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Latest On Addison Russell

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DECEMBER 6: A source tells Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link) that the Tigers “have no interest” in Russell.

DECEMBER 5: The Tigers are among the teams interested in free-agent middle infielder Addison Russell, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Russell joined the open market when the Cubs non-tendered him Monday.

There is no denying Russell is a major league-caliber middle infielder, but the significant baggage he comes with likely helped influence the Cubs to move on from him. The 25-year-old Russell sat out the early portion of last season after the league issued him a 40-game suspension for a violation of its domestic violence policy in October 2018. Once Russell came back from that alarming ban, opposing pitchers handled him. The former top prospect managed a weak .237/.308/.391 line with nine home runs across 241 plate appearances.

The Cubs, led by president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, have spoken well of Russell since they moved on from him. Nevertheless, he probably won’t do all that well in free agency, which helps make the rebuilding Tigers a fit for Russell. They don’t figure to spend that much in free agency after a 47-win campaign. General manager Al Avila has indicated that utilityman Niko Goodrum’s the favorite to man short in 2020, but even if that’s true, the Tigers have a clear need at second base. Russell has significant experience at both positions.

Tigers Interested In Lindblom, Tsutsugo

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Past reports have already linked the Blue Jays and Marlins to Yoshitomo Tsutsugo’s market, and now MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that three AL Central teams are also in the mix.  The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins all have some interest in the Japanese slugger, who has hit 185 homers for Yokohama since the start of the 2014 season.  Tsutsugo’s left-handed power would fit in any of the three teams’ lineups, though his limited defensive capability as a first baseman or outfielder could see him mostly play first base if he wound up in Minnesota, since Nelson Cruz is locked into DH duties.  Chicago could deploy Tsutsugo along with Jose Abreu in the first base/DH mix or play Tsutsugo in the outfield on days when Yasmani Grandal is getting a DH or first base day, while Tsutsugo would simply step right into an everyday role for the hitting-starved Tigers.

  • Morosi reports on another potential Detroit target in another tweet, noting that the Tigers and Angels are two of the teams interested in Josh Lindblom.  The right-hander is looking to return to the majors on the heels of two outstanding seasons in South Korea’s KBO League, and some very impressive spin rate numbers on his four-seam fastball.  Morosi writes that Lindblom has already received multi-year offers from more than one team, which isn’t surprising given how Lindblom would be an inexpensive yet high-ceiling addition to a lot of pitching staffs (such as rebuilding teams like the Tigers or hopeful contenders like the Angels).

Drew VerHagen To Sign With Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters

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Tigers right-hander Drew VerHagen will sign a one-year deal with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports (Twitter links). Detroit has formally requested release waivers on VerHagen in order to facilitate the move, per a club announcement. The move drops the Tigers’ 40-man roster to a total of 39 players.

“It sounds like they are going to give me a great opportunity to start,” VerHagen tells McCosky (Twitter link). “I just felt like this is something cool and different and it will big financially, as well. I’m excited.”

VerHagen, 29, has spent his entire career in the Tigers’ organization. Originally drafted in the fourth round back in 2012, the 6’6″ righty has made a handful of starts with the Tigers since debuting in 2014 but has worked primarily out of the bullpen. VerHagen’s 5.11 ERA in 199 Major League innings doesn’t exactly stand out, but he’s notched a hearty 53.9 percent ground-ball rate at the game’s top level. Metrics like FIP (4.76), xFIP (4.50) and SIERA (4.29) all feel he’s been a fair sight better than his baseline ERA, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he’s played in front of some lackluster defenses as the Tigers have worked through their current rebuilding phase.

VerHagen’s time at the Triple-A level has gone much better. He’s appeared in parts of six seasons there, compiling a 3.97 earned run average with 7.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 321 2/3 innings. He wouldn’t be the first pitcher to reinvent himself in Japan before returning to MLB in his early or mid 30s, so his results in NPB will at least be worth keeping an eye on next season.

 

Tigers Acquire Dario Agrazal

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The Tigers have acquired right-hander Dario Agrazal from the Pirates in exchange for cash, the team announced. (Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported the move, via Twitter, minutes before it was formally announced.) Agrazal was designated for assignment last week when Pittsburgh set its 40-man roster in advance of next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Detroit’s 40-man roster is now full.

