Leelanau Sports Guy’s World at sportspig.com

The Detroit Tigers have acquired the starting catcher they desperately needed trading two prospects for Texas Rangers catcher Gerald Laird. Laird is a strong defensive catcher with a good arm behind the plate. He’s a veteran of six major league seasons.

With a strong arm and a well regarded reputation for his defensive skills, Laird fits the profile of what the Tigers hoped to gain. He threw out 21 out of 74 would-be basestealers while recording a .986 fielding percentage and allowing six passed balls in 2008. He batted .276 over 344 at-bats this past season with 24 doubles, six home runs and 41 RBIs, including a .299 batting average away from the hot, humid weather in Texas.

The Tigers gave up two right-handed minor league pitchers 25-year-old Guillermo Moscoso and 18-year-old Carlos Melo.

My View: A good trade that supplies one of the Tigers biggest needs this off-season. Now we’ll see what kind of shortstop Dave Dombrowski can find.

Read Tigers seal deal with Texas, get Laird at Tigers.com