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Dombrowski: Tigers Had To Be Aggressive

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The Tigers spent $16.5MM on Joaquin Benoit because they considered him one of the best available relievers. And because a couple other clubs also made three-year offers, anything less would have fallen short. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers did not like the idea of losing Benoit to one of his other suitors.

"When you want to get the best players at certain positions, you have to be aggressive and prepared to do things," Dombrowski said on a conference call this morning.

The Tigers will use Benoit as a setup man to closer Jose Valverde in 2011. They have considered adding another left-handed reliever to a bullpen that could include southpaws Daniel Schlereth and Brad Thomas, but Dombrowski says it's not a priority because Valverde and Benoit are effective against hitters from both sides of the plate.

The Tigers are not expecting Benoit to post a 1.34 ERA again, but they believe he'll be a top setup man as long as he's healthy. The 33-year-old passed his physical and says his 2010 production shows he's just fine.

"For me last year it was just to see how my arm was going to respond," Benoit said. "Obviously it came back really good."

Dombrowski says the Tigers have been signing players aggressively since they had a number of free agents and were prepared to make offers right away. But they're not done yet.

"We're still in a position where we think we can make a move and solidify the middle of our lineup with someone," Dombrowski said.

Orioles To Bid On Nishioka

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The Orioles' search for a shortstop has led them to Japan and to the trade market. They are going to bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka according to a Sports Hochi report relayed by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The Mariners and Padres also seem likely to bid, but the Giants will not bid and the D'Backs probably won't either.

The Dodgers and Cardinals have some interest in Nishioka and we should know the high bidder by early next week. The 26-year-old switch hitter batted .346 with 22 steals and 206 hits last year. ESPN.com's Keith Law and Newman recently offered more analysis of his game.

The Orioles have also discussed deals for J.J. Hardy and Jason Bartlett and have dangled David Hernandez. Dan Connolly of the Sun says he's not sure he would give up Hernandez for either shortstop, since he's a big believer in the right-hander's upside, particularly as a reliever.

Choo Likely Exempt From Military Service

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Shin-Soo Choo will likely be exempt from military service since he helped South Korea beat Taiwan for gold at the Asian games yesterday, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter). As Bastian explained yesterday, able-bodied South Korean men must spend two years in the military by the end of their 30th year. There's a way out, though; athletes receive an exemption if they win gold at the Asian games.

The 28-year-old Scott Boras client would have lost some prime seasons if he had been required to serve. Choo has been remarkably consistent for the past two campaigns, following up a .300/.394/.489 line with a .300/.401/.484 line. His well-balanced play makes him an offseason extension candidate.

Poll: Will Arizona Deal Justin Upton?

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Recently, Justin Upton's name has popped up in trade talks as GM Kevin Towers seems willing to part ways with the 23-year-old – for the right price, of course.  Several teams have been linked to the up-and-coming star, including the Red Sox, Yankees, and even the division rival Rockies.  There's no shortage of interest in the slugger, but one has to wonder if the asking price will be too rich for everyone's blood.

Yesterday, an American League executive told Jon Heyman of SI that Arizona's asking price is "ridiculous."  The D'Backs are said to be looking for at least four or five players in return that can help them in the short-term and long-term.  Today, it was reported that half of the teams in baseball have shown interest in Upton but Towers will only ship the up-and-coming star if he comes away the clear victor in a trade.  It makes one wonder if Arizona's recently-crowned GM is looking to trade Upton or if he is simply keeping an open mind to potential offers.

Will the D'Backs trade Upton?

Click here to vote, and click here to view the results.

Red Sox Notes: Scutaro, Papelbon

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Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been rather busy at the winter GM meetings, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.  While the club has yet to make a move, Epstein is hopeful that something will soon come out of the trade talks that he has had.