Agrazal, 24, logged 73 1/3 innings with the Pirates in 2019 but struggled to a 4.91 ERA with 5.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.84 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent grounder rate. He’s typically demonstrated strong control and posted better ground-ball rates in the minors. Agrazal also has a minor league option remaining, so the Tigers will be able to shuttle him between Toledo and Detroit as rotation depth next season — so long as he survives the winter on the team’s 40-man roster.

The Tigers’ rotation is perilously thin at the moment, with Matthew Boyd, Jordan Zimmermann, Spencer Turnbull and Daniel Norris representing the likeliest options. Righty Michael Fulmer will be returning from Tommy John surgery as well, but he didn’t go under the knife until the end of March in 2019, meaning there’s no guarantee he’ll be back for Opening Day.

That said, the Tigers have a number of high-end pitching prospects looming on the horizon, led by 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick Casey Mize. Detroit also has Matt Manning, Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows, Tarik Skubal and Franklin Perez working through the upper minors, and it’d be both surprising and disappointing if that collection of arms didn’t produce a couple of MLB-caliber rotation pieces. The acquisition of Agrazal lessens any need to rush that group to the big leagues, though, and provides some additional depth in the event of injuries to the starters on which the Tigers currently expect to rely.

Further additions remain possible, of course; the Tigers added Tyson Ross and Matt Moore on perfectly reasonable, low-risk one-year pacts last offseason. Although neither move panned out, the logic behind each was apparent, and a similar pickup or two this winter wouldn’t be particularly surprising.

Blaine Hardy Drawing Interest

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  • Lefty reliever Blaine Hardy has begun to attract interest on the free agent market, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (via Twitter). Beck names the Twins as one team that has shown interest, though multiple organizations appear to be in on the ex-Tiger. Hardy, 33 in mid-March, was drafted by the Royals, but spent the entirety of his MLB career with the Tigers. After Detroit signed him to a minor league deal following the 2012 season, Hardy would make his major-league debut during the 2014 season, pitching to a 2.54 ERA across 38 appearances. Outside the 70 appearances he made in 2015, Hardy has been up-and-down most seasons, making between 21 and 39 appearances in the majors every year from 2016 to 2019. In all, he amassed 233 appearances across 6 seasons with the Tigers (13 starts in 2018) with a 3.73 ERA/4.11 FIP and pretty even splits between lefties and righties.

Players Added To 40-Man Roster: American League

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We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from American League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

AL West:

  • The Athletics made just one addition to the 40-man roster, righty Daulton Jefferies, which resulted in the DFA of righty Jharel Cotton (more on that move here).
  • The Rangers will add at least four players to their 40-man, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Infielder Sherten Apostel, outfielder Leody Taveras, and hurlers Demarcus Evans and Tyler Phillips are all reportedly set to get a slot. Taveras is the most exciting name of this bunch; by the reckoning of some observers, he’s one of the club’s best prospects. Apostel came over in the Keone Kela trade. The two pitchers are upper-minors arms who could contribute in 2020.
  • There’s 40-man movement elsewhere in Texas as well. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros have tacked on four players: Taylor Jones, Cristian Javier, Enoli Paredes, and Nivaldo Rodriguez. The last of those is the one that came from the farthest reaches of the prospect map (half a season of High-A ball); clearly, the ’Stros see him as an up-and-comer and were worried other teams would as well. Jones had a strong season at Triple-A and could fight for a bench spot. Javier and Paredes could be in the MLB bullpen mix after running up the farm ladder with high strikeout rates in 2019.
  • The Angels have selected second baseman/outfielder Jahmai Jones and lefty Hector Yan, according to the club. Both players (Jones – No. 6; Yan – No. 17) rank among the Angels’ top 20 prospects at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Jones is a 2015 second-rounder who spent the past two seasons at the Double-A level, where he hit .234/.308/.324 in 544 plate appearances in 2019. Yan, a 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, rose to Single-A ball this past season and notched a 3.39 ERA/3.17 FIP with a whopping 12.22 K/9 against 4.29 BB/9 over 109 innings.

