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Tigers Designate Daniel Fields For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated outfielder Daniel Fields for assignment, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. His 40-man spot will go to infielder Josh Wilson, who will be activated.

Fields, 24, reached the big leagues and recorded his first hit this year, but saw just one game of action. He’s spent most of his time at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons, slashing .225/.312/.358 in 825 plate appearances. Though not much of a power source, Fields has swiped 25 bags in that span.

Detroit drafted Fields in the sixth round back in 2009, drawing the high schooler to the professional ranks with a $1.625MM bonus. While he’s shown flashes at times, including a big 2013 season at Double-A (.284/.356/.435 with 24 steals), Fields has yet to show that he can hit consistently at the highest level of the minors.

AL Central Notes: Ausmus, Tigers, Kluber

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Tigers manager Brad Ausmus’ job “appears to be” in jeopardy, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Some that are familiar with the team’s thinking are wondering if the players have “stopped playing” for Ausmus in light of the team’s recent skid. He adds that Ausmus was a Dave Dombrowski hire, and while new GM Al Avila supported the decision, the Ilitch family (the Tigers’ owners) was far more skeptical on the idea of a rookie manager succeeding legend Jim Leyland. If he does get dismissed from Detroit, Ausmus would “have to wait about eight minutes for another job,” a rival GM tells Heyman.

More from the division…

  • Speaking of the Tigers, MLive.com’s Chris Iott writes that Detroit’s recent six-game road trip perfectly illustrates what a difficult task Avila will have in his first offseason as he attempts to rebuild the pitching staff. Detroit allowed 61 runs and scored just 20 on their recent six-game road trip, and there aren’t even three locks for the 2016 rotation at this point. Veterans Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez will be in, and there are young options beyond that duo (most notably, perhaps, Daniel Norris). However, Iott writes that the Tigers will likely add two starters from outside the organization. As far as the bullpen is concerned, there’s perhaps less certainty there, with only three — possibly four — certainties headed into next year. Neftali Feliz is an obvious non-tender candidate, as Iott notes.
  • The Indians announced today that they’ve scratched ace Corey Kluber from his start due to a strained right hamstring. Kluber will be sidelined for one or two starts, but Cleveland expects him to pitch again in 2015. Nonetheless, the injury is notable for a team that is on the outskirts of the AL Wild Card race at six games back and will play its next nine games against teams with sub-.500 records (the White Sox and Tigers).

Tigers Outright Josh Zeid

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The Tigers announced today that they’ve outrighted pitcher Josh Zeid off the 40-man roster in order to clear space for left-hander Kyle Lobstein, who has been activated from the 60-day disabled list (Twitter link).

Zeid, a 28-year-old right-hander, was initially a 10th-round draft pick of the Phillies back in 2009. He went from Philadelphia to Houston in the initial Hunter Pence trade (alongside Domingo Santana, Jarred Cosart and Jon Singleton) and was ultimately picked up by the Tigers on waivers from Houston.

In 65 innings at Triple-A this season, Zeid has worked to a 4.71 ERA with a 57-to-39 K/BB ratio in 65 innings. His overall Triple-A track record is better than that, however, as he has a lifetime 3.96 ERA in 127 1/3 innings there. Zeid also has a fair amount of MLB experience as well, having tallied a 5.21 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings from 2013-14 as a member of the Astros.

