The Tigers themselves are waiting to see how what general manager Al Avila calls “the J.D. Martinez situation” unfolds, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Tigers are currently mired in third place at 29-32, but could potentially work their way more clearly toward contention, or out of it, over the next month. If they do find themselves leaning toward trading him, the quality of Martinez’s own play and his health are two more variables, along with which contenders want him and how badly. The Tigers could also keep him and collect a draft pick should he reject a qualifying offer, although they might stand to get more if they trade him this summer. Employees from other teams suggest the return for Martinez might not be spectacular, but it would be considerable. “Maybe the ‘1A’ prospect. Not the tip-top, but among the better group,” says an NL scout. “I’d happily give away our No. 2 and No. 4 prospect,” says a scout from the AL. Martinez has clearly established himself as a consistent power hitter, and his .297/.389/.714 line in 108 plate appearances since returning from a spring foot injury can’t hurt his stock. Here’s more from around the league.
- Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales will make his first big-league appearance since 2015 in a start on Tuesday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. Gonzales made it to the Majors barely a year after the Cardinals picked him 19th overall in the 2013 draft, but he struggled in 2015 and missed the entire 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery. Now, after six mostly successful minor-league starts, he’s back.
- Mariners special assistant and former scouting director Tom McNamara says his club “got lucky” in finding righty Dan Altavilla out of Division II Mercyhurst University and taking him in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, David Laurila writes in his weekly notes column for FanGraphs. The Mariners had already seen Altavilla pitch in the Cape Cod League, but ended up taking him in part because of a coincidence of geography, as Altavilla happened to be pitching again a few miles from where Mariners officials were watching another game. “We were going to watch LSU versus Vanderbilt,” says McNamara. “It was (Aaron) Nola against (Tyler) Beede. Our scout who had Pennsylvania, Mike Moriarty, told us, ‘Hey, you know what? You guys could see the kid from Mercyhurst, too. He’s pitching at noon, and then you can go see the Vanderbilt game at seven o’clock. So we went.” Now, of course, Altavilla is a hard-throwing reliever in the Mariners’ bullpen.
What do you folks think a return for JD would be?
A top infield and pitching prospect
As a rental? Probably not. Figure the same return as they got for Cespedes.
Michael Fulmer? Sweet!
Baseball America had Fulmer as the #47 ranked prospect, Baseball Prospectus had him a #87, and he wasn’t on MLB’s list. It wasn’t a huge return but it ended up working out for both sides.
I’d take a Cespedes like return, although an outfield prospect would be nice.
Yeah I think the Tigers should try to go after position players. Perhaps a middle infielder or a corner OF
The Cardinals have plenty of them. They need to get together.
No. Mo needs to fire MM & decide who he needs to trade in 2017. But we know he won’t fire MM anytime b4 mid 2018 at best. This season is lost with this team & staff.
I have found it easier to not watch the Cardinals this year. I’ll tune in when Martinez pitches but that’s about it. When Wainwright pitches it reminds me of a sad train wreck. It’s unfortunate cause I’ve followed him and many successful years from the start. Lynn takes too long between pitches and I can’t watch Leake because of Diaz’s defense. I also usually defend Matheny but he’s been difficult to watch this year as well. Wacha had so much promise but that has not come to full circle.
The bullpen flat out is lousy. Cecil hasn’t found it. Oh makes me cringe. Rosy throws hard but flat and Bowman is overused. Bench = none. Big bat = none.
It is a long season so I’m not calling it quits altogether this early. I do have more free time not watching the bad news birds?
I think the Tigers wait until JD Martinez rejects their qualifying offer after the season unless there is a key injury by a strong contender. All the contending teams need SP and RP. Some need an IF and a couple could use a CF. Only one team has a strong need for a Corner OF but the Giants are not in contention. The Dodgers could move Yasiel Puig to CF and it would make sense if they went after Ian Kinsler too. After that, if the Rangers are in contention, Martinez would fit perfectly; the Jays won’t go after a rental and the Cubs will prefer to rely on Joe Maddon’s method of maneuverability. The Tigers may be better off holding and try to make the post season in their lousy division.
If the giants get back in the race somehow, something like Tyler Beede and Chris Shaw perhaps?
Id do that for jd if I were the Tigers but the Giants won’t contend
LOL… Giants won’t even sniff .500 this year, let alone get back into the”race.”
The Giants are set up to be a 75-85 win team for the next few seasons if they are lucky….old OF and only 2 reliable starters….no real farm talent to net them a superstar….I seen this coming for a few years now….in fact they exceeded most experts expectations the last few years….it was a matter of time before they collapsed as they are an average team at best coming off 3 WS titles in the past 7 years….pure luck….but their luck ran out….lmao
Yeah, every team wins 3 WS over a 5 year timespan. Totally just pure luck. There certainly weren’t any good players on those teams. And it was obviously just luck because it’s not like they had to play several series each postseason, right? Or 162 games before that? They just got lucky playing one game and the fates said, “these lucky guys deserve a WS title”.
But every other team that’s ever won a WS was a bunch of skilled players that played hard and deserved to win.
Not those damn Giants though huh? They did everything wrong and just got lucky…right.
So usafcop, you SEEN this?
it’s an even trade but the Giants wont offer it because they aren’t contending
The Giants are the luckiest team in professional sports….point blank….weakest team ever to win a WS….lol
So says Johnny Superscout.
Those World Series teams were not weak
They might not have been all, all stars but they were all good players
Dodger fan?
Maybe, but definitely an idiot
Eh as a dodger fan i think 2010 and 2012 were well deserved. 2014 you may have a point.
