The Tigers made quite a bit of noise yesterday, declining to pick up Magglio Ordonez's option and announcing that they would not pursue Cliff Lee or another top tier free agent starting pitcher, among several other things. John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press has some more today…
- First base (Miguel Cabrera) and centerfield (Austin Jackson) are the only positions set in stone for next year, and they plan to fill several others from within. Alex Avila (.228/.316/.340 in 333 plate appearances) will take over as the starting catcher, and Ryan Raburn (.280/.340/.474 in 410 PA) will essentially have a full-time outfield job. Second base will also be filled from within, with Will Rhymes and Scott Sizemore representing the early favorites. Once he returns from knee surgery, Carlos Guillen is expected to be a "jack of all trades."
- The Tigers do have interest in bringing Ordonez back, presumably at a rate much lower than the $15MM option they declined. That could fill the hole at designated hitter.
- Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that Brandon Inge's defense is why they want him back, but they feel he can chip in double digit homers as well. Yesterday we heard that the two sides were discussing a multi-year contract.
- Brennan Boesch, who hit .163/.237/.222 in the second half after a .342/.397/.593 first half, will "have to step up" like any young player who wants a full-time job according to the GM.
- Dombrowski told Tom Gage of The Detroit News that he wants to add a middle-of-the-order bat, and he would prefer it to be a lefthanded hitter (Twitter link). Cabrera led the league with 32 intentional walks, so finding him some protection is a must. Some notable lefty bats that will be on the free agent market: Adam Dunn, Russell Branyan, Brad Hawpe, and Hideki Matsui, though all of those guys are defensively challenged.
I sure hope Dave Dombrowski is posturing to the media. There is no reason in the world that he should be comfortable with Alex Avila and Carlos Guillen / Scott Sizemore as solid starters, especially with Victor Martinez on the market. Making a splash to trade for and extend a guy like Dan Uggla would be wise as well, and they have a history of dealing with the Marlins. Lots of work to be done.
I really like the Dan Uggla trade idea. He’d be a nice addition and add some much needed protection for Cabrera, but I think the asking price would be rather steep, wouldn’t it?
I agree. It would not be very smart to say how much you want to get some players that are not FAs.
Dunn as the designated hitter would be a great acquisition for the Tigers since they are unlikely to get Crawford. Though I would not mind both:)
Perhaps they will try and trade for Napoli as well.
Would Scott Sizemore plus Bobby Seay get it done?
That trade is impossible. Seay is a FA and on top of that he is already out for 2011.
LOL
I think the Tigers let Maggs walk and pursue a full-time left DH like Matsui, Branyan, or even Thome even though I think he ends up back with the Twins. Regardless if they’re building from within or not, they need to dip into this year’s free agent market for catchers to improve there.
I don’t understand, so much money coming off of the books, so many options, and he’s making it sound like we’re going to field a contender with the same team that hovered around .500 all year. I hope he’s just downplaying the media attention and really piecing together a plan to nab Werth, a key no. 3 starter, a few big relievers, and Ordonez or Adam Dunn, because unless that happens, I don’t see them overcoming the Twins or White Sox next year. I don’t mind having Inge back and Peralta at short, but if you want to tell me Avila and Raburn are going to be regulars next year, you’re going to have a tough time convincing me this team is a contender next year.
I totally agree except on raburn-when he’s given a full time position the guy performs. He just can’t seem to figure out pitching when he is coming off the bench. Plus filling RF with raburn gives you the money to get Crawford who I believe is #1 on dombrowski’s list
I guess he has proved himself of sorts over the past two years offensively, he was pretty good in 2009 and his second half in 2010 was electric but his defense is horrendous…perhaps a spring training project for him??
Well if they do get Crawford then he and Jackson will be more than capable of covering for his defensive handicap. Plus, if you just stick him in one position and leave him there I am sure he will improve. Offensively, the guy has been fantastic when he is given a daily role and he is only 28. I say throw him against the wall and see if he can prove that he belongs in the lineup all year. If not, RF isn’t a hard position to fill with a trade or even internally. I know boesch fell off the map but he proved he can be a more than adequate defensive right fielder and has a canon for an arm
Boesch has a canon for an arm, but his range and concentration in the outfield are mediocre at best. I saw him botch many routine plays this year.
