The Tigers are making free agent catcher Victor Martinez their top priority among all free agent hitters, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. If Martinez signs in Detroit, he'd likely share the catching duties with Alex Avila, spell Miguel Cabrera at first and start occasionally at DH. The Red Sox expected the Tigers to pursue Martinez and are eyeing John Buck in case V-Mart signs elsewhere.
The Orioles, Rockies and Rangers are among the teams with potential interest in Martinez. He batted .302/.351/.493 with 20 homers in 2010 and has already heard from six interested teams even though his Type A status likely means he'll cost a top draft pick. Earlier today, Morosi suggested that it's in Martinez's best interest to sign sooner rather than later.
If they do this say goodbye to Dunn. They need a hitter like Martinez but they also need a HR bat. Knowing DD that doesn’t mean he has to come from the free agent market.
Good point. He has been known to pull off a blockbuster in his day.
This is unsurprising. I wont be jumping for joy but I wont toss myself off the ambassador bridge either, if this happens.
Sounds like martinez willn’t be coming back to Boston. He was great for’em. I think the sox will turn to maike napoli or russel martin for there replacement. Maybe buck.
so with all these articles about martinez and the tigers it sounds like they are going 2 sign him
If Martinez signs then the Tigers need to seriously get some starting pitching, otherwise they’re going to be playing a lot of 9-7 games all year.
Seriously need to get some starting pitching? We need a number 4 starter. You make it seem like we need 3-4 starting pitchers. We have verlander, scherzer, and porcello. Pretty strong 1-3 carrying two aces in verlander and scherzer (second half).
Still finished 12 out of 14 teams in Era though, they need a solid # 3 like a kuroda or pavano. That will take the pressure of Porcello and let him develope a little more.
I totally agree with you. Pavano scares me because of what happened in New York, but he has been great with the Twins and great in dominating the Tigers. But people make it seem like our rotation was in shambles. Bondo and Gallaragga just werent cutting it. We played Bondo cause of the money we owed him and him being a life long tiger. Just like we will continue to play Guillen when he comes back because Leyland loves him, instead of releasing him. But I do like our top three and letting Porcello get more development would be great. He does have high upside though.
Porcello could bust out big time, he has stud written all over him. If he can K 1 to 2 more batters per 9 innings he is going to be a star. When he first came up they told him to abandon his curve and toss sinkers all day. He has all the green lights to do what he wants this year and it’s just a matter of time before the K’s pile up.
Agreed. I wonder if Andy Oliver gets a legitimate shot at the rotation next year, another guy with a high ceiling. If he can start locating his pitches, he’s going to be a real force in that rotation.
Maybe give Oliver another year in the minors, have a rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Kuroda/Pavano, and Galaragga. Sign Kuroda/pavano for two years and bring up Oliver in 2012. Galaragga is a super two and if he can regain some of his rookie form trade him off for some prospects.
Phil Coke is starting this season.
Coke will not be in the rotation, its all talk just like Bonine, Figaro, and Miner.
I believe Coke will be in there, and I would like to see it. Don’t even mention Coke’s name with Bonine, Figaro, and Miner….
Hahaha right on. Coke is way better than those guys, who are pretty much mop-up innings eaters. I’m not sold that Coke can be an effective starter, plus I really liked him out of the back end of the bullpen. I do believe they’ll give him every possible chance to show he can start though.
I might be the biggest Phil Coke fangirl on the internet but … I don’t want him starting the season in the rotation. I want him in the bullpen.
Oliver needs more time to polish up in the minors. Phil Coke will get a shot at the rotation before Oliver. I believe Andy will be in the rotation sometime in 2012.
12 out of 14 true but porcello and scherzer struggled the first couple months of the year, porcello for much of it. If both really have turned the corner they wont finish in the bottom half of the AL. Plus no more starts can be given to bonderman or willis, another big part of the inflated starters era. I like the suggestion of kuroda in that he is exactly what the Tigers need: a middle of the rotation innings eater.
Meant no slight, except that I’m not convinced by Scherzer despite his nice finish, and don’t see him as an ace yet. Porcello has ability but he’s still a baby and I always need to see it again before I’m convinced these two are for real. I would like to see Detroit go get some experienced starters to help JV carry the load. It’s a long season and stuff always happens, especially with pitching, so that’s my thinking.
They just need a solid 4 or 5 man in that rotation and Oliver will be that guy. He is a can’t miss prospect and seems like the major league ready. The top of the rotation is absolutely steller…I don’t know how you could ask for a better 123 than JV, max, and porcello.