How many titles has Dodgers won with all their super stars & massive payrolls?
Exactly Zero. So 3-0 is still 3-0 even if u think or they were lucky.
Flags fly forever
How many titles have Dodgers won with all their superstars & massive payrolls?
Exactly Zero. So 3-0 is still 3-0 even if u think or they were lucky.
Flags fly forever
Just start rebuilding, Tigers. Please.
definetley should have started after 2014 alds… heartbreaking to see such good talent diminishing year after year with no payoff. we missed our window, need to open another one asap
Amen
They need to get younger, and they’ve started to do that with the three young guys in the rotation, JaCoby, McCann, Nick. I’d like to see Christin Stewart possibly replace JD next season.
I’m definitely not sold on JaCoby, but I’d love to see Stewart with the big club next season.
Not a dodgers fan….but the Giants were underdogs in every playoff series during their run….they were a decent team but not great….couple good hitters and a couple good pitchers but nothing more than that….they were lucky in all 3….they backed into the playoffs at least one of the three years and were wild card in at least 2 of them….they weren’t even the best team in their own division….it’s like that pesky 9-7 WC team in football winning the SB….so many teams in the playoffs during their run were far superior to the Giants….to name a few….Tigers….Rangers….Phillies….the Giants lineup scares no pitcher….sorry but they got lucky hits in the playoffs from unlikely heroes each series….
I mean, they still won. Reliable relief pitchers go a long way in the postseason
yeah, Michael Gerber is also hitting pretty well down in Double-A, so he could be an option for a corner OF for the next couple of years
Hey usadumbass, why don’t u go back and actually look at the records and standings, not to mention your own statements before posting?
1. You’re the only person I’ve ever seen that didn’t consider an underdog team that wins, a good team…WTF? They won, right?
2. The Giants had the 3rd best record in the NL in 2010 and the 2nd best in 2012. And in both postseasons only faced a team with a better record once.
Sometimes a team is good enough to wait for the other team to make mistakes and then take advantage of them. I
don’t know where your hate for the Giants stems from, but I do find it interesting that you won’t name the team you root for. Either way, opinions don’t mean diddly when there are easily verifiable facts to dispute them. I know a lot of Americans don’t feel that way right now, but too f’n bad.
angry giants fan?
Only that some dude is trying to rewrite history and fake news his opinion out into the ether. Giants were only WC once, were the best team in their division twice, he just keeps spouting uninformed nonsense.
Plus he just keeps repeating this b.s. on other posts, so I felt compelled to counter opinions with facts. Not popular, I know… But I can’t stand this new world where everyone just gets to make anything up and expect people to believe them and that no one will hold them accountable.
I mean, isn’t any team that wins a WS lucky to do so? Dude just gives no actual reasons, everything he said could be applied to any team. A few stars plus role players is every teams makeup. Never been a team with 25 all stars on their roster…c’mon.
Quit trollin
They did get lucky the year drew stores decided he wanted to lose. Not saying they had a bad team, but they had no business winning that series
They were not even the best team in their own division….they won with lucky hits from straight up scrubs that don’t even belong in the majors….I follow every team as I am a fantasy commissioner….so I do follow all teams but my favorite team is the Nationals….I also liked the Expos before I say I am a band wagoner because the Nats are a great team….I saw them suck for a few years….still liked them….and yes some teams do have all-star lineups to contrast what u said….the Nats….Rangers….Jays and Cubs….are stacked to name a few….u can throw in the Astros as well….these are teams with high potent offenses that the light hitting Giants never had in any WS…..u said a couple good hitters and a couple good pitchers and the rest are role players….lol….Phillies had Howard….Utley….Rollins….among others along with Halladay….Lee…. Oswalt and Hamels….far better team than the Giants ever had…..but the Giants got some lucky hits by unlikely heroes and beat them….then went on to beat a Rangers team with Hamilton and Beltre….and Kinsler and Andrus….to name a few…..no they didn’t have the pitching the Phillies did but they had a tough lineup top to bottom….something the Giants never had….the Phillies and Rangers were far superior….but the Giants got lucky hits in both series….I never said they weren’t good….I said they were underdogs in each series…..they weren’t even suppose to make the playoffs one of those years and were underdogs in all three….lucky hits and every break going their way….plus the best field mgr in baseball….but on paper they were maybe top 7-10 team…..so many better teams and so many upsets….
Cardinals vs Giants in the 2012 or 2014 playoffs….Giants got a break on a ball the umpires called an infield fly….dead ball….but the ball landed half way to LF…..furthest infield fly I have have seen….Giants go on to win….how about Cody Ross (scrub) and Ishakawa (scrub) and Gillaspie (scrub)….all heroes….against far superior teams….u don’t have to like what I am saying….I am not trying to persuade u or anyone else to dislike the Giants….I just think they are overhyped….weak lineup depending on starting pitching during their run….yet they didn’t have 1 pitcher win 20 games in any of those years….where as other teams like the Phillies had 3 cy young award winners in their rotation and a far superior lineup….but it’s baseball and the playoffs are a new season….Phillies and Rangers cool down and the Giants take advantage of it with timely hits from scrubs….and they had calls go in their favor that helped them win these series….I called this years ago….the collapse of the Giants….I also called the rise of the Cubs….Nats….Indians….Twins and Astros in recent years….so don’t hate congratulate….
My bad….I double checked and it was the Braves vs Cardinals where the infield fly call was poorly made….I remember the Giants getting calls in their favor and lucky hits so I just included the infield fly call in as well….