Cafardo On Rangers, Jackson, Brewers, Yankees

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The Red Sox didn’t go by MLB’s minority hiring rules when they interviewed only Dave Dombrowski for the president of baseball ops role but they have been instructed to do so for the GM job, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  If the Red Sox take the step of hiring a minority GM candidate, Cafardo suggests that Ken Williams would be a strong choice if he chooses to leave Chicago.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • The Rangers were very interested in acquiring Austin Jackson “a few days ago,” but nothing came of those talks, Cafardo writes.  Jackson, 28, cleared waivers last week and was said to be generating interest, though it appears that no one wanted to take the remaining ~$1.7MM salary off the Mariners’ hands.
  • Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is in play for the Brewers job, a major league source tells Cafardo.  “Despite his last-place finishes he’s seen as a team builder, especially when it comes to farm systems,” said the source.   The Angels, Mariners, and Phillies are also thought to be possibilities for Cherington.
  • The Yankees have been blocked in every attempt to add to their pitching, both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. Baseball sources tell Cafardo that GM Brian Cashman doesn’t seem optimistic about his odds of pulling anything off.  The Mets have been blocked from adding a reliever as well.
  • The Royals want a backup catcher for the playoffs just in case something happens to Salvador Perez.  KC turned down the opportunity to land A.J. Pierzynski from the Braves, Cafardo writes, but they’re still looking for an affordable left-handed hitting backstop. Some KC scouts like the Red Sox’s Ryan Hanigan, but he hits right-handed and has a $3.7MM salary next year with an option for 2017.
  • Unsurprisingly, Cafardo hears that the Rangers are looking for offense, the Twins are looking for relief help, and the Blue Jays want to add to their bullpen.  However, a deal for Toronto doesn’t seem likely at this time.
  • Cafardo writes that the Nationals, Padres, Red Sox, Mariners, Reds, Orioles, Indians, and Tigers are expected to be quite active this winter.

Quick Hits: Francona, Price, Flores

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If team president Mark Shapiro departs to become president of the Blue Jays, Indians manager Terry Francona would not be likely to exercise an opt-out in his deal, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Francona’s opt-out allows him to leave the organization if Shapiro or GM Chris Antonetti were to leave first. He says he will not use that clause to try to land a job elsewhere. “When I came here, I think I was pretty honest about the fact that I came here because of Mark and Chris,” he says. “Since I’ve been here, my relationship with them has certainly grown, but also with the other people here, to the point where, I guess my point is I would never use that as leverage. That was not the spirit of the way it was written, nor would I use it like that.” Francona is currently in the midst of a deal that will carry him through 2016, at which point a new, two-year deal will kick in. That deal includes team options for 2019 and 2020. Here are more quick notes from around the league.

  • David Price was not surprised that the Tigers traded him, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. “Just kind of understanding everything in the organization, not really,” said Price when asked if the deal caught him off-guard. “The Tigers are never sellers. They’re always buyers and they’re always making playoff runs and stuff like that. But at that time, I thought that was probably the best move.” Price describes his last few weeks with the Tigers as “just a weird time” in which it was unclear what direction the team would go at the trade deadline.
  • Wilmer Flores has become a “cult hero” to Mets fans, as ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin notes. Flores openly cried upon hearing that he would be traded from the Mets to the Brewers. After the deal that was supposed to send Flores to Milwaukee and Carlos Gomez to New York fell through, the Mets have played brilliantly, and he’s become a symbol to Mets fans who love him for wanting so badly to stay with the team. “If you’re saying it has something to do with it, I don’t know. I can’t tell you,” says Flores about his crying on the field. “But since that day, it’s been really fun. On the road and playing at home, it’s been really fun. I can’t tell you it was because of that.”

Shane Greene To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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4:07pm: Head trainer Kevin Rand said that Greene will begin throwing in two months and is expected to be ready for Spring Training, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).

3:50pm: Tigers right-hander Shane Greene will undergo season-ending surgery, manager Brad Ausmus told reporters, including MLive.com’s James Schmehl and MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter links). Doctors will operate on Greene’s right shoulder to repair an issue with his circumflex artery, which has been causing psuedoaneurysm symptoms in his right arm. Greene had been experiencing numbness in his throwing hand.

The 26-year-old Greene was acquired from the Yankees this offseason in a three-team deal that sent Didi Gregorius from the D-Backs to the Yankees and lefty Robbie Ray from the Tigers to the D-Backs. Greene’s torrid start to the season generated quite a few headlines, but it was largely fueled by a microscopic BABIP, and his strikeout rate had plummeted with the Tigers. He struggled from late April through early June and found himself demoted to Triple-A, though it’s very possible that the issue he’s now getting corrected has been affecting him for a large portion of the season.

