- The Tigers are looking to just-acquired infielder Erick Aybar for a boost, though they won’t necessarily install him as the regular shortstop, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes. It seems that the 32-year-old is likely to share time up the middle with Dixon Machado for the time being, and presumably he’ll move into more of a utility role upon the anticipated return of Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos from the DL later this year. Aybar got off to a hideous start with the Braves, though he had hit much better leading up to the trade. “I know it’s been a down year,” manager Brad Ausmus said of Aybar’s season to date. “He’s not necessarily here to replace anybody. If he comes in here and plays well he’ll play. Simple as that. We’re in the business of winning baseball games. If he helps us win baseball games he’ll play.”
Tigers Rumors
Tigers Sign Pedro Ciriaco
The Tigers have signed infielder Pedro Ciriaco to a minor league deal, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweeted earlier today. The 30-year-old was released recently by the Marlins.
Ciriaco represents another infield option for the injury-addled Tigers, who also just acquired Erick Aybar from the Braves. He could well play a niche role for Detroit down the stretch once rosters expand at the start of September, as both his glove and his baserunning have typically drawn good reviews.
The Tigers won’t be expecting much out of Ciriaco at the plate, though. He owns a .256/.282/.302 batting line over 273 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A with the Rangers and Marlins organizations. And he has slashed only .268/.294/.368 over his 649 trips to the dish at the major league level over parts of six seasons.
Tigers Acquire Erick Aybar
The Tigers have announced a deal to acquire shortstop Erick Aybar from the Braves. Headed in return to Atlanta are infielder Mike Aviles and catcher Kade Scivicque. Detroit will receive cash in the deal, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Tigers GM Al Avila declined to discuss details, but did offer that “it’s pretty even” in terms of the salaries involved, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.
Detroit made the move with its two starters on the left side of the infield — shortstop Jose Iglesias and third baseman Nick Castellanos — currently parked on the DL. Adding Aybar will presumably provide an option at both positions, though he has played almost exclusively up the middle over his 11-year career.
[Related: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]
Aybar, 32, was picked up by the Braves in last winter’s Andrelton Simmons deal. Presumably, the club hoped he’d provide a steady option that might turn into a trade chip, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing. After an abysmal start to the season and some injury issues, the veteran has actually been rather productive of late.
Things began to turn around in June, when Aybar slashed .302/.393/.396 upon his return from the DL. Though he dipped a bit in July, he is putting up a strong .333/.333/.519 batting line over 54 plate appearances thus far in August. The overall results aren’t pretty, and defensive metrics are also down on Aybar’s glovework, but Detroit is understandably focused on near-term performance in bolstering its roster for the stretch run. With Aybar set to hit the open market after the season, he’s a pure rental.
The Braves appear to have sent a fairly significant amount of cash to facilitate the swap. Aybar was earning $8.5MM this year, while Aviles is playing on a $2MM deal. With about $2.18MM still owed to the former and around $517K to go for the latter, Atlanta would have needed to send around $1.5MM to make up the difference.
It’s tough to view the inclusion of Aviles as much more than a salary-balancing tactic, though he’ll presumably bolster the infield depth and provide a veteran presence for the rebuilding Braves. He had been relied upon rather heavily by the Tigers in June and July, but generally hasn’t produced in his age-35 campaign. Overall, Aviles owns a .210/.258/.269 slash over 181 plate appearances.
The key to the deal from the Braves’ side is the addition of the 23-year-old Scivicque, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 draft. He has spent the entire year at the High-A level, posting a .282/.325/.380 batting line with six home runs. Still, he was recently rated the 20th-best prospect in a thin Tigers system by MLB.com, which credited his strong receiving skills while noting that he may not have enough bat to profile as more than a back-up in the majors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
TIgers Release Jeff Ferrell
- Right-hander Jeff Ferrell, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week, was released by Detroit yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The 25-year-old entered the season as Detroit’s No. 21 prospect, per Baseball America, but he hasn’t pitched since May due to injury. Last season, Ferrell notched a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
Tigers Yet To Decide On Michael Fulmer Workload Plan
- Even as the Tigers continue to push hard for a post-season berth, the club faces tough impending questions on rising young righty Michael Fulmer. As Lynn Henning of the Detroit News writes, the organization still hasn’t decided precisely how to manage his workload with both the present and future in mind. The 23-year-old has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in his rookie campaign, spinning 120 innings of 2.25 ERA pitching. But with his minor league frames included, he is already moving past his previous single-season high of 124 2/3 total innings pitched. Though manager Brad Ausmus notes that Fulmer doesn’t tend to run high pitch counts and isn’t throwing many high-stress frames, it appears that several skipped starts will be required to keep him on the bump down the stretch — and that’s all before considering a potential playoff berth.
Tigers Leaning Against Acquiring New Outfielder
- The Tigers aren’t likely to pursue outfield help unless Cameron Maybin has a setback, manager Brad Ausmus told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Maybin is on the 15-day DL with a sprained left thumb and hasn’t begun swinging a bat yet, so while a return by the end of the 15-day period (on Friday) doesn’t appear to be in the cards, Ausmus is optimistic that Maybin will be back sooner rather than later. Tyler Collins has been filling while Maybin is out, though as Beck notes, there was speculation that Carlos Gomez could be a fit for Detroit.
