- Tigers GM Al Avila doesn’t expect Chris Sale’s departure from the trade market to have any impact on Justin Verlander’s status, he told reporters including MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “I would assume there will be a domino effect, because that’s one more guy that gets taken up and maybe some teams now move on. But I don’t believe it’s going to affect our situation at all,” Avila said. While the Tigers are looking to be more cost-effective than usual this winter and are open to discussing deals of Verlander and other high-salaried players, the ace’s salary and no-trade protection are obstacles to a deal, not to mention the fact that Verlander is a necessary component since Detroit obviously still wants to compete in 2017.
- Along those same lines, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told Beck and other reporters that he doesn’t “think there’s going to be a ton of change” to his team’s roster give the difficulty involved in trading the high-priced stars. “It’s so much easier to talk about trading people, and a lot [tougher] to actually trade them, especially when you’re talking about guys that have some sizable contracts….Quite frankly, even talking about being more responsible fiscally, we don’t want to trade,” Ausmus said. “We like them, especially some of the names mentioned earlier in the season. Miguel [Cabrera], Justin, I don’t want those guys traded. Are you kidding me? That’s the last thing I want. I just think it’s easy to talk about and harder to do.” Ausmus believes his team can contend if they get better health next year, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers bring in an external candidate for their vacancy in center field.
Tigers Rumors
Tigers Receiving Calls On Justin Wilson
- GM Al Avila says the Tigers player who’s been most popular lately among teams hoping to make trades has been lefty reliever Justin Wilson, MLive.com’s Evan Woodberry writes. “The highest level of interest has been on Justin Wilson,” Avila says. Avila has also fielded calls about Shane Greene, but Woodberry writes that the Tigers are less likely to trade Greene, since, unlike Wilson, he’s under team control for the league minimum salary next year.
Rangers Asked Tigers About Justin Wilson
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the Rangers asked the Tigers about southpaw Justin Wilson, though he characterizes the scenario as a long shot. Wilson, though, would give the Rangers a couple of years of control over a quality southpaw reliever and give the team flexibility to make further roster alterations.
Tigers Listening To Offers For Justin Wilson, Shane Greene
- The Tigers are gauging interest in southpaw setup man Justin Wilson and right-handed reliever Shane Greene, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). This is the second time Wilson’s name has hit the rumor mill since last week. The 29-year-old impressed with a 9.97 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and 54.6 ground-ball rate in 58 2/3 innings last season. However, a .340 BABIP (47 points higher than his career .293 mark) and a 12.2 percent home run-to-fly ball ratio (up from a lifetime 8 percent mark) helped lead to an unspectacular ERA of 4.14. Wilson has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a reasonable $2.7MM salary for next season. Greene, 28, comes with four years of team control – including a pre-arb year in 2017 – but he posted a 5.82 ERA in 60 1/3 frames last season despite an 8.8 K/9, 3.28 BB/9 and 47.6 grounder rate.
Tigers Plan To Contend In 2017
- Although Detroit general manager Al Avila stated in October that the team has been spending “above its means,” the Tigers aren’t necessarily in payroll-slashing mode, one of their executives informed Sherman (Twitter link). Rather, they only intend to trade high-priced veterans if the right deals come along. The Tigers are currently planning on contending in 2017, per the executive. That makes sense considering they’re part of a division which already includes one rebuilding team, the Twins, and could feature two more if the Royals and White Sox decide their windows have closed.
Tigers Willing To Trade Francisco Rodriguez
- Given that they’re aiming to slash payroll and get younger, the Tigers are willing to deal closer Francisco Rodriguez, relays Cafardo. K-Rod is due $6MM next year, his age-35 season, after converting 44 of 49 save chances and logging a 3.24 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and career-high 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings in 2016.
