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Tigers Interested In Penny, Other Starters

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The Tigers are still trying to upgrade their rotation, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The team is considering veteran starters, including Brad Penny. GM Dave Dombrowski pushed to acquire Shaun Marcum from the Blue Jays before Toronto sent him to Milwaukee, Morosi reports. Carl Pavano, however, does not appear to interest the Tigers.

Penny, 32, posted a 3.23 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 55 2/3 innings for the Cardinals last year. However, the right-hander did not pitch after May 21st because of a shoulder strain.

The Tigers have addressed their needs aggressively this offseason and could field a competitive team right now. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and Armando Galarraga are the team's current starters, but it sounds as though they may have some competition by the time Spring Training begins. 

Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez

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The Tigers agreed to re-sign Magglio Ordonez to a one-year deal, the team announced. The contract is worth $10MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). Ordonez, a Scott Boras client, turned down two-year offers elsewhere, according to Heyman.

Before fracturing his right ankle last July, the 36-year-old batted .303/.378/.474 in 365 plate appearances. He'll likely return to right field for the Tigers, which will presumably push Ryan Raburn into competition with Brennan Boesch and Don Kelly for the team's everyday left field job.

The Rangers and Red Sox reportedly had interest in Ordonez, who remained optimistic about returning to Detroit. Over the weekend, 39% of 10,000 MLBTR readers correctly predicted that the Tigers would re-sign Ordonez.

Until Ordonez injured his ankle, it seemed likely that his 2011 option would vest for $15MM. Instead, the Tigers declined arbitration – a good move given the $18MM salary Ordonez made last year – and re-signed him on the open market.

The Tigers entered the offseason with a number of needs, but GM Dave Dombrowski has addressed most of them already. The team re-signed Ordonez, Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta and signed Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit. If Dombrowski is comfortable with Armando Galarraga and Phil Coke at the back of his rotation, the rest of the winter could be relatively quiet for the Tigers.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Jackson, Lee, Crain

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These days it takes more than a dollar to get a can of soda from a vending machine.  Back in 1936, a dollar represented the late Bob Feller's signing bonus with the Indians.  Pretty nice bargain for the Tribe on that one.

Onto tonight's links…

  • Orlando Hudson is running out of suitors, but ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill suggests the Blue Jays could be a potential match, with Aaron Hill moving to third base to accomodate Hudson at second.  Hudson was originally drafted by Toronto in 1997 and played four seasons for the Jays before being dealt to Arizona following the 2005 season.
  • The White Sox are pushing their payroll to new heights, and ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla suggests they might consider trading Edwin Jackson to create some salary breathing room.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link) has the breakdown of Cliff Lee's annual salaries with the Phillies.  Lee will earn $11MM next season, $21.5MM in 2012, and then $25MM per season from 2013 to 2015, plus the previously-reported vesting option for 2016.  Rosenthal tweets that Lee's $27.5MM vesting option in 2016 becomes a club option for the same total if it fails to vest, but in such a situation it seems a lock that Philadelphia would just pay Lee the $12.5MM buyout.
  • There was no pressure put on Lee by the players' union to take the largest contract offer, says Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  "As long as a player makes an informed choice, we're happy," says MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner.
  • Jesse Crain spoke about his all-but-official contract with the White Sox in an interview on KFAN 1130 AM in Minneapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports on the highlights of the chat.  Crain said he was swayed by the chance to close games and Chicago's offer of a three-year deal, also noting that "the Twins didn't really make an offer" to re-sign him.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo says Oakland's offer for Josh Willingham was better than any of the offers he received for Willingham before last year's trade deadline, tweets MASNsports.com's Ben Goessling.
  • The Tigers have the young pitching (Andy Oliver or Jacob Turner) and middle infield prospects (Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore) to meet Kansas City's asking price for Zack Greinke, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.  Count me as skeptical — it's hard to see the Royals dealing Greinke to a division rival unless they got an absolute monster of an offer, and they'd probably ask Detroit for both Oliver and Turner just as a starting point.
  • ESPN's Keith Law covered such topics as Jay Bruce's extension, the 2011 amateur draft and the spate of multi-year contracts for relievers in an online chat with fans today.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com outlines ten of the major holes that various contending teams still need to fill this winter.

Greinke Can’t Block Trades To Angels, Rangers, Tigers

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Zack Greinke can block trades to 15 teams and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Yankees, Red Sox and Nationals are among them. The Tigers, Angels and Rangers, however, could acquire the right-hander without his permission.

The Yankees reportedly have limited interest in Greinke, but the Nationals have shown interest in acquiring Greinke or Matt Garza. Though the Tigers and Angels haven't been linked to Greinke much this offseason, the Rangers are often mentioned as a possible destination for the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner. They prefer him to Fausto Carmona, according to Morosi (on Twitter). Greinke has two years and $27MM remaining on his contract.

