Trade recap: Prospects on the move

The Tigers' former top prospect Jacob Turner was one of several notable Minor Leaguers traded Monday in a series of deals made a week before Major League Baseball's July 31 trading deadline.

Shortly after the Tigers shipped Turner in a deal for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante, the Yankees stepped in and sent Triple-A right-handers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar to Seattle in exchange for outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and cash.

Earlier Monday, the Braves and Cubs reportedly agreed to a deal that would send righty Randall Delgado to Chicago for veteran Ryan Dempster, but that move is pending Dempster's approval.

The moves come two days after Houston acquired a pair of prospects from the White Sox for closer Brett Myers.

Turner, ranked by MLB.com as the No. 10 prospect in baseball, was dealt to Miami along with fellow prospects Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn in exchange for Sanchez and veteran second baseman Infante.

Turner, 21, was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2009 Draft and was considered the Tigers' No. 1 prospect this year. He was 5-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 14 starts this season in the Minors while going 1-1 with a 8.03 ERA in three outings in the Majors with Detroit.

The 6-foot-5 righty also pitched in three big league games last season while going 4-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 20 games for Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie. He was both an Eastern League and Futures Game All-Star last year, his second full season in the Minors.

Brantly, Detroit's third-round pick in 2010, was a MiLB.com Tigers Organization All-Star last year after hitting .274 with 10 homers, 62 RBIs and 22 doubles in 114 games between Class A West Michigan and Class A Advanced Lakeland. The 23-year-old catcher hit .311 in 46 games at Double-A this year, but was batting .254 in 36 games at Triple-A at the time of the deal.

Flynn, a 22-year-old lefty, was promoted to Double-A Erie last week following the best start of his career with Lakeland on July 16, when he threw seven shutout frames. The 2011 seventh-round pick is 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA in 19 outings at two levels this year.

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo takes a deeper look into the trio:

• Jacob Turner, RHP: The key to the deal, Turner was No. 10 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list and No. 1 on the Tigers' Top 20 at the time of the trade. He's made a total of six big league starts, with mixed results, but he still has the stuff and size of a future frontline starter. Still only 21, he was slowed this year by shoulder problems. He has a plus sinking fastball he can throw into the mid-90s that gets many a groundball out. His secondary stuff -- a curve and changeup -- is behind the heater, but it has improved. He has a good feel for pitching, especially for his age.
• Rob Brantly, C: A 2012 Futures Gamer, Brantly was ranked No. 15 on the Tigers' Top 20 at the time of the trade. He's an offensive-minded catcher who makes contact, hits for average and doesn't strike out much. He hasn't shown much in the way of home run power. His defense continues to improve and he does a good job of controlling the running game. He still has the chance to be an every day catcher in the big leagues.
• Brian Flynn, LHP: The seventh rounder in 2011 out of Wichita State has reached Double-A in his first full season. A big lefty, at 6-foot-8, he has a plus fastball that reaches the mid-90s. He complements it with a hard slider and a slower curve. His changeup is a work in progress. He has some upside and could develop into a middle-of-a-rotation type in the future.

In a surprising trade, the Mariners sent their beloved veteran right fielder and cash to New York for a pair of Minor League right-handers.

Mitchell, 25, has spent most of the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 6-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 15 games in the Minors. He also made four appearances in the Majors, posting a 3.86 ERA. He would be the third player from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 2011 roster to play for Seattle this season, joining Hector Noesi and Jesus Montero, who were traded to Seattle over the winter.

Mitchell posted a strong season in 2011, going 13-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 28 outings at Triple-A after winning 13 and 12 games the previous two seasons.

Farquhar, 25, joins his fourth organization in four months after splitting time in the Minors this summer with the Blue Jays, A's and Yankees. He has combined to go 2-3 with a 3.33 ERA and five saves in 32 games for Double-A New Hampshire (Toronto), Triple-A Sacramento (Oakland), Double-A Trenton (New York) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Florida native was originally drafted by the Jays and led the Toronto system with 22 saves in 2009.

Ichiro, with 2,533 career Major League hits in 12 seasons with the Mariners, said Monday that he'd requested to be traded to a contending team. He joins an the first-place Yankees, who recently learned they would be without Opening Day left fielder Brett Gardner until next season.

The Chicago Cubs reportedly agreed to trade veteran right-hander Ryan Dempster to the Braves on Monday in a deal that would send 22-year-old right-handed prospect Randall Delgado to Chicago should the deal get finalized.

Delgado, 22, was 4-9 with a 4.42 ERA in 17 starts for Atlanta this season before being optioned back to Triple-A Gwinnett last week. His made his first Minor League start this season on July 16, when he allowed six runs in five innings in a loss at Indianapolis.

Dempster, 35, has been a steady option for Chicago for several years and became one of Atlanta's targets this summer as he owns a Major League-leading 2.11 ERA in 15 starts. Since 2008, Dempster has posted a 3.63 ERA in 147 starts.

Dempster initially denied the trade via Twitter and declined to comment upon reaching PNC Park on Monday before Chicago's game.

Delgado, while no longer listed among the Braves' top prospects due to his service time in the Majors this season, entered 2012 as MLB.com's No. 36-ranked prospect after going 7-7 with a 3.88 ERA in 25 Minor League games in 2011; he also started seven games for Atlanta last summer, going 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings.

The Panama native signed with the Braves as a free agent in 2006 and has spent time at every level in Atlanta's system.

Dempster would boost a Braves rotation that has posted the third-worst ERA (4.34) in the National League this season.

Monday's deals come two days after Houston acquired Minor League right-handed pitcher Matt Heidenreich, left-hander Blair Walters and a player to be named later plus cash for reliever Brett Myers. The Astros also announced Saturday they had claimed righty Mark Hamburger off waivers from the Padres. Hamburger, 25, was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Heidenreich, 21, was 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 18 starts for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. He was the White Sox's fourth-round pick in 2009 Draft and went 25-17 with a 3.87 ERA in 75 appearances (56 starts) in four Minor League seasons for Chicago.

Walters, 22, went 4-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 18 outings with Class A Kannapolis and Winston-Salem. He was Chicago's 11th-round pick last year and went 13-6 with a 3.99 ERA in 32 appearances before the trade.