It was on this day in 1993 that Tigers legend Charlie Gehringer passed away at the age of 89. Gehringer spent his entire 19-year career in Detroit, finishing with a .320/.404/.480 career line, the 1937 AL MVP Award, a 1935 World Series championship and induction into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. Gehringer is still among the Tigers' franchise leaders in virtually every offensive category and is widely regarded as one of the game's greatest second basemen.
Some items from Detroit and elsewhere in the AL Central…
- The Tigers signed first baseman Brad Eldred to a minor league contract that doesn't include an invitation to the team's Major League Spring Training camp. Eldred, 31, has an .870 OPS and 227 homers over 10 minor league seasons but has seen just 282 plate appearances in the bigs, his most recent cup of coffee coming with the Rockies in 2010. Eldred hit .278/.351/.536 for the Giants' Triple-A affiliate last season.
- The Royals shouldn't wait to sign Alex Gordon to an extension, argues Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. Mellinger thinks Michael Cuddyer's three-year, $31.5MM pact with the Rockies could be "the general framework" for a new Gordon deal, and both Gordon and Cuddyer are represented by agent Casey Close. Mellinger thinks a four-year, $35MM contract would fair to both sides; that's about $5MM higher than what MLBTR's Tim Dierkes guessed a Gordon extension would look like last August.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com thinks the Indians should release Roberto Hernandez Heredia (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) and use the saved salary on an available pitcher like Roy Oswalt, Edwin Jackson or Livan Hernandez.
- Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated looks at how teams pay much larger median bonuses to 16-year-old Latin American prospects, when a much smaller percentage of those young prospects actually reach the majors. While players like Carmona have knowingly committed age and identity fraud, Segura argues that "by placing such high premiums on 16-year-olds, teams are fooling themselves."
What percentage of highschool players drafted reach the majors also, and they get high bonuses. Its a crap shoot with 16,17, and 18 year olds. But one that can pay off way more than average to good college players. Its a gamble every GM knows and takes into account.
I think the Sox should claim Roberto if released
Plenty of teams will be ready to swoop in and sign him if he is released. At this point he’ll likely come at an extreme discount on a one-year deal.
Based on his stats thats hard to believe. This isn’t fake Nunez who was doing a half decent job this guy has had really two good years and last year at best pitched like a fifth pitcher (not on any team that is good)
brad eldred is the definition of an AAAA player
It would be something to see him rack up 300 homers in the minor leagues…that would be quite an accomplishment.
Eldred put up 35 Hrs in AAA for the White Sox in ’08….and barely cracked a .300 OBP. He’s feasting on those AAA pitching mistakes. But..wow…what a great AAA hitter!
Can the Indians disentangle themselves from “Carmona” quickly enough to still be in play for Oswalt or Jackson?
He’s only owed the money if he shows up in the US, so they probably have plenty of time to go ahead and sign somebody. I doubt they can afford Oswalt but Jackson or Hernandez are probably fair game.
Can the Indians refuse to sponsor his VISA?