AL Central:

AL East:

  • Infielder Santiago Espinal and righty Thomas Hatch were the Blue Jays’ pair of roster additions on Wednesday. Toronto jettisoned Tim Mayza and Justin Shafer from the 40-man roster in a pair of corresponding moves, as explored at greater length here.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Dean Kremer, infielder/outfielder Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Ryan McKenna. Mountcastle, a former first-rounder, has long been considered among the organization’s most promising minor leaguers. Akin posted a down year in Triple-A in 2019 but has generally been successful and is viewed as a near-MLB ready arm.
  • The Red Sox have added infielders C.J. Chatham and Bobby Dalbec, outfielder Marcus Wilson, and lefties Kyle Hart and Yoan Aybar to their 40-man, the team announced.The most hyped farmhand there is Dalbec, whom MLB.com ranks as the Red Sox’s second-best prospect. The 24-year-old reached the Triple-A level for the first time in 2019 after obliterating Double-A pitching, and he posted a .257/.301/.478 line with seven home runs and 29 strikeouts against just five walks over 123 trips to the plate.

Al Avila Discusses Tigers' Needs

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  • Tigers general manager Al Avila said this week that a “bat” – likely either an outfielder or a first baseman – as well as a backup catcher are on his shopping list, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com relays. It doesn’t seem that the Tigers will be adding a shortstop from outside, though. Rather, it looks as if utilityman Niko Goodrum is the favorite to land the job. Avila’s of the belief that young shortstop Willi Castro and catcher Jake Rogers, who made their major league debuts in 2019, need more seasoning at the Triple-A level.

Tigers Hire Josh Paul As Quality Control Coach

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  • The Tigers have hired Josh Paul as their quality control coach, the team announced. Paul served as the the Angels’ bench coach over the previous three years, but the Halos fired him after this season. The 44-year-old Paul was previously a major league catcher and then a well-regarded assistant in the Yankees organization.

Tigers Re-Sign Five Players To Minors Contracts

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The Tigers announced that left-hander Nick Ramirez, right-handers Tim Adleman and Anthony Castro, outfielder Jose Azocar, and first baseman Frank Schwindel have all been re-signed to minor league contracts.  Ramirez and Schwindel were the only members of this quintet to see MLB action in 2019, as both made their big league debuts.

The 30-year-old Ramirez made a fairly solid first accounting of himself in the big leagues, posting a 4.07 ERA, 2.11 K/BB rate, 46.2% grounder rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 79 2/3 relief innings.  He also held left-handed hitters to only a .644 OPS over 117 plate appearances, and while his numbers against right-handed batters weren’t as good (.801 OPS in 231 PA), the splits weren’t drastic enough to make Ramirez a non-viable option for 2020 given the new three-batter minimum rule being instituted.  Since Ramirez pitched beyond one inning in 28 of his 46 games, his durability and multi-inning usage make him an intriguing choice to return to the Tigers’ pen next season.

Schwindel signed with the Tigers in June after being released by the Royals the previous month.  Originally an 18th-round pick for Kansas City in the 2013 draft, Schwindel cracked the Show in his seventh pro season, appearing in six games for the Royals.  For his career, Schwindel has a .285/.318/.472 slash line and 118 home runs over 3222 minor league plate appearances.

Hanwha Eagles Re-Sign Warwick Saupold

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With apologies to Warwick Saupold fans, the time isn’t yet right for a stateside return. The Aussie hurler has agreed to another year with Korea’s Hanwha Eagles, as Yonhap news reports.

Saupold will take home $1.2MM in total earnings, with the possibility of another $100K in incentives. That’s a nice payday for the former Tigers right-hander, who received 82 MLB relief appearances over three seasons but never entrenched himself on the Detroit roster.

As we noted recently, Saupold was among the former big leaguers that found success in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2019. Though he carried a less-than-exciting combination of 6.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, he was able to keep the long ball in check (8 home runs) and produce strong results all year long. Saupold spun 192 1/3 frames of 3.51 ERA ball for the Eagles.

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