Tuesday, Dombrowski and the Tigers finalized a blockbuster deal with the Florida Marlins, sending Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller and four other players to Miami in exchange for third baseman Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis.

It appears the Tigers are gunning for a ring right now while the Marlins are backtracking — err — rebuilding.

With the exchange, the Tigers acquire two of the most personable players in the National League, and the only remaining two from the Marlins’ 2003 World Series championship squad. Cabrera and Willis have been a part of something that the current Tigers roster has only come close to doing. If there is any deal that could push this Tigers team to that level, this is it.

When Dombrowski made comments about the value of Maybin versus Soriano, Maybin was 19 and bouncing around the lower tiers of the Tigers organization. It was no secret that he was something special, dominating Class A ball and making a splash in Class AA before moving up to the Tigers.

Maybin and I are the same age and any thoughts I had about being a decent ballplayer went out the window when watching him play for the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps. The kid should be sitting in the Holden Hall cafeteria every afternoon eating chicken dippers and picking popcorn kernels out of his braces, but instead he gets to travel around the country playing baseball. What a life.

The point is, and to steal a thought from a fellow Tigers fan and friend of mine, can you be mature enough to win championships if you’re in an orthodontist’s chair every month?

When the Tigers took a chance on Maybin and moved him up to the bigs last season, he struggled (to say the least), hitting .143 with a home run in 24 games. While the home run was against Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium, Maybin often showed his age by misjudging fly balls and making errors on the base paths.

Cabrera and Willis are both young, as well — 24 and 25 years old, respectively. But they’ve established themselves in the league. And it’s easy to trust this deal, given the relationships that Dombrowski and Tigers manager Jim Leyland have (Leyland managed the club when Dombrowski was general manager and they won a World Series in 1997).

Cabrera is my kind of guy — baseball cap tipped off his forehead with a big wad of gum in his mouth. His offensive numbers are staggering in comparison to the Tigers’ everyday third baseman in Brandon Inge. Cabrera has 523 RBI in his first five years in the league — second only to Mark Teixeira and Albert Pujols. Inge had 205 in his first five seasons.

And if you’re wondering what the Tigers should do with Inge, here’s an idea: hold onto him. Back in the day he was a solid catcher and I think the Tigers still have that plan in mind for him. He’s got the three tools you need to be a successful major- league catcher — a laser for an arm, the guts to throw his body around at all costs to pick up a ball and, lastly, he can’t hit worth a lick.

If it were up to me, I would have let Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez go instead of signing him for another year and moving Inge to catcher right away before even pursuing another third baseman. But the situation can still work out well. Inge is a Tiger at heart — the only one who’s stuck around through thick and thin in Detroit.

Willis, one of the most exciting players in the game, had a down year in 2007 but still threw over 200 innings, as he has in the last three years. In 2005, he had 22 wins, something none of the Tigers’ starters have come close to accomplishing in their careers. And Willis will probably be the third or fourth starter in the Detroit rotation. Wow.

Willis’ flamboyant pitching motion and happy-go-lucky attitude in a change of scenery at a ballpark that draws more than 1,200 fans each night might just be what he needs to get going again.

Like Cabrera (and unlike Miller), Willis has established himself. We’re told that Maybin and Miller have tremendous upside. That’s great, but clearly the Tigers are interested in what happens this year, not in 2012. Neither of them are going to be players that hurt a ball club, but Cabrera and Willis are the type that can really lend a hand to this Tigers squad.

I’m not saying the Marlins got the short end of the stick in this trade, but for the next few years at least, it will seem that way.

It’s a good time to be a Tigers fan.

Joey Nowak is a die-hard Tigers fan. Share your thoughts on the ball club with him at nowakjo2@msu.edu.