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Miguel Cabrera Open To Trade; Deal Unlikely
The Tigers’ goal is to cut payroll and age from their roster, but they haven’t held active trade talks involving high-priced, 33-year-old first baseman Miguel Cabrera, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
“There’s never been anything close,” a source told Heyman in regards to a potential Cabrera trade.
Detroit general manager Al Avila indicated last month that he’d be open to taking offers for Cabrera, though he added that “it would be in [the Tigers’] best interest” to retain the future Hall of Famer. Even if Avila were more willing to part with him, Cabrera’s onerous contract could serve as a significant roadblock. Cabrera still has at least $190MM coming his way through 2024, when he’ll be 41, assuming his employer exercises an $8MM buyout in lieu of picking up a $30MM club option. Regarding the eight-year, $248MM extension then-Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski signed Cabrera to in 2014, a rival GM told Heyman, “Not too many contracts like that one will be given anymore.”
Cabrera also has 10-and-5 rights – meaning he’d be able to veto any trade – but he didn’t rule out playing elsewhere on Saturday, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive.com.
“I love playing in Detroit, I love the city. But the doors are open,” said Cabrera, who added that a trade would have to help the Tigers. “If it’s a good deal, I’ll accept the trade. If the team does not benefit, I prefer to stay in Detroit.”
Cabrera has already been part of one trade in his illustrious career, having gone from the Marlins to the Tigers in a 2007 deal that has worked out brilliantly for Detroit. Since his tenure with the Tigers began in 2008, Cabrera has won two American League MVP awards, gone to seven All-Star games and helped the club to four playoff berths – including a World Series appearance in 2012. Along the way, Cabrera has hit an astounding .325/.404/.573 in 5,929 plate appearances and swatted the second-most home runs in the majors (308, one behind Albert Pujols). Cabrera was his usual excellent self at the plate this past season, slashing .316/.393/.563 with 38 homers in 679 PAs.
Giants Interested In J.D. Martinez
- That being said, the Giants are also looking to add a power bat in the outfield, and they have continued to consider Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That interest has been known for some time, but it seems there’s still life to the possibility. Notably, GM Bobby Evans has signaled that San Francisco does not wish to take on a long-term obligation in the outfield, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The same rationale that makes Martinez appealing — his one year of team control — could also make Mets outfielder Jay Bruce a possibility, Schulman notes.
Justin Wilson Drawing Interest; Phillies Asked About Martinez
- The Tigers have been receiving plenty of calls about their veterans as they look to get younger and cut some payroll this winter, but MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets one name that has been drawing considerable interest without generating many headlines: lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Per Morosi, Detroit has “perhaps the largest number of inquiries” on Wilson as teams look to bolster their left-handed relief corps. The arbitration-eligible Wilson is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn just $2.7MM next season, so he wouldn’t trim much payroll of the Tigers’ books. But, he could certainly fetch a nice prospect or two, allowing the Tigers to get a bit younger in the process. Wilson, 29, posted excellent peripherals that suggest his marginal 4.14 ERA will improve in 2017 and beyond (10.0 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 54.9 percent ground-ball rate, 3.02 SIERA).
- Morosi also tweets that the Phillies are seeking a short-term outfield bat and have inquired with the Tigers about J.D. Martinez, but talks didn’t advance much, he notes. Martinez has been one of the most talked-about trade candidates of the offseason and seems to have a decent chance of landing elsewhere this winter, but the asking price on him is apparently quite high at the moment. Newsday’s Marc Carig reported yesterday that Michael Conforto’s name came up in talks with the Mets before New York re-signed Yoenis Cespedes. (Unsurprisingly, talks died quickly once Detroit mentioned Conforto, per Carig.)
J.D. Martinez Likely To Be Traded?
- One general manager who has spoken to the Tigers about a J.D. Martinez trade tells Heyman that he believes Martinez is “all but certain” to be traded. Detroit, Heyman points out, is now the somewhat surprising MLB payroll leader with several Dodgers hitting free agency and with the Yankees trading Brian McCann.