You can ask for Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels. Also, you understand the phrase “can’t miss prospect” is utterly worthless in an argument? Absolutely I agree that Oliver appears to have a bright future but this year his performance showed the kid is at least one more year away. Detroit does need a solid #4 because Galarraga is a good 5 at best which is why I had mentioned signing a kuroda type (short-term deal innings eater), but Detroit appears intent on sticking to in-house options.
I wouldn’t classify Oliver as “can’t miss”. There have been plenty of so-called “can’t miss” prospects who … missed.
cough…andrew miller…cough
Pretty much everyone the Tigers drafted from Bobby Higginson to ~Justin Verlander~ T_T
Pretty much everyone the Tigers drafted from Bobby Higginson to ~Justin Verlander~ T_T
As a Sox fan I’m not mad at all…hopefully they don’t sign a higher ranked FA…the Red Sox will get the highest possible pick for him.
Agree it’s an either or between Dunn and Victor Martinez. I’d rather have Martinez, even if he only catches 50 games over life of contract. Tigers need professional hitters – he’d immediately be the second best hitter in lineup by a huge margin.
I wonder though – if VMART signs with Tigers – if Tigers would now think differently about needing Magglio back?
I’d say no. If they’re serious about pursuing Martinez, they still need to fill a corner outfield spot and nab a number 3 hitter. Maggs and Martinez complimenting Cabrera in that lineup creates a great opportunity for a lot of runs to be driven in as they are all at least .300/20/100 guys. That still means Jackson and (Rhymes?) still need to get on base though to set up those situations, I’m mainly concerned about Rhymes’ ability if you played him a whole season. I wonder if with some legitimate protection in the lineup Raburn and Peralta start mashing behind them.
Bringing in martinez would help the Tigers out tremendously as he offers great offensive numbers and is a switch hitter. He has to know he’s knockin on the door of his DH years.
Vmart was great during his time with the Sox, great player to have on any team. I wouldn’t mine the Sox resigning him but I think they have bigger priorities and I believe Buck can be a good replacement for him.
It will be devastating for the Red Sox if Martinez bolts, and there is no guarantee they will even get Buck.
Ya but come on man. He V-mart signs elsewhere nobody is going to outbid the redsox for Buck.
I like the idea of Martinez a lot more than I like Dunn. Vmart is a much better fit because he can catch, play first and DH so he opens up the lineup really well. He’d be a great start to bettering the Tigers but before they can even think about upgrading they need to resign maglio. The won’t be any better off by trading his bat for another unless they plan to keep adding hitters and in my opinion, mags is the best all around hitter on the market…I don’t care how old he is.
4 years/44 million should get it done. Don’t see any team offering 5 years. Also don’t down play the Venezulan roots that are in Detroit with Magglio (think he will be resigned), Cabrera, Guillen and Gallaraga. Can catch twice a week against lefties, then dh or spell Cabrera at first. Also when he catches, Maggs can DH against righties and get him out of the field with Casper Wells. Raburn has earned the right to play everyday. He’s improving in the field and has a plus arm. If you combine his last two years which is just over 600 abs he batted .285 31 hrs 100 or so rbi with 98 runs. Then can use money to fill out bullpen and hopefully had a top notch starter via trade. I would stay away from Crawford (love his game but not worth the 7 yr./$120 million) and Dunn (Comerica not suited for low avg. power hitter). Would leave oney to add pieces in future off-seasons.Ordonez and Martinez will both bat around .300 20-25 hrs and 100 rbi which is a perfect place for Cabrera to bat between.
whoa dude. I think you’re undervaluing Dunn just a little bit. He might have a low average, but he draws walks. Even though he can’t run, that still compensates for his low average.
They don’t need someone who walks, they need someone who can hit situationally, which dunn can not do. I agree with Aaron in that Dunn is a bad fit for Detroit. His avg is too low, he has way too many K’s and would have mediocre power numbers because of Comericas size. On top of that, there isn’t a position he can play adequately. His glove is awful and for te money the are a ton of better players for Detroit ESPICIALLY if you are just payig him to dh. Dunn is a good player, just a bad fit in Motown.
and I never said he was a good fit, I was just trying to verify his value. I completely agree that the Tigers need a situational hitter. V-Mart brings that to the table, definitely.
I think Dunn is a really good player but not just not a good fit for Detroit. Dunn would be strictly DH and I am always leery of a player coming over to AL from the NL. Only a few have made the adjustment and keep their numbers (ie Abreu, maybe Drew. Luke Scott). Can’t think of many others. I think the most homeruns one could expect to be hit at Comerica is the 38 hrs. Cabrera hit this year. Down the line i rightfield is rather reachable but right center is absolutely massive. I would project a .250 avg. 30 hrs and 80 walk season for Dunn in Comerica which is very productive but would rather have Vmart able to catch and play some first and bat .300 or so 20 hrs. and 100 rbi. I think he will cost less than Dunn, showed he can hit in the AL, and could be everyday catcher if Avila doesn’t show any growth.
