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Tigers Outright Zach Logue

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The Tigers announced that left-hander Zach Logue, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. He has the right to reject that assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so or not.

Logue, 27, first came to the Tigers in the offseason when they claimed him off waivers from the A’s. Detroit then put him back on waivers in the following days, with Logue passing through, thus sticking in the organization without occupying a roster spot.

He got his roster spot back in late June and made three long relief appearances for the big league club, tossing a combined 11 innings in those with nine earned runs allowed. The results haven’t been much better in Triple-A, as he’s tossed 63 2/3 innings at that level this year with a 6.22 ERA. There might be a bit of bad luck in there when looking at his .344 batting average on balls in play and 69% strand rate, but his 20.7% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and 39.1% ground ball rate are all subpar.

Since this is his second outright, he’ll have the ability to reject this assignment and elect free agency. All 29 teams just passed on the chance to grab him for free, so it’s possible his market is limited and he might just stay with the Tigers. Though if he were to opt for the open market, he could have some agency in choosing his employer and the organization he thinks is the best fit. Even if he were to accept, he would reach minor league free agency at the end of the season if not added back onto the roster.

Jim Price Passes Away

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that longtime radio broadcaster Jim Price has passed away. He was 81.

“All of us with the Detroit Tigers are deeply saddened to learn of Jim Price’s passing,” said CEO Chris Ilitch as part of a prepared statement. “Jim was a champion on the field, in the broadcast booth, and throughout the community. That Jim was with the organization for much of his life, doing what he loved, is such a powerful sign of his dedication and loyalty to the Tigers and the city of Detroit.”

A Harrisburg native, Price began his playing career with the Pirates in 1960. A right-handed hitting catcher, he spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues in the Pittsburgh system. Going into the ’67 campaign, the Bucs sold his contract to the Tigers. Price debuted that year and would spend parts of five seasons with Detroit.

The presence of 11-time All-Star Bill Freehan didn’t give Price much of a path to playing time. He never appeared in more than 72 games in a season and tallied 261 contests overall. Through 678 career plate appearances, he was a .214/.287/.341 hitter. While not the longest playing career, Price was a member of the 1968 Detroit club that won the World Series in seven games over St. Louis. He got into two games off the bench during the Fall Classic.

While he was a role player during his MLB days, Price remained associated with the organization long past his playing career. He was a fixture on the club’s radio broadcasts as a color commentator for more than three decades. Price paired with Hall of Famer Ernie Harwell for a few seasons and had spent over 20 years working with current radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson.

MLBTR joins countless others around the game in sending our condolences to Price’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates/colleagues.

Tigers Claim Isan Diaz From Giants, Designate Zach Logue

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The Tigers have claimed infielder Isan Díaz off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo, tweets Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. Left-hander Zach Logue was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man move. Diaz’s spot on San Francisco’s 40-man roster will go to outfielder Luis González, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Díaz returned to the majors with San Francisco a couple months ago. After a 2022 season as a non-roster player in Triple-A, he was selected onto the Giants’ 40-man last offseason. He’s spent the bulk of the year on the minor league injured list but gotten into six big league contests. The left-handed hitting infielder has a .240/.324/.490 line this season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, striking out at an untenable 35.2% clip over 26 games.

The former top prospect had a much better .275/.377/.574 showing in Sacramento a year ago, however. Detroit baseball operations leader Scott Harris was in the Giants’ front office for the bulk of that season. He’ll take another look at Díaz, who is in his final minor league option year. The 27-year-old has only mustered a .179/.269/.277 batting line in 151 MLB games spread over four campaigns. He’s a .268/.359/.525 hitter in over 1100 trips to the dish at the top minor league level.

Detroit claimed Logue off waivers from the A’s last offseason. They quickly ran him through waivers themselves but selected him back onto the roster in late-June. The 27-year-old has thrown 11 innings of relief through a trio of appearances, allowing nine runs despite a solid 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Logue was hammered for a 6.79 ERA over 57 frames with Oakland a season ago and has a 6.22 mark through 63 2/3 innings with Toledo.