Greene presumably would’ve been in line for a September call-up in order to perhaps earn a guaranteed role in Detroit’s rotation in 2016. However, he’ll now enter the offseason with a bit more uncertainty surrounding his 2016 status. Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander are locks to return to the rotation next year, health permitting, and trade acquisitions Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd would seem to have strong cases as well. Greene figures to be in the mix along with that pair of young lefties along with right-hander Buck Farmer and lefty Kyle Lobstein.

Of course, new general manager Al Avila may want to bring in some additional rotation options either via free agency or trade. Following Dave Dombrowski’s exit from the Detroit front office, Avila’s comments had a win-now tone, so it seems reasonable to expect that he’d seek some more stability in the starting rotation this winter.

Cafardo On Dombrowski, De Aza, Buchholz, Lackey

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe runs down the candidates for the Red Sox GM job.  Frank Wren, who has a history with new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, is believed to be the favorite for the gig, but there are many other candidates who could be in the mix.  Cafardo runs down several intriguing names, including ex-Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.  For what it’s worth, O’Dowd told Cafardo that he enjoys his current job as an MLB Network analyst and has no idea whether Dombrowski would consider him for a position.  Here’s more from Cafardo….

  • In addition to the Dodgers, the Giants also had interest in acquiring Red Sox outfielder Alejandro De Aza after he cleared waivers, but they felt the asking price was too high, Cafardo writes.  Boston acquired De Aza from the Orioles in early June and one has to imagine that the NL West clubs were drawn to him, in part, because he would have served as a highly-affordable rental.  The Red Sox were on the hook for only $1MM of his salary after acquiring him from Baltimore.
  • Ben Cherington probably would have picked up the $13MM option on the injury-prone Clay Buchholz, but Cafardo isn’t sure if Dombrowski will do the same.  One AL GM told Cafardo that Buchholz would likely be in line for “around $15MM on a three-year deal” if he were to hit the open market.
  • Cafardo doesn’t buy the theory that the Red Sox hired Dombrowski quickly in order to give him more time to trade Pablo Sandoval or Hanley Ramirez.  To deal either of the struggling sluggers, Boston “would have to eat major money and that may not be in the cards.”
  • Sources close to Cardinals hurler John Lackey tell Cafardo that the veteran wants to stay in the National League because he’s had an easier time pitching there.  St. Louis has interest in a reunion, though not on a lengthy contract since Lackey turns 37 in October.
  • Tigers adviser Scott Reid has been mentioned as someone Dombrowski could bring with him to the Red Sox, but at this time, Dombrowski has not asked permission to speak with Detroit executives.  Many of those execs also received promotions after Dombrowski’s departure, so it’s not clear if they can be lured away.
  • Agent Alan Nero believes there will be a ripe market for Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park. “We’re just preparing for the process right now,” Nero said. “We believe there’s going to be a lot of interest as there was with [Jung Ho] Kang. Major league teams certainly covet right-handed power.” The Red Sox have been scouting the Nexen Heroes star for most of the season and Cafardo suggests that they could platoon him with left-handed-batter Travis Shaw. Even though Park could carry a notable price tag via the posting system, that could be cheaper for the Sox than going after the likes of Chris Davis or Justin Morneau on the open market.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Stanton, Astros