Don’t forget Jhonny Peralta, V-Mart’s BFF from their Cleveland days.
Getting Martinez would be a good pick up, but I’m not so sure Dave should give him more than 3 yrs. The dude’s what, 33 or something? And I would CERTAINLY like to see the next acquisition be Crawford! Man, can you imagine our outfield with Crawford, Jackson and whoever wins the rightfield job? And the extra speed on the bases as well.
Crawford is going to sign with the Angels. I don’t see us having much of a chance. Most likely scenario I believe is us signing Vmart and bringing back Magglio for 2 years. What I would like to see though is signing Vmart and bringing Dunn aboard. Martinez, Cabrera, and Dunn would be a filthy 3-4-5
If it came right down to it, I think I’d rather see us get Dunn for a DH/spell LF/spell 1B role than Vmart, but I’d definitely welcome Martinez too because he’d add some pop to this lineup. I think Martinez and Maggs would be the most realistic scenario, and then looking into a starter and then a bullpen guy (Benoit, etc). However, with the money available and the willingness to spend I really don’t think a Martinez/Dunn or Martinez/Werth combo is out of the question
I think I would prefer Martinez/Werth at this point, with resigning Maggs.
We’ll see.
Werth is the one hitter I would stay away from. I don’t know, the guy just gives me a bad feeling that he will be a bust away from Philly.
I agree. VMart has proven he can hit anywhere, in Cleveland’s Pitcher-Friendly stadium with no protection in the lineup, in addition to Boston’s high pressured, AL East lineup. DD should get this done.
Why? Anything specific? Or just a “vibe” you get from him? Is it the mangy beard? Personally, I think he looks kind of like a homeless guy. But we shouldn’t hold that against him.
Why? Anything specific? Or just a “vibe” you get from him? Is it the mangy beard? Personally, I think he looks kind of like a homeless guy. But we shouldn’t hold that against him.
Tigers top 3 pitchers Verlander-Scherzer-Porcello can be as scary as anyone, and they have enough young guns in Oliver, Crosby, Schelereth, Turner, Coke and Furbush to be excellent #4 and #5 starters. Turner has #1 Ace potential and Crosby Oliver and Schelereth each have #2 pitcher potential. Their rotation can compete with anyone if it meets expectations. It was the offense that was in question.If they get VMart early, they have a great sales pitch to make to top free agent Carl Crawford with their stellar pitching of now and for the future, in addition to a better offense than the Angels and the Giants, and an offense that would be on par with Boston’s without Adrian Beltre in their lineup. They also have as much money as anyone to get him. Even after signing VMART to say a 12MM a year contract, that still means they only would have committed 23MM (Vmart 12MM+Peralta 5.5MM+Inge 5.5MM this offseason, which is over 25MM shy of what they could commit this offseason with the expiring contracts of Magglio (15MM), Bondo (12MM), Robertson (11MM), Willis (11MM), Seay (3MM). While some Tigers salaries are going up from arbitration and backloaded contracts, the Tigers still have plenty of room to even resign Magglio and offer Crawford a 20MM a year contract. Not saying that he’s worth that much, but Detroit sometimes has to overpay to land the top free agents.
I like the idea of picking up V-Mart. I hope we don’t have to go as high as 12M, but that might be his level. I hope we don’t have to go longer than 4 years. But my preference is to also add starting pitching. I’m sorry, but I just don’t see why people are so high on Porcello. He’s young. He’s a high draft pick. But his stats are just mediocre. With Scherzer, you hope that his 2nd half can be repeated and that he doesn’t fall back into bad habits that got him off to such a lousy start. Oliver and Crosby are still prospects. I see the need for a solid #3, maybe even a #2. Kuroda or Pavano would give you a #3 that can go deep in games. Something the Tigers struggle with unless they are willing to throw 125+ pitches a game (Verlander, Scherzer).
He and Miguel will be rotating back and forth at DH and 1B a whole lot… I wonder how many years of the contract he actually catches for the majority of the year.
Likely just this one if they’re really considering Avila as their catcher of the future. Martinez will probably be the DH and spell Avila once or twice a week after year one.
which is exactly why Dombrowski came out and said they won’t be pursuing lee or any other frontline starters. However any way you slice it they don’t have a veteran presence in the group other than Verlander. Porcello and Galarraga have shown composure issues and Coke is completely unproven starting in the majors. On a one or two year deal a dependable 180+ innings out of the four or five spot would certainly help the team, both in starts and by giving the relief pitchers a rest. Will the Tigers go this route? highly unlikely, but I can’t blame them if they did.