Central Rumors: Tigers, Cespedes, Twins

The Tigers declined to open up a spot on their 40-man roster prior to today’s deadline, which means that they will not be adding anyone in the Rule 5 draft, as Chris Iott of MLive.com writes.  The Tigers protected infielder Dixon Machado and pitcher Angel Nesbitt from the Rule 5 draft last month, but left Joel Hanrahan unprotected due to his contract situation.  More out of the Central divisions.

• Hanrahan’s deal has a $1MM base salary if he reaches the majors with up to $2MM in incentives, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com (via Twitter).  It was originally believed that Hanrahan’s deal with the Tigers had a bit more in incentives.
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said that the club is open to a possible Andy Dirks return, according to Chris Iott of MLive.com (via Twitter).
• “A lot of clubs have asked about” Tigers pitchers, but Dombrowski says that he still feels good about the five starters they currently have in place, Iott tweets.
• The Reds have a need for a power bat and have some interest in Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, according to CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam.  The Reds and Cespedes have been connected for some time.  The Reds have starting pitching that they can deal, which would make the two teams seem like solid trade partners on the surface.
• Twins manager Paul Molitor has not made any recruiting calls since contacting outfielder Torii Hunter, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• Brewers manager Ron Roenicke says the club is focused on filling the bullpen, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter). Milwaukee is open to both free agents and trades. Today, they focused on watching video of left-handed relievers.