Tigers Notes: Kinsler, Zimmermann
With the Tigers in Arlington to take on the Rangers, second baseman Ian Kinsler reflected on the November 2013 trade that sent him from Texas to Detroit for first baseman Prince Fielder, whose career ended this week because of neck problems. “It’s the best thing that’s happened,” said Kinsler of the deal (via Jason Beck of MLB.com). “Toward the end of my time in Texas, things got kind of stale, so to be able to be traded to an organization like Detroit really allowed me to kind of reflect on who I was as a player and what I needed to do to improve.” The 34-year-old’s two-plus-season run with the Tigers has been a resounding success. Dating back to 2014, his first year with the club, Kinsler ranks eighth among major league position players in fWAR (13.8) and has hit .287/.331/.441 with 49 home runs in 1,906 plate appearances. Kinsler, who’s slashing a robust .291/.347/.488 with 21 homers and 13 stolen bases this season, regards Detroit as the “perfect place” for him and hopes to finish his career there. Going forward, Kinsler is due a reasonable $11MM next year and the Tigers have a $10MM club option for 2018.
- The Tigers haven’t gotten great early returns on their investment in right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, whom they signed to a five-year, $110MM deal in the offseason. Not only has the ex-National posted disappointing numbers – 4.44 ERA and a career-low 5.55 K/9 in 97 2/3 innings – he’s also on the disabled list for the second time this season because of back and neck issues. “It’s been the most frustrating year of my career,” said Zimmermann (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com) “Going on two months on the (disabled list) and we still don’t really have a true answer.” Zimmermann missed all of July and then returned to start Aug. 4, but he lasted just 1 2/3 innings and allowed six earned runs on six hits and two walks before heading back to the DL. The 30-year-old is currently making progress in his recovery, but there’s no timetable for his return, writes Woodbery.
Tigers Place Jose Iglesias On 15-Day DL
The Tigers have placed shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. His active roster spot will be taken over by righty Warwick Saupold.
[Related: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]
Detroit will utilize utilityman Andrew Romine at shortstop for the time being. But with third baseman Nick Castellanos also sidelined, there’s increasing pressure on the organization to find an outside addition on the left side of the infield. That’s all before considering the needs that have arisen from injuries to outfielder Cameron Maybin as well as pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Mike Pelfrey.
Iglesias, 26, has not produced at the league-average rate that he did last year. Over his 399 plate appearances in 2016, he’s slashing just .249/.297/.328. Still, he has managed to rate as a middle-tier starting option at the shortstop position (by measure of fWAR) owing to his top-line glovework.
It’s not yet clear whether Detroit will act to fill the void with a trade — particularly given that there’s no timeline as yet for Iglesias to return. Hamstring issues, it bears noting, are notorious for lingering. While Castellanos is expected back by early to mid-September, he’ll be working back from a fractured hand that could pose its own uncertainties. And his replacement, the veteran Casey McGehee, has struggled of late in the majors, though he was hitting well at Triple-A.
Of course, finding a match is more complicated in August. With the trade deadline having already passed, the Tigers would be left looking at waiver claims or players who have already cleared. Still, with Detroit sitting a half game out of the Wild Card and four back in the AL Central, wins are at a premium. Only one shortstop, Zack Cozart, cracked MLBTR’s latest listing of the top trade candidates, though he’d be a tough target given his appealing contract status and solid play (which not only raises the acquisition cost, but makes him a likely player to be claimed by teams with higher waiver priority). There are several third basemen who could potentially be had, though none would help account for the absence of Iglesias.
The Tigers do have some options kicking around at Triple-A, of course, and it appears that the team is preparing to use them. John Wagner of the Toledo Blade tweets that both shortstop Dixon Machado and outfielder Alex Presley aren’t in tonight’s lineup for the club’s top affiliate, suggesting that either or both could be on the way to the majors in short order. Machado, 24, struggled in limited action in the majors last year, and carries a .266/.356/.354 batting line in his 507 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
Tigers Place Maybin On Disabled List
The Tigers announced yesterday that outfielder Cameron Maybin has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a Grade 2 sprain of his left thumb. Maybin will join third baseman Nick Castellanos and right-handers Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey on the disabled list (as can be seen on their depth chart), adding to a growing contingent of injured Tigers as Detroit tries to chase down Cleveland for the American League Central Division lead. The loss is a tough one for Detroit, as Maybin’s on-base percentage this season checks in just under .400, and his overall .325/.394/.398 slash is highly impressive even if some regression is inevitable (.382 BABIP). Maybin’s 14.9 percent strikeout rate and 10 percent walk rate are both career-bests, however, so some of the gains are legitimate. The Tigers will announce a corresponding move later today.
Tigers Claim Donn Roach, Designate Jeff Ferrell
The Tigers announced today that they’ve claimed right-hander Donn Roach off waivers from the Mariners and designated fellow right-hander Jeff Ferrell for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Roach, who was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Aug. 4, has been optioned to Triple-A, per the Tigers’ announcement.
In 39 career innings at the Major League level, Roach has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks. While those numbers aren’t especially enticing, Roach intrigues a great many teams, as he’s been on the 40-man roster of the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners and now Tigers in the past two years. He’s never missed many bats, but Roach is a ground-ball specialist (67.1 percent in the Majors) and did see an intriguing spike in his average fastball velocity in his brief eight-inning sample with Seattle this year; after averaging 88-89 mph in prior seasons, Roach’s heater averaged 92.6 mph in 2016.
Baseball America rated Ferrell, 25, as the Tigers’ No. 21 prospect this past offseason on the heels of a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings. However, injuries have limited him to just 7 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year and 11 1/3 innings overall. He hasn’t pitched in a game since mid-May.