The Tigers will again place the Kentucky product on waivers this week. Should he go unclaimed, he’d have the right to become a minor league free agent based on his previous career outright.

González has missed the entire season after offseason back surgery. He’s now healthy but won’t step right back onto the big league roster. The 27-year-old had a solid .254/.323/.360 showing over 350 plate appearances last year — his first extended MLB action.

Tigers Claim Andrew Vasquez, Designate Nick Solak

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Aug 6: The Tigers have announced that Solak has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Toledo. As Solak does not have the necessary service time to reject the assignment, he’ll likely remain in the organization through the end of the season as a depth option for the Tigers in the minor leagues.

Aug 4: The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve claimed lefty Andrew Vasquez off waivers from the Phillies and, in a corresponding move, designated infielder/outfielder Nick Solak for assignment.

Vaasquez, 29, was a somewhat surprising DFA following the trade deadline. He’s pitched to a sparkling 2.27 ERA in 39 2/3 innings this season, although the rest of his numbers don’t exactly signify that type of dominance. The lefty’s 20% strikeout rate is a few percentage points south of the league average, while his 8.2% walk rate and 43% ground-ball rate are right are both roughly average. Vasquez has stranded 86.6% of the baserunners he’s allowed this season — a fluky high number that’s likely bound for some regression. Fielding-independent metrics peg him more in the low-4.00s than in the low 2.00s.

That said, he was still an effective reliever for the Phils, and it was a genuine surprise to see him dropped from the 40-man roster over other DFA candidates. It’s not particularly surprising that a team with high waiver priority placed a claim. Only six teams (A’s, Royals, Rockies, Nationals, White Sox, Cardinals) had a higher waiver priority than Detroit. That group apparently passed on putting in a claim, but the Tigers will plug Vasquez, who’s out of minor league options, directly into the big league bullpen.

If things work out for Vasquez in Detroit, he could be a long-term piece of the relief corps. He’ll finish the season with one-plus year of big league service time, meaning Detroit can control him for another five years.

Solak, 28, continues to bounce throughout the league via the DFA circuit. He’s been with the Rangers, Reds, Mariners, White Sox, Braves and Tigers since November, never making it through waivers despite frequent DFAs. He was once a well-regarded prospect — a bat-first player whose defensive home was up for debate. Questions about Solak’s glove still persist, and his bat never developed as hoped at the Major League level. He’s a career .252/.327/.372 hitter in 974 big league plate appearances and is batting .226/.346/.363 between three Triple-A clubs this season.

With the trade deadline now passed, Solak will be placed on waivers once again and made available to all 29 other clubs.

Tigers Release Matt Wisler

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The Tigers announced that right-hander Matt Wisler was released from his minor league contract with the club.  Wisler signed in February but hadn’t received a call-up to the majors, and he has a 4.40 ERA over 47 innings with Triple-A Toledo.

Digging deeper into the numbers, Wisler had a 25.2% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate in Toledo, and the spike in walks stands out considering that Wisler had a very solid 7.6BB% over his 507 1/3 career innings in the big leagues.  The Tigers simply never felt compelled to see what Wisler could contribute to their big league bullpen, and thus the 30-year-old will again hit the open market.

The Rays designated Wisler for assignment last September, and after he chose free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, he stayed unsigned until landing with Detroit in mid-February.  With the trade deadline now passed and teams having fewer avenues to make additions, there’s bound to be some interest in a pitcher who has a 2.59 ERA over 118 MLB innings since the start of the 2021 season.

Wisler has bounced around from the Twins to the Giants to the Rays to the Tigers over the last four seasons, with clubs looking beyond the surface ERA to some red flags.  For instance, Wisler also had a high walk rate over 25 innings with the Twins in 2020, and he benefited greatly from a .198 BABIP in 2022 that helped mask a lot of hard contact and a velocity on both his fastball and slider.  His performance in Toledo might not have exactly calmed any doubts about his ability to again thrive at the MLB level, but it will be interesting to monitor what teams might make a play for his services.