  • Yesterday, we learned that teams are showing interest in shortstop Marco Scutaro and the club is willing to move him for the right return.  The market for Scutaro is rapidly heating up as McAdam writes that six teams are in on the 35-year-old.  Potential landing spots include St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Diego, and San Francisco if the Giants are unable to re-sign Juan Uribe.  The Red Sox are seeking bullpen help in return for Scutaro, according to McAdam.
  • Closer Jonathan Papelbon will seek $11.5MM in arbitration, $2.15MM more than he earned in 2010, a major league source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Papelbon is coming off of a down season in which he turned in career-highs in ERA (3.90) and BB/9 (3.8), though his 10.2 K/9 is consistent with his career average.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Barmes, Thornton, Braves

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Links for Thursday night..

NL East Notes: Willingham, Werth, Phillies

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Let's take a look at a few items on the Nationals and Phillies..

  • A baseball source familiar with the Nats' thinking tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com that Josh Willingham will most likely be traded before 2011.  Yesterday, we learned that the Nats are unlikely to offer the outfielder an extension this winter.  Washington controls Willingham for one more season and the slugger's agent Matt Sosnick says that his client has no animosity towards the club.
  • An interesting note from the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro referred to outfielder Jayson Werth in the past tense when addressing the media today.  Most believe that the Phillies are not interested in retaining the 31-year-old, who is sure to fetch hefty offers on the open market.
  • Little surprise here, but Amaro says that the club's recent signing of Dan Meyer to a minor-league deal will not preclude them from getting other left-handers, Brookover writes.  The GM has made no secret of the fact that he is after left-handed relief this winter and has begun to show interest in Hisanori Takahashi.

The Latest On Mets Managerial Search

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Mets executives concluded their second round of managerial interviews today when they met with Wally Backman and Terry Collins, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.  While they did not specify the reason, the club has told SNY to get ready for a press conference on Tuesday, tweets Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record.

Collins has been rumored to be the favorite for the job but Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) says that he is somewhat unsure of his chances as the 61-year-old spoke today about being helpful to the Mets in any role.  Sherman tweets that he still believes Collins is the slight favorite over Bob Melvin and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) also sees Collins as the frontrunner.

Backman told Rubin that he felt that the interview went "very good" and remains focused on securing the Mets managerial post.  However, Backman will likely wind up managing the club's Single-A or Double-A affiliates as the three runners-up are expected to remain in the organization.

Tigers Sign Joaquin Benoit

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Talk about rebuilding value.  The Tigers officially signed righty reliever Joaquin Benoit to a three-year, $16.5MM deal today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He can earn another $1MM per year in incentives.  It's the biggest contract for a non-closer reliever since Scott Linebrink's four-year, $19MM pact with the White Sox three years ago.  Benoit's last contract had been of the minor league variety with the Rays, but now he'll be paid $5.5MM annually.  The contract is another big score for the Levinson brothers at ACES, who also did the deals for John Buck, Brandon Inge, and Jhonny Peralta. 

Benoit was one of baseball's best bargains in 2010, as he posted a 1.34 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 38.9% groundball rate in 60 1/3 innings.  Benoit was available cheaply because he was coming off rotator cuff surgery performed in January of 2009.  The Rays will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss. 

This time around, the Tigers had to pay full sticker price with a commitment reminiscent of the Astros' three-year, $15MM deal with Brandon Lyon a year ago.  Benoit will set up for Jose Valverde in 2011, and could close in the following seasons.  The Tigers' biggest offseason deals are yet to come, as they're expected to add a big bat or two.  Tip of the hat to MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, who correctly predicted the Tigers would sign Benoit. 

Benoit is off the board, but right-handed relief remains a strong suit of this year's free agent class.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports was first to report the near-agreement, while ESPN's Enrique Rojas added details.

Brewers Notes: Weeks, Free Agency, Trades

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We've already heard that the Brewers are leaning toward keeping Prince Fielder this offseason. Here are the rest of the day's Brewers rumors:

  • Rickie Weeks is open to discussing an extension with the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that the Brewers were set to start talking about a potential deal with the second baseman.
  • The Brewers will not pursue free agent starters aggressively, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Instead, they'll look to add pitching through trades. Acquiring top starters without dealing Fielder will be a major challenge for GM Doug Melvin.

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