. Dombrowski is 54, and who knows how long he'll be working in Detroit (not long, probably, if some fans get their way)?

The point is, various people with short-term aspirations could have said, forget the future, let's opt for instant gratification and send Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver to Washington for Dunn.

We're not going to be around here, anyway, by the time a mess down the road needs cleaning up.

That didn't happen Wednesday. And if you're not thrilled about Peralta, consider that an alternative policy could have been downright irresponsible.

Lynn.henning@detnews.com.