Cliff Floyd To Tigers?

John Delcos, writer for The Journal News, has a Cliff Floyd rumor that's been making the rounds.  The rumor seems more on the speculative side; I'm not sure that Delcos is suggesting that the Tigers have asked about Floyd specifically.

Instead, Delcos's friend may have just been curious about the Mets' interest, which apparently is slim.  But let's see which Tiger arms could perhaps be enough to acquire Floyd, an impending free agent.  Floyd had a very rough start but has hit .267/.383/.489 in May - pretty close to career norms.

Humberto Sanchez and Jordan Tata come to mind as two very marketable commodities for GM Dave Dombrowski.  Both are close to Major League ready and bring low 90s heat.  Sanchez has a 1.84 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 10 Double A starts this season.  Tata handled himself capably in a brief Major League stint this season, and is back to starting games in Triple A. 

Comments

[Sunny Reiser]

Boy, if the Mets could snag Humberto Sanchez for Floyd, that would be some coup. He's a solid 2-3 type starter and/or a great setup man, which is where some profile him at in the majors. In either role, he'd be a great addition. If he moved to the bullpen, that could free up Heilman to start.

Tata is a good one, too, and Jurries is a younger pitching prospect at their Florida State League club who looks real good so far as well.

First baseman Jeff Larish is also a player on that club that some like, though personally I think he's overrated.

But a Sanchez/Larrish package would be a nice return for Floyd, with Milledge and/or Diaz taking over left at Shea.

[JerseyMetFan]

Diaz will never play another game as a Met. I have read that he hasn't been to fond of his demotions, and he is sucking it up major at Norfolk right now. I'm positive that he'll be gone in a deal this year.

[Sunny Reiser]

Yeah, well, that may be so as long as Floyd is around, but you can bet that if Floyd is dealt, and they have a rookie step into his spot in left, Diaz suddenly re-enters the mix as a necessary fourth outfielder or insurance.

He has very little trade value right now, anyway, given his performance this year.

[Sunny Reiser]

All I know is, if I can deal Floyd, an impending free agent who's on the declining side of his careerfor a young stud like Humberto Sanchez, he can start packing his bags, yesteday.

[Bud Light]

Being a Detroit fan and knowing how much we need a left-handed hitter, this rumor doesn't surprise me. However, I cannot see giving either Sanchez or Tata for Floyd this year.

Floyd may be rebounding, but he'll have to do more than that for Dombrowski to give a top prospect for him.

[coach king]

It will be tough for the Mets, who want to win the WS this year, to trade a big bat and clubhouse presence for someone who will not impact the team RIGHT now. We all would love to have prospects but unless that prospect and another one of ours are going for someone like Willis then its not happening.

[Sunny Reiser]

I don't know, I beg to differ that Humberto Sanchez wouldn't make a difference in New York RIGHT NOW. He's been dealing all season long at Erie, and he's a serious MLB arm.

As I said previously, though he's been working out of the rotation, some profile him as a reliever at the major-league level, and with that kind of versatility, he'd enable the Mets to go in a lot of different directions with their staff, ie. Heilman and others. Sanchez is also much more ready to make a jump than Mike Pelfrey, IMO.

Much depends, I would say, on how much Lastings Milledge shows that he would actually be ready to take over in left for Floyd, and how quickly Xavier Nady bounces back from his appendectomy, but I'd say, based on his performance thus far, albeit in AA, Sanchez would be worth the gamble if Detroit would take Floyd as the bait.

Also of note, righty reliever Henry Owens, who was dealing for the Mets at AA Binghamton early in the season until a problem with his ulnar collateral ligament put him on the shelf for a month, returned to action two days ago and pitched well. If Owens continues to be effective and healthy, look for him to contribute out of the bullpen in New York before the end of the season. You heard it here first!