Tigers Sell Alfredo Figaro’s Contract To Orix Buffaloes

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The Tigers sold righty Alfredo Figaro's contract to the Orix Buffaloes of Japan, according to the team's Twitter feed.

Figaro, 26, has 31 2/3 big league innings to his name.  This year in Triple-A, he posted a 4.14 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 124 innings.  Baseball America ranked him 15th among Tigers prospects heading into the season, calling him a power arm with a back-end starter ceiling.

Odds & Ends: Jeter, Cameron, Rich Hill

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Another eventful Winter Meetings has come to a close.  Even with the pre-meetings action involving Adrian Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, and Shaun Marcum, we had plenty to talk about this week.  Carl Crawford signed the biggest deal of the offseason so far.  Paul Konerko stayed with the White Sox after some drama.  Carlos Pena found a pillow contract with the Cubs.  J.J. Putz assumed the Diamondbacks' closer role.  The Orioles rebuilt the left side of their infield with Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy.  The Pirates, Mariners, Padres, Royals, Rockies, Mets, and others made additions as well.  On to today's links…

Minor Deals: Oxspring, Oeltjen, Ryal

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The latest minor transactions….

  • MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that the Tigers signed Chris Oxspring, who made five appearances for the Padres in 2005. Oxspring, 33, has spent time pitching in Japan, Korea, and Australia since then.
  • The Dodgers have re-signed Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal, according to CBS Sports. The 27-year-old outfielder got some big league playing time over the season's final month, making 30 plate appearances in 14 games. He was non-tendered by the Dodgers last week.
  • Rusty Ryal appears to be headed to a Japanese club, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. While it's not official yet, "there's a pretty good possibility" it'll happen (Twitter links).

Crawford Fallout: Lee, Downs, Ordonez, Beltre

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While Boston's agreement with Carl Crawford is, of course, a huge move in its own right, the impact it could have on other free agents can't be overlooked. Here are a few players and teams who may be affected by the Crawford signing:

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates (via Twitter) that the Angels and Rangers, who were in on Crawford, could make a stronger push for Cliff Lee now. Brian Cashman, however, says the move won't affect the Yankees' tactics with Lee (Twitter link). Regardless, Crawford's contract is widely viewed as great news for the southpaw. Newsday's Ken Davidoff writes that "it just gets better and better to be Cliff Lee this winter."
  • As Lou Merloni writes at WEEI.com, the Red Sox could become more interested in Scott Downs now that the Type A free agent wouldn't cost a first round pick. Boston will send its first round pick to Tampa Bay as compensation for Crawford, so they'd only have to surrender a second rounder if they signed Downs.
  • The Red Sox have almost certainly been eliminated as a suitor for Magglio Ordonez now, which is good news for the Tigers. According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, Detroit "badly wants to re-sign" Ordonez, and while the veteran has a handful of suitors, it appeared Boston's interest was serious.
  • Having missed out on Crawford, the Angels are expected to turn their "full attention" to Adrian Beltre and perhaps Rafael Soriano, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

Magglio Ordonez Rumors: Wednesday

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The latest on Magglio Ordonez…

  • Today's workout was only meant for the Tigers and was not an open audition, tweets MLB.com's Ian Browne.
  • The Orioles did not watch Ordonez work out today and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail refuted the report that they're interested, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter link).
  • Interestingly, the Red Sox did not have a representative at Ordonez's workout today, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The Tigers were there, GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck.
  • It's doubtful that the Red Sox would give Ordonez a two-year deal, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox appear to be focusing on Ordonez in their search for an outfielder, reports CBS Sports' Danny Knobler.  This would not be good news for Carl Crawford.  The Tigers, Phillies, and Orioles are also said to be in the mix for Maggs.  Ordonez is coming off a broken ankle, but worked out for teams today.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says Boras is seeking at least two years and $20MM.

Ryan Ludwick Drawing Trade Interest

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WEDNESDAY, 3:15pm: The Padres would only trade Ludwick for a package that includes two or three pieces, which means he'll likely be in their opening day lineup, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

TUESDAY, 10:46pm: Ryan Ludwick is generating trade interest, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Red Sox, Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers are among the teams that have checked in, according to the reporters. At this point – just 48 hours after trading Adrian Gonzalez – the Padres seem reluctant to part with Ludwick.

The Orioles, Tigers and Red Sox have also been linked to another outfielder who bats from the right side and is a year away from free agency: Josh Willingham.

Ludwick, 32, earned 5.45MM in 2010 and has hit 76 home runs over the course of the past three seasons, so he'll surpass the $6MM mark through arbitration in 2011 and could earn close to $7MM. He batted .251/.325/.418 with 17 homers and 27 doubles in 551 plate appearances last year.

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