Brandon Inge Rumors

Heyman's Latest: Lackey, Tigers, Reds

Jon Heyman of SI.com's last few Twitter updates have provided a variety of intriguing information from around the league. Let's check them out.... The Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners could pursue John Lackey, but won't offer a deal worth up to $100MM. FOX Sports suggested earlier in the week that the Brewers weren't likely to be major players for Lackey, but that wasn't necessarily because the team didn't have the money. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski insisted the team wasn't having a "fire sale," but Heyman suggests that the club might listen to offers for Brandon Inge, along with Curtis Granderson...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Inge, Zumaya, Marlins, Wang

More links with less than a day until the deadline passes... Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's not prioritizing players who can play third, even with Brandon Inge's knee pain. As MLB.com's Jason Beck reports, Joel Zumaya will have season-ending surgery. Speaking of injured pitchers, Chien-Ming Wang could miss an entire year, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Here's a photo of Cliff Lee in Phillies duds, courtesy of AOL FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher. Marlins president David Samson said on 790 The Ticket that his team has made...   Continue Reading

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Verducci: "It's A Young Man's Game"

SI.com's Tom Verducci links two of the year's most-discussed trends: the demand for young players and the demand for good defense, writing that "the renewed emphasis on defense hasn't helped the value of older players." As a result, teams are reluctant to sign older free agents like Frank Thomas and Jim Edmonds. Many of the older players who signed contracts this offseason are struggling; Verducci mentions Edgar Renteria and Orlando Cabrera among others. Of course it's too early in the season to make sweeping generalizations, but Verducci concludes that baseball's "a young man's game." Verducci adds that teams like the...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Fujikawa, Inge, Haren, Jacque

Today's collection of links... SI.com's Jon Heyman does not believe Omar Minaya's job is in jeopardy. New blog to check out: NPB Tracker. Patrick's goal is to provide a reliable source of information on Japanese leagues to an American audience. He's already got a name for us to watch: reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. He'd like to be posted, but that's up to the Hanshin Tigers. Brandon Inge is up for full-time catching in '09, even if it's not his preference. The D'Backs discussed an extension with Dan Haren, but talks broke off. They could rekindle. He's signed cheaply through 2010 already....   Continue Reading

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Ivan Rodriguez To Lose Playing Time

Ivan Rodriguez, the Tigers' $13MM catcher, will now be used in a platoon with Brandon Inge. They'll alternate starts behind the plate. Rodriguez, 36, is hitting .245 (AVG)/.286 (OBP)/.349 (SLG) in 208 plate appearances. This didn't come out of nowhere - PECOTA had him at .267/.295/.390. PECOTA is a projection system developed by Baseball Prospectus. The PECOTA system uses comparable players to make its estimates. Hot stove implications of Jim Leyland's new plan: the Tigers will learn if Brandon Inge can be their everyday catcher in 2009 (Inge is signed through 2010). If not, the Tigers seem more likely to...   Continue Reading

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Cabrera-Guillen Position Switch Upsets Inge

We haven't discussed the Miguel Cabrera-Carlos Guillen position swap here on MLBTR - on the surface it doesn't appear to have hot stove implications. However, Ken Rosenthal heard from a Major League source that Brandon Inge is "livid" that Cabrera was moved off third yet Inge still doesn't have a starting gig. Inge, 31 in May, is off to a decent start this year with a .246/.357/.439 line in 20 games. His versatility is especially valuable for the Tigers, who have multiple injury-prone starters. Trading Inge now only makes sense if a respectable reliever comes in return (even if $6.2MM...   Continue Reading

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Tigers Roster Set, No Trades Likely

The Tigers have been at the center of a number of recent trade rumors. There was the Huston Street rumor, and the Mike Wuertz rumor. But the one player that seemed the most likely to go, Brandon Inge, is still a member of the Tigers and now it appears that he will not be going anywhere in the near future. Jim Leyland was asked yesterday if there would be any last-minute deals. "My boss (general manager Dave Dombrowski) said it was OK to tell you that's the team." In fact it now looks like Inge will be the everyday center...   Continue Reading

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Cubs Outfield Situation: Crisp, Johnson, Byrd

Quite a bit of info is floating about this evening regarding the Cubs' quest to add an outfielder. Let's put it all together. SI.com's Jon Heyman names Coco Crisp, Jay Payton, Marlon Byrd, and Brandon Inge as possible targets. Inge makes the least sense given his salary and the Tigers' need for him while Curtis Granderson is out. ESPN's Jayson Stark confirms Ken Rosenthal's assertion that the Cubs are leading the pack for Reed Johnson. Stark speculates that such an acquisition could prompt the Cubs to trade Matt Murton. ESPN's Peter Gammons says Red Sox scout Allard Baird is currently...   Continue Reading

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Dodgers Scrambling for Infield Help

With veteran infielders Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent both likely to miss opening day, the Dodgers are scrambling to find themselves some backups. Ken Rosenthal says that since the Astros are unlikely to trade Mark Loretta while Kaz Matsui is out, L.A. is considering Ron Belliard of the Nationals and Esteban German of the Royals. Another possibility, Morgan Ensberg, seems unlikely, as the Yankees added him to their 40-man roster yesterday. Joe Crede of the White Sox and Brandon Inge of the Tigers are both probably too expensive. This could impact roster decisions Los Angeles will make on Monday, when...   Continue Reading

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Tigers Said To Be Targeting Wuertz; Cubs Disagree

The Detroit Tigers have some last-minute shopping left to do to shore up their bullpen. As you learned on Friday, Jon Paul Morosi noted the Tigers' interest in righty Mike Wuertz and the Cubs' fondness for Brandon Inge and Marcus Thames. Inge, it's worth noting, has seen time at catcher, third base, and all three outfield positions---and as of this spring, even shortstop. The Chicago Sun-Times, however, says Inge and Thames "make no sense for the Cubs" and that the Cubs have as of yet had no discussions with the Tigers about a deal for Wuertz involving those players. (For...   Continue Reading

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