LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Detroit Tigers made three trades Thursday, giving up infielder Tom Brookens, pitcher Eric King and utility man Luis Salazar in return for pitcher Charles Hudson, outfielder Ken Williams and shortstop Mike Brumley.
The Tigers traded King to the Chicago White Sox for Williams, they sent Brookens to the New York Yankees for Hudson and dealt Salazar to San Diego for Brumley.
'We had to put together several pieces and we think we've done it with this series of trades,' Detroit General Manager Bill Lajoie said. 'This gives us some added speed and also adds youth to the roster. We'll now start the season with a balanced club.'
King, 24, is a promising starter who had been a disappointment with Detroit and was sent to Chicago for Williams, 24, a disappointment with the White Sox despite some promising minor league figures.
King was 4-1 with a 3.41 ERA last year after drawing Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson's ire late in spring training to earn a trip to the minors. He was 6-9 with a 4.89 ERA in 1987 after going 11-4 with a 3.51 ERA as a rookie in 1986. He never cracked the Tigers' rotation and had trouble adapting to the bullpen.
Chicago tried to make Williams into a third baseman last year, an experiment that flopped. He hit .159 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in 73 games after hitting .281 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 116 games the previous season.
Salazar, 32, was traded back to San Diego where he broke in and with whom he returned to the majors after a severe knee injury. Brumley, 25, hit .315 with 41 stolen bases for San Diego's Triple-A farm club in Las Vegas. He is a switch-hitter.
Salazar was Detroit's most valuable player the first half of 1988, when he hit .305 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI after signing as a free agent. He ended at .270 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI, playing every position except pitcher and catcher.
Brumley gives Detroit a young shortstop to back up Alan Trammell and leaves the status of veteran Al Pedrique in doubt.
Hudson, 30, was 6-6 with a 4.49 ERA in 28 games, 12 of them starts. He is a hard thrower but has control problems and is erratic. He was 11-7 with a 3.61 ERA in 1987 but is only 49-55 lifetime.
Brookens, 35, had played for Anderson longer than any other Tiger, coming up midway through the 1979 season. He takes a .246 career average into this season and will provide New York with quality bench strength. Brookens has a history of playing well for short stretches but tiring when left in the lineup for long periods of time.
Detroit will have slightly more than a week to look at its new players and see how they fit into the lineup.