Tigers Release Johan Camargo

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The Tigers released infielder Johan Camargo from a minor league contract, tweets Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. The switch-hitter had signed with Detroit in late June.

Camargo made 22 appearances for their Triple-A team in Toledo. He struggled over 88 trips to the plate, hitting .238/.295/.400. Camargo connected on three homers and kept his strikeouts to a modest 17% clip but was weighed down by a .254 average on balls in play. He’d fared much better in Triple-A with the Royals earlier in the season, when he hit .298/.412/.544 in 15 contests.

Between the organizations, Camargo still has a solid .263/.346/.460 showing at the top minor league level on the season. That hasn’t gotten him back to the big leagues, which he’d reached every year between 2017-22. Camargo got semi-regular run at third base for the Braves during his first couple seasons but has been in a utility capacity since 2019. He’s a career .255/.313/.410 hitter over 416 MLB contests.

Camargo returns to the open market and could look to catch on with a third organization for the stretch run. He can play anywhere on the infield and carries a .303/.376/.500 line over parts of six seasons in Triple-A.

Eduardo Rodriguez Discusses No-Trade, Opt-Out Rights

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Among the biggest stories of yesterday’s deadline was a trade that didn’t happen. The Tigers and Dodgers lined up an agreement that would’ve sent left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to Los Angeles.

The Dodgers were among the 10 teams on a no-trade list which Rodriguez had built into his free agent deal with Detroit, however. The hurler blocked the trade and Detroit ended up holding him past the deadline. He’ll finish the year in the Motor City, though it remains to be seen what the future holds beyond that.

Rodriguez is able to opt out of the final three years and $49MM on his contract at season’s end. From a strict financial perspective, it looks as if doing so will be a fairly easy choice. The 30-year-old has a 2.96 ERA through 94 1/3 innings while striking out more than a quarter of opponents. He’s been inconsistent since returning from a finger injury but looked like the #2 caliber starter Detroit had envisioned earlier in the year.

Rodriguez met with reporters after today’s win over Pittsburgh. He understandably declined to delve into the reasons behind the veto, saying he “wasn’t feeling really comfortable with (the trade)” and made the decision to stick in Detroit after “thinking about my future and my family” (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press).

The southpaw’s agent, Gene Mato, released a statement on Twitter in response to fan criticism leveled at Rodriguez in the wake of his decision:

“I negotiated a no-trade clause in his contract for a reason,” Mato wrote. “With all of the money, glamor and fame that comes with being a professional athlete there is also a very difficult, personal side. … Eduardo is one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in baseball but he is also a human being who wants stability for his family. They are comfortable living in the Detroit area and have adjusted well.

As for the Dodgers in particular, once I was granted permission to speak with them regarding the trade, we did our best to come up with a way to make it happen where everyone was comfortable with the outcome. We just ran out of time.”

Rodriguez also said he was quite happy in Detroit but declined to answer when asked if blocking the trade would have any bearing on his opt-out decision. “If I had a magic ball and I could tell you what was going to happen in the future, I’d probably tell you right away,” he told reporters. “But right now I’m here, I’m with this organization. I’m signed here for a long time. I feel happy with everything. My family feels happy in Detroit. I feel happy with the teammates and everything, the organization. I’d really love to stay here, and that’s why I made that decision.”

Barring a second-half collapse, Rodriguez should be in position to easily top $49MM on the open market. Pitchers like Robbie Ray and Kevin Gausman have beaten nine figures at the age Rodriguez is now. Jameson Taillon and Taijuan Walker got four-year deals worth $68MM and $72MM, respectively, coming off less impressive platform seasons than the one Rodriguez is putting together.

Rodriguez’s ERA is much better than it was two years ago, when he landed $77MM and the opt-out clause, although his peripherals are largely the same. He’s obviously older but wouldn’t cost a signing team a draft choice this time around. Rodriguez rejected a qualifying offer preceding his first trip to free agency; he can’t receive another QO since the CBA prevents a player from getting more than one in their careers.