Rookie mistakes. His range is really good he just has to learn better paths to take getting to fly balls. He’s got really good speed but I agree, he does have A LOT to learn when it comes to reading and tracking down balls but as far as his range goes, he can cover ground. He’s got incredible speed for his size.
Reverse standings is wrong. It should be marlins 14, brewers 15, Dodgers 16, Angels 17. As a heads up.
Dombrowski does this every offseason. “We won’t be big players” or, “We want to build from within.” I don’t buy it anymore. Don’t forget, Illitch likes to make decisions. With over $70mil, these needs will not all be filled from within.
I would be shocked if they don’t re-sign maggs and add another big time bat. Dunn would be perfect but I could also see Vmart dhing and catching part time. Alot of money will go to the pen , downs ,putz and frasor would be a good fit. They’ll also get another starter and I imagine De la rosa is high on their list. Raburn deserves a full time gig to prove he can do it , sizemore just started to come on when he was healthy at the end of the year. These moves would make them a serious contender.
V-Mart and Dunn together would force one or the other to the DH spot obviously, and there is no way in hell you would even want to see Dunn attempt to play LF in Comerica
Yeah, if the Tigers get V-Mart they don’t really need Dunn. Can hit Victor behind Cabrera and be fine. If they do that, a guy like Branyan would be perfect. Someone who doesn’t need to (or probably can’t) play 162 games. Can DH him against all righties and sit him against some tough lefties, allowing Victor (or Cabrera) to slide to DH for some games.
Nope sorry Dombrowski. I can’t/won’t believe this. I know you’re just posturing the media because no way Mike Illitch let’s you get away with those comments.
The Tigers DESPERATELY need to upgrade their starting rotation. Failure to do so would be just gross negligence, but something that DD is completely capable of. This team ranked 12th in the league in team ERA, and the rotation was no better. They were no better in the second half, either. $ 34 million is coming off the books that is presently allocated to starting pitchers. They need help, and Phil Coke isn’t the answer. Coke is the one set up man that they do have, and they’re short another set up man. Remove Coke from the pen, and they need two guys to help with late inning duty. Wait, lemme guess- DD will rely on Zumaya! Leyland likes Perry!
In terms of the lineup, it’s not enough to replace Ordonez with “an RBI bat”, let Damon walk, and call it a day. They’re standing pat at SS, standing pat at 3B, standing pat at 2B, letting Damon go, maybe bringing Magglio back, starting Avila behind the plate with his .228 average, and calling Raburn a key component. Doesn’t sound like any upgrades are in store for the lineup, either.
I really think the Tigers make a strong run at Dunn. Would love him on my White Sox however they have a ton of cash coming off the books and I’m guessing they would be interesting in getting MCab some big time protection.
Probably another starter would make sense as well.
We need Cliff Lee (badly), Victor Martinez, a hitting coach to tell our guys to stop swinging at the first pitch, Rhymes at 2nd (he’s earned it), Boesch to AAA to get a hitting approach other than “see the ball, hit the ball,” Maggs @ DH, and to cut Guillen. With Seay, Coke, Zoom, and Papa Grande, we might be able to make a run. However, the big hurdle is Leyland’s inability to have teams that hold up over the second half — none of his teams historically have ever done squat in the second half of any season under him. He also has to get the team to perform on the road because that is where we lost the race. 29-52 on the road is pathetic, one of the worst records in baseball. We were swept twice in Cleveland!! Regrettably, this needs to be Jim’s last year.
Jim’s a good manager, he just doesn’t have enough quality pieces to the puzzle. They should go hard after Dunn and and a second tier bat if they cannot afford another first tier bat.
Seay is a FA and reportedly done for 2011, relying on Zumaya is just dumb, and they want to transition Coke to a SP. That leaves… Valverde, who struggled in the 2nd half. The SP will be fine without Lee if you add a Pavano/Westbrook type to give a solid 1-4 in the rotation with Galarraga/Oliver for the 5th spot.
