The Tigers say that their interest in Matt Garza is grossly exaggerated, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Furthermore, the club won't part with its prized prospects to land the Cubs hurler.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Cubs and Tigers were discussing a trade involving the right-hander. The Tigers, according to the report, were open to dealing top prospects and it has been said that the club would part with pitcher Jacob Turner in the right trade.
Yesterday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark wrote that rival teams don't believe the Cubs will trade Garza until July, when there are fewer alternatives on the open market. Meanwhile, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein contends that he thinks "very highly" of the 28-year-old.
I’d take Oswalt for $8M/1 year and not having to give up prospects instead.
Absolutely.
Who cares not me
I’d love Oswalt … Only issue is te kiddies could/should be ready very soon … If you sign Oswalt you make another big mod and win this year(assuming he stayed healthy)
Cubs weren’t getting interest and will hold on until some team thinks they are a pitcher away from it all at the deadline. No need for them to dump the guy although I think he is better than many guys who had money thrown at them this winter but I wouldn’t give up top young prospect arms for two years either!
In other words “Up your nose with a rubber hose”, Theo…. I just wish it came straight from Dave Dombrowski rather than the media types.
The Tigers have done nothing to address the team’s needs this off season. They have lousy platoons at 2B and 3B, a dire need to upgrade the top of the batting order, and need another starting pitcher- and I don’t mean another Brad Penny type. The team right now is not even as good as the team that finished last season, when you subtract Betemit and a hot hitting Magglio. Not that they need to bring those guys back, but they need to replace them, and they’ve done nothing.
You’ve got to be the most pessimistic Tiger fan I’ve ever seen lol. To say we aren’t even as good as last season is a little ridiculous. Subtract Magglio and add in Boesch who at this point is wayyy better. Add in Dotel to the bullpen for a much needed 7th inning arm. Santiago and Raburn is not that bad for a 2nd base platoon, although I have no argument that Kelly and Inge is awful for 3rd. And it’s still January, there is still a ton of time to upgrade the rotation, which even at this point is still a decent rotation. Chill my man, everything will be ok.
Also keep in mind that Kelly/Santiago are both able to play second and third base. At least that makes things a tiny bit better (still not much).
Kelly isn’t a second baseman.
But he is able to play second base… even though we chose not to play him there. And I’m not saying that we will play him there, just that the option is there…
I suppose he could if they wanted him to . . . He really hasn’t done it much, though. 13 innings total at the ML level.
Pessimistic? I picked the Tigers for the division last year, and picking them again this year. That the team has not improved is just reality. Santiago is fine, but they’re among the worst in the league at getting guys on base in the top three spots and that needs to be addressed.
Raburn is the worst defensive 2B in the league. Hopefully, Boesch can be a No. 3 hitter, because Delmon isn’t one.
If I were making out the lineup card, I would bat Boesch 2nd, and either Vmart or Avila 3rd, and our OBP for the top 3 would improve dramatically. But of course we won’t see that happening.
yup…ajax-boesch-avila-Cabby-VMart-Delmon-Peralta
Of course you wont see that happening because Leyland is too stupid to do that lol. Getting Leyland to retire would be a big boost for common sense baseball in Detroit.
Leyland makes some questionable moves, but damn. we won our division by 15 games. I dont care if it was the central or not. 15 games. he did something right.
Leyland bats Cabrera fourth, therefore I like him.
I wouldnt mind at all if the Tigers signed Roy Oswalt it would definitely be a great addition to the rotation, but I thought the front office said if they were gonna add a starter it was gonna be a lefty. So Roy Oswalt would be great but why not Joe Saunders or Scott Kazmir two guys who have proved they can pitch just like Roy Oswalt
Scott Kazmir hasn’t proved a thing in at least 3 yrs!
I’d like to know why they haven’t gotten Saunders. Get Saunders, trade for David Wright, and we’ve got a damn good team.
Put me down as a ‘meh’ for Saunders and an ‘ewww’ for Kazmir.
That pretty much is exactly how I feel about it as well. Nice as having a left handed starter would be, I’d much rather take a chance on Oswalt if the $8M/1 yr stories are true than either of those two.
I don’t see any obvious upgrades still available in the free agent market at second or third- except for maybe bringing back Betemit, which doesn’t seem likely- and there’s a ton of money coming off the books this year so I would spend a little on Oswalt, a left handed bat to platoon with Young or in case Jackson regresses even further in the OF (maybe J.D. Drew if the price is right & he’s healthy & he doesn’t retire) and a reclamation project middle reliever or two. Keep Turner if we absolutely need to make a move during the season or to replace Oswalt next year.
Kazmir….?
look guys sign Kazmir cheap…maybe a minor league deal let em pitch this spring if he dosnt show tht he can keep up put him in the minors and call him up during the expanded roster how can 1 guy ruin us if he only pitches in the spring
other than them not being able to pitch like Oswalt, that’s 100% correct!
other than them not being able to pitch like Oswalt, that’s 100% correct!
I know this is a stretch, but what about a trade with New York to land both David Wright, Johan Santana, and a lot of cash. The Mets would be able to save some money and if Santana can stay healthy, then we have a great rotation.
I know that Santana is probably not going to be his old self and will probably get injured, but if the Mets throw in about $46MM, then why not give him a shot.
it would be a perfect match for both teams. but i think the tigers will have to give up turner, castellanos, crosby and another top prospects like collins or mccann.
It’s a sad state of a farm system when people are calling McCann a ‘top porspect’.
they didnt call him a top porspect, they called him a top prospect
Stop doing what you’re doing.
Good. When I first heard of the Garza rumors I was all for it to see JV, Garza, Fister, Scherzer, and Porcello together, but the more I thought about it the more I was against giving up Turner+ for him.
As a Cubs fan. This works for me. Trade Garza for a decent haul. Keep him. It really doesn’t matter. He’s a really good pitcher, kind of a 1A type. I think the Cubs will still need a 1 eventually but Garza is very valuable and he should either net the team a nice package or they should try to wrap him up for 3 or 4 free agent years. Way to stick to your guns, Theo!
Instead of Oswalt, I am a huge fan of Jon Garland as a #4/#5 type of pitcher. I know he has run into some injuries lately, but we don’t really need him all year since we will have MLB ready pitchers come July. Therefore we could afford him to get hurt if it happens again. Also my signing price for him is 1yr/4.5M.
I hope Theo hangs onto Garza solely because I don’t want to have face the reality that Dempster is the Cubs’ best starting pitcher.
It may be better for the Tigers to wait until the trade deadline to address their starting rotation. I think the current Tiger roster is good enough to win the division; however, they will have to have another pitcher step up for the playoffs. You never know, maybe Porcello is ready to make a huge step forward. I think the biggest hole after a dominate #2 or 3 starter is a third baseman. Pick up Chase Headley and another starting pitcher at the trade deadline.
Johan and Wright would be nice but that would take a lot of talent to get them. I would prefer getting Johan (if healthy) for Turner and ptbnl. I’m sure that the Mets would pay majority of the contract to save money in the long run. And for 3B I think the platoon will be fine for a while then the Tigers call up Castellanos and then they will be fine. Either way they need a LEFT HANDED starter not a 5th RHer period.
The Tigers are plenty interested, if the price is fair to them.
I’d like Theo to move Garza now. His value is sky high right now, and he is a sore shoulder or strained elbow away from being half as valuable .