It all points towards a likely opt-out. Still, the Tigers have a couple months of exclusive negotiating rights if they’re interested in opening conversations about keeping him off the market. Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic wrote last night that Rodriguez could be open to restructuring his contract — presumably discussing a pay bump that’d get him to waive the opt-out clause — but there’ve only been cursory talks between the Tigers and the pitcher over the course of the season.

Whether there’ll be more serious negotiations over the next couple months remains to be seen. In the interim, Rodriguez will continue taking the ball every fifth day as the anchor of an otherwise fairly young Detroit rotation. The Tigers shipped out Michael Lorenzen yesterday, leaving them with a starting five of Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Matt Manning and Joey Wentz. Righty Spencer Turnbull is on a rehab stint and could soon bump Wentz from the group.

Eduardo Rodriguez Not Traded; Vetoed Deal To Dodgers

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5:05pm: The Tigers did not trade Rodriguez, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  If Rodriguez opts out of his contract after the season as expected, the 2023 trade deadline will have to be viewed as a missed opportunity for the club, as he is ineligible for a qualifying offer.  According to Rosenthal’s colleague Fabian Ardaya, Rodriguez vetoed the trade to the Dodgers due to “a desire to remain closer to family on the east coast.”

3:54pm: Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez invoked his no-trade clause to kill a trade to the Dodgers, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.  Passan writes that a deal was in place pending Rodriguez’s approval, but is now dead.  Rodriguez’s contract allows him to block deals to ten teams annually, and the Dodgers were on his list.  Now, the Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has approximately one hour before today’s trade deadline to find a new deal for Rodriguez.

Earlier this afternoon, the Tigers reached an agreement to send Rodriguez’s rotation-mate Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee.  Finding a match for Rodriguez is crucial for Detroit, because he’s possibly the best starting pitcher on the trade market, he’s ineligible for a qualifying offer after the season, and he’s likely to opt out of his remaining three years and $49MM.  The Tigers still have 19 teams to which Rodriguez cannot block a deal.

The Padres were said to have interest in Rodriguez, but that may have changed upon their acquisition of Rich Hill.  Plus, it’s possible Rodriguez’s aversion to the Dodgers is a geographical thing and the Padres are also on his list.  The Orioles, Reds, and Diamondbacks could still be possibilities.

The Dodgers, though they’ve added Lance Lynn, have now missed out on top targets Justin Verlander and Rodriguez.  It’s unclear on where they may turn; yesterday, Jack Harris of the L.A. Times suggested Plan C could be to do nothing.  The Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty is still a candidate to move.

Tigers Acquire Eddys Leonard

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The Tigers and Dodgers swung a minor deal just before the deadline, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets that Detroit acquired infielder Eddys Leonard for cash considerations.  The Dodgers designated Leonard for assignment earlier this week as a way to open a roster spot for new acquisitions.

Leonard, 22, has a 96 wRC+ in 388 Double-A plate appearances this year while playing shortstop.  Prior to the season, Baseball America gave Leonard a 45 grade as a prospect, suggesting he “projects to be an offensively-driven utilityman if he can refine his pitch selection.”  BA notes that Leonard, a former $200K signing out of the Dominican Republic, was adversely affected by the inability to access the Dodgers’ coaches and facilities during the 2021 lockout.

MLB.com rated Leonard 14th among Dodgers prospects, also with a 45 grade.  Both outlets praised Leonard for his bat speed, but suggested he had not yet found his defensive home.

Though Tigers GM was unable to cash in on veteran lefty Eduardo Rodriguez prior to the trade deadline, beyond Leonard he was able to acquire infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee from the Phillies for Michael Lorenzen.

Phillies To Acquire Michael Lorenzen

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The Phillies are reportedly acquiring Michael Lorenzen from the Tigers. Infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee is headed back to Detroit.

Lorenzen has seemed a near-lock to be traded for a few months. The right-hander has found plenty of success in his second season since moving back to the rotation. After posting a 4.24 ERA through 18 appearances for the Angels last year, he’s allowing 3.58 earned runs per nine in as many outings this time around.

