The Detroit Tigers quickly moved to help replace injured shortstop Jose Iglesias, acquiring Andrew Romine from the Los Angeles Angels for left-hander Jose Alvarez.
The American League Central champions dealt for Romine on Friday, one day after they learned Iglesias could miss the season because of stress fractures in both legs.
Romine, 28, played in 47 games for the Angels last season and batted .259. He is considered a good defensive player and stole 15 bases in 89 minor league games last year. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski expects Romine, an occasional switch hitter, to share time at shortstop with either Hernan Perez or Danny Worth.
Perez made his major league debut last year, and Worth has been a utilityman with the Tigers the past four seasons.
Alvarez, a 24-year-old former Red Sox farmhand, pitched in 14 games for the Tigers last season, making six starts. He was 1-5 with a 5.82 ERA.
Stephen Drew, whom many speculated could become a target for the Tigers in the wake of Iglesias’ injury, remains a free agent.
Photo via Wikipedia/Andrew Romine