Cutting Guillen makes no sense because they owe him a ridiculous $13M next year. He’s untradeable because of the contract and lack of performance. Just have to hope he can stay healthy in a utility role so he can still provide some value to the team next year.
If the Tigers aren’t going to go after Carl Crawford or Cliff Lee, and they’re not, I’d rather see DD try to swing a trade for David DeJesus or Josh Willingham, or Luke Scott, and one of the G Men (Greinke, Garza, Guthrie, Gonzalez), or Arroyo for the rotation. I’d rather see him take a run at Mike Napoli than John Buck or V Mart. It would take talent to get these guys, but maybe not so much in every case. I’d include Oliver in a package for Garza, no sweat. Turner for Greinke? Yep. Boesch for DeJesus? in a heart beat.
Napoli is actually a option they should seriously consider, he MAY be offered by the Angles at a relatively low asking price since he is out of favor there anyway
I love the idea of Napoli. He isn’t great defensively but has proven that he can hit in a limited role with the Angels. That would give Avila time to develop by starting 2 games a week and keeping both fresh.
Dombrowski just doesn’t want to play his hand. Detroit will nab at least one significant FA this offseason, though luring multiple to the team may be tough without overspending.
The free agent crop is so thin this year, alot of players are going to be grossly overpayed. So it might not be a bad idea to sidestep the big name players (though Crawford in their park would be awesome). I like the idea of filling out the rotation with a DeLaRosa or Westbrook type pitcher. I don’t like his plans on offense since it sounds so much like the same mix and match lineup that Leyland kept putting out late in the season. Do you really want to gamble that Boesch, Sizemore, Avilia, etc. are anything more than an easy out as everyday players? They might be good role players, but I wouldn’t bank on them to be particularily effective in supporting Cabrera in the the lineup. And I’m not sure Inge’s defense is worth his offensive short comings. There are alot of lineup holes and that’s assuming that A. Jackson isn’t a fluke. The Tigers need to bring in 2 solid run producers and then fill in with the available pieces remaining on the team. I like resigning Ordonez to DH, but they need more offense somewhere. And I don’t think they have it already in house.
No way they get Crawford, yeah sure C.C wants to go to ‘Detroit”. Hey, Damon, Boston not looking too bad now eh? What city do you rape next?
If the White Sox miss out on Dunn this winter, it would be nice to see him back on a one year deal where it all started for him.
If this was mentioned already I apologize (but didn’t see it in the mass of posts)….
But reports are out there that Iltch is buying the Detroit Pistons here in the next few weeks/months. If this is true (and is sounds it), it could really cut into his ability to splurge on the Tigers.
Not saying he can’t afford the Pistsons on top of the Tigers (and Wings)….but maybe this is one reason they’re saying $35M to spend vs $70M…..
Just something to keep in mind.
Mr. Pizza has just bought the Pistons as of tonight!
Basically they need a #3 starter, one corner OF bat, and one c/DH.
People that think they have a shot at Cliff Lee are dreaming. He’s getting Sabathia money from the Yanks, who really need him. They don’t need Crawford nearly that bad, however, and the Tigers need Crawford much more than they need Lee.
I’d go up to 5 or 6 years at $16-21 million to get Crawford. No joke.
I think the success of this offseason will be based entirely on whether they get Crawford or not. Werth is a poor poor substitute.
Disagree with you. We need Lee more than Crawford. We have young, but good, outfielders. What we need is a shutdown #2 lefty starter. In fact I’d consider Lee #1 over Verlander right now. We get him, with JV, and with Scherzer, and we are set.
Tigers should at least call the mets (once they get a gm) and see if Jose Reyes is available. Maybe the mets will want to move him before he hits the open market.
Is it just me or do I see a lot of ex-Tigers in the finals now. Um. lets see, there is Granderson, Thames, Joyce, Polanco & a few others who are now hitting like madmen, could it be our hitting coach may not be the best? Ganderson is on a real tear since a few changes to his batting. We couldn’t have done that for him & the others we dumped? Just asking.