Signed to a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal last winter, Lorenzen began his Detroit tenure on the injured list. A groin strain cost him the first two weeks of the season, but he was on the Comerica Park mound by mid-April. He was hit hard in two of his first three outings but settled in nicely thereafter.

Lorenzen has worked 105 2/3 innings, just under six frames per start. He’s not blowing hitters away; his 19.9% strikeout rate and 9.8% swinging strike percentage are each a little lower than the respective MLB averages. Lorenzen has shown much improved control, though, keeping his walk rate at a modest 6.5% clip after handing out free passes north of 10% of the time in each of the previous three seasons.

All told, Lorenzen has allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of his 18 outings. He secured his first All-Star nod as a result. He’s been effective against hitters of either handedness, holding lefties to a .201/.279/.355 line and right-handers to a .274/.293/.381 slash. He’s mixing four pitchers (four-seam, slider, changeup and sinker) with regularity.

The middling whiff rates lead ERA estimators to suggest that Lorenzen’s 3.58 ERA isn’t quite warranted. Opponents have a modest .264 average on balls in play against him, the 10th lowest mark among starters with 100+ innings. Yet even if a few more batted balls drop in and his ERA ticks up around 4.00 (where estimators generally peg him), he’d be a valuable pickup for a club seeking pitching depth.

Philadelphia has a starting five of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. They’ll run with a six-man rotation over the next two weeks, tweets Jayson Stark of the Athletic. The club doesn’t have an off day until August 14, so they’ll take the opportunity to give the entire group some extra rest.

At that point, the Phils will likely decide whether to kick one of Lorenzen or Sánchez to relief. The latter has stepped up to solidify an uncertain fifth starter spot over the past month. He’s worked to a 2.66 ERA with average or better strikeout, walk and ground-ball marks over nine starts. The depth behind him wasn’t particularly strong, though. Bailey Falter struggled mightily early in the year. Andrew Painter underwent elbow surgery. The Phils have been reluctant to push minor league righties Mick Abel and Griff McGarry into a pennant race too quickly.

As a result, they’ll beat the market for one of the top rental starters still available. Lorenzen is due around $2.79MM in salary through season’s end. The Phils have already exceeded the second tier of luxury tax penalization. They’re going to surpass the CBT for the second straight season. As a result, they’re taxed at a 42% rate on additional spending up to the $273MM third threshold. Roster Resource calculates their current CBT number just above $262MM.

They’ll pay around $1.17MM in taxes to accommodate Lorenzen, bringing their expenditure to around $3.97MM. Lorenzen would also tack on $250K in performance bonus (also taxed at a 42% rate) for reaching 125, 150 and 175 innings (with further incentives available but likely unattainable). Lorenzen will head back to free agency at year’s end, when the Phils will hopefully feel more comfortable breaking Abel and McGarry into MLB action.

As for the Tigers, their signing of Lorenzen worked out as intended. Rebuilding teams take one-year fliers on veterans of this ilk every offseason with an eye towards a midseason trade. Rarely does it work out as effectively as it did for Detroit. Lorenzen was always an unlikely qualifying offer candidate, so they’ll indeed flip him for a prospect of interest.

Lee, 20, is a right-handed hitting second baseman from Taiwan. He has been at High-A Jersey Shore, hitting .283/.372/.401 through 285 plate appearances. Lee is walking at a quality 10.2% clip against a modest 18.6% strikeout rate. He’s only hit five home runs but has stolen 14 bases in 17 tries.

He recently ranked eighth on Baseball America’s ranking of the Phillies’ farm system. As his slash line suggests, BA’s report indicates he’s a hit-over-power player with a shot to stick in the middle infield. Below-average arm strength and range make him a best fit for second base. While the hit-focused second baseman is a tough profile to pull off, Lee’s minor league production is solid. He won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2025 season.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com first reported the Tigers and Phillies were nearing a deal that’d send Lorenzen to Philadelphia while getting Lee back as part of the return. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported the deal was agreed upon and would be a one-for-one swap.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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