• James Schmehl | jschmehl@mlive.com

AP PhotoFormer Tigers left-handed pitcher Mauricio Robles throws a pitch for the Seattle Mariners during a spring training baseball practice.

When Detroit acquired Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline last season, the Tigers were assumed by many to have been the clear-cut winner after giving up so little in return.

"A great move for the Tigers," ESPN's Tim Kurkjian said at the time. "(Washburn) is exactly what they needed."

"I love this deal for the Detroit Tigers," said former ESPN analyst Steve Phillips, following the trade. "This is a huge deal for the Detroit Tigers and could be the difference-maker."

The approximate $3.5 million price tag that Detroit was on the hook for was considered a cheap acquisition – even if Washburn was only a two-month rental. His presence in Detroit’s clubhouse would unquestionably solidify a starting rotation that already was second in AL earned-run average, at the time. Or, so we thought he would.

Washburn went on to, essentially, pitch himself out of Detroit with a 7.33 ERA and only one win during his two-month tenure.

At the time, the trade was considered a Tigers success because they didn’t have to part with a top minor league pitching prospect such as Cody Satterwhite or Casey Crosby. Instead, the Tigers gave up left-handed pitcher Luke French, who had only five starts in his major league career, and a relatively unknown Single-A lefty, Mauricio Robles.

Fast forward seven months later and

after being unable to find a job in the offseason.

Robles, on the other hand, is baffling Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair and the hitters he faces with a fastball that touches 97 mph and a changeup that appears like it will touch 97 mph.

At the time, French appeared to be Detroit’s highly touted trading chip needed to pull off the Washburn deal. But now word has it that general manager Jack Zduriencik likely had his eye on the 20-year-old Robles from the get-go.

There's been talk since the Washburn deal that Robles, and not the other pitcher Seattle acquired, was the guy Zduriencik was after all along,

. The Tigers were said to have thought Robles was undersized, though there were also comparisons to Braves starter Jair Jurrjens, another diminutive pitcher Detroit gave up on,

.

Robles, who turns 21 on March 5, went 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA in six starts for Seattle’s Class A High Desert team, striking out 34 batters in 32 1/3 innings. In total, he breezed through two levels of Class A ball last year, making 24 starts and striking out 144 batters in 123-2/3 innings.