BALTIMORE — The Detroit Tigers bolstered their offense for a pennant drive by obtaining first baseman Aubrey Huff from the Baltimore Orioles for a minor leaguer.
“I’ve been in last place basically my whole career, so this is an exciting time for me,” Huff said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

The Tigers began Monday leading the Chicago White Sox by 2› games in the AL Central. The last-place Orioles obtained pitcher Brett Jacobson from Detroit and assigned the right-hander to Class A Frederick.
Huff is batting .253 with 13 homers and 72 RBIs. The 32-year-old Huff recently hit his 200th career homer and should fit in nicely in a Detroit lineup that ranks 11th in the AL in runs and seventh in home runs.
Still, with the non-waiver trading deadline passed and little talk of a deal, Huff expected to finish the season in Baltimore.
When he was summoned to manager Dave Trembley’s office Monday afternoon, Huff figured it was for a pep talk. Then Huff saw Orioles president Andy MacPhail sitting with the skipper and suspected something was up.
“I didn’t really expect anything,” Huff said. “I cleared waivers and there wasn’t a lot of interest I’d heard of. So this one kind of hit me out of left field.”
Huff said he was sad to leave an Orioles team finally reaping the benefits of rebuilding through youth.
“This is probably the best young talent I’ve been around and I’ve been around some young talent. ... You got an All-Star in Adam Jones, and a superstar in Nick Markakis that nobody knows about,” he said. “(Brian) Matusz, (Chris) Tillman, all these young guys coming up. It’s a very exciting time here and Baltimore should have a lot to look forward to.”
Huff spoke briefly with Detroit manager Jim Leyland by telephone Monday and said he expects to join the Tigers on Tuesday, when they open a three-game home series against Seattle.
Jacobson was 1-3 with six saves and a 3.74 ERA in 35 games with Class A Lakeland this season.
The Orioles didn’t immediately replace Huff on their 25-man roster and were prepared to play a man short against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.