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Even though they’re likely to make the postseason, the Dodgers are one of the 10 most disappointing teams in baseball, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. From the mouth of one NL executive, “they have done the near impossible – they have a $300 million payroll and yet they haven’t gone all in for 2015.” Of course, they still have time to find a patch or two for their beleaguered bullpen. While they aren’t my vote for most disappointing, it’s fair to wonder why they’re only 1.5 games up on the Giants.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Of Sherman’s 10 disappointing teams, the Nationals, Tigers, and Red Sox are likely to receive the most attention. Boston struggled from day one. In retrospect, nobody was surprised by the shoddy pitching staff. However, the vaunted offense never arrived after March. The Nationals and Tigers are surprising candidates. Detroit is only four games out of the second Wild Card, but they packed up shop at the trade deadline by cashing in on Yoenis Cespedes, David Price, and Joakim Soria. The Nationals are viewed as the more likely of the two to reach the postseason, but they’re 4.5 games behind the Mets and 9.5 back from the Cubs. However, they do have better roster cohesion and only one team to leapfrog in the standings.
  • The Marlins also appeared on Sherman’s list, and slugger Giancarlo Stanton expects to see “big changes” over the offseason, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Meanwhile, club president David Sampson mentioned a non-personnel change that could be coming for 2016. The fences may be lowered and moved in prior to next season. Miami is a tough park for home runs, but run scoring is roughly neutral. Closer walls could help Stanton and others bash even more home runs.
  • The Astros and Dodgers are among the most forward thinking teams in the game, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The Dodgers obviously have a much larger war chest, but money doesn’t solve every problem. Per Los Angeles president Andrew Friedman, “more resources help you, at least in theory, more in the free-agent market. You look back over time, and it’s very hard to invest wisely. So coming from the Rays, you were almost insulated from making those mistakes in the free-agent market.” Both clubs are emphasizing the value of young, cost controlled stars. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow also commented on the process of discovering marginal advantages over other teams and hoping to hide them for as long as possible. The article itself is well worth your time with excellent quotes from several executives.

Tigers Release Marc Krauss

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The Tigers have released first baseman/outfielder Marc Krauss, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports on Twitter. Detroit needed his roster spot for the addition of just-acquired starter Randy Wolf.

Krauss, 27, opened the year with the Angels and spent time with the Rays before being claimed by Detroit. He’s struggled all season long, putting up a .141/.173/.256 batting line in 81 total plate appearances. Krauss has continued to put up good numbers in the minors, compiling 292 plate appearances of .280/.408/.423 hitting at the Triple-A level on the year.

AL Central Notes: Zobrist, Medlen, Shapiro, Dombrowski, Norris

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Recently-acquired Royals utilityman extraordinaire Ben Zobrist says that he’s very much open to a return to Kansas City, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. “Certainly, this had been one of the teams I liked the look of,” he said. “And now, since I’ve been here, it’s a place I want to stay longer. Being here has certainly done nothing but make this [team] go up on my list.” Of course, the versatile and still-productive 34-year-old figures to be as widely pursued on the winter’s free agent market as he was at this year’s trade deadline. Zobrist was already playing well before the trade, but has slashed an outstanding .357/.446/.600 in his first 83 plate appearances with his new club.

Here’s more from Kansas City and the rest of the AL Central:

  • The Royals will hand the ball to Kris Medlen for his first start with the club on Monday, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. Medlen, 29, has returned nicely after a long layoff for multiple Tommy John surgeries, tossing 14 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 14 strikeouts against five walks. His average fastball velocity is as good as ever. Medlen is owed just $5.5MM next year and can be controlled with a $10MM option ($1MM buyout) in 2017. So far, that’s looking like a nice risk for the Royals.
  • Indians president Mark Shapiro declined to comment on recent reports indicating that he could be a candidate to take over the Blue Jays’ presidency, Zack Meisel of the Plain Dealer reports. The long-time Cleveland executive, still just 48 years old, could conceivably be enticed by the possibility of gaining “power and resources,” the Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes writes in an interesting piece.
  • There was a creeping sense of suspicion when he was not approached to discuss a new deal over the summer, former Tigers GM (and newly-minted Red Sox president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). Dombrowski maintained, however, that he remains unaware what precisely led Detroit to release him from its contract when it did.
  • Just-added Tigers lefty Daniel Norris could end up missing the rest of the year with an oblique injury, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. Manager Brad Ausmus says that Norris is likely to miss at least a month. The 22-year-old, added as the key piece of the David Price trade, figures to be a key piece of the Tigers rotation next year and for the foreseeable future. He recently joined the MLBTR Podcast to discuss that deal and his approach to the game.
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