Tigers Rumors

Avila: No Decision Made On Ausmus

By Steve Adams | September 11, 2015 at 11:38am CDT

11:38am: Via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links), general manager Al Avila has issued the following statement regarding Ausmus: “I spoke to Mr. Ilitch today and to Brad and I can reconfirm that our evaluation is ongoing and decision has not been made.” A decision on Ausmus will be made by season’s end, Avila adds.

7:40am: The Tigers are planning to fire manager Brad Ausmus at season’s end, according to Bernie Smilovitz of WDIV-TV in Detroit. Per Smilovitz, new general manager Al Avila wants to bring in his own manager to give the organization a fresh start. Ausmus, notably, was a hire of former GM Dave Dombrowski, who was dismissed in August and quickly landed in Boston as the Red Sox’ new president of baseball operations. Former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is among the candidates being discussed internally as a potential replacement in 2016, according to Smilovitz.

The Tigers are currently a surprise last-place team in the American League Central, with a record of 64-76. Part of the reason for that standing, of course, is the decision by the since-dismissed Dombrowski to sell at the deadline, moving the likes of David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria in a trio of trades for younger talent. However, even at the deadline, the Tigers were a disappointment, having fallen well behind the division-leading Royals and sitting two games below .500 entering the final day of the non-waiver trade deadline.

As George Sipple the Detroit Free Press notes in reporting that he, too, has also heard Ausmus will be ousted at season’s end, Avila said at the time he took over as GM that Ausmus would manage the club for the remainder of the 2015 campaign: “He’s our manager for the rest of the season for sure. I have all the confidence in him. I think he’s done a good job,” said Avila at the time. “…I do have all the confidence in the world in Brad Ausmus and his staff right now.”

If the Tigers have indeed made up their mind on Ausmus, it would seem only fair to the skipper and the team to make a move more immediately. Waiting until season’s end to do so would almost certainly create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the clubhouse and put Ausmus in an extraordinarily difficult position for the season’s final few weeks. An interim manager from the current staff could certainly be named — such is often the case in these situations — before searching for a permanent replacement this winter.

For his part, Ausmus tells Chris McCosky of the Detroit News that he “[hasn’t] been told anything” by the Tigers yet. Last week, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that Ausmus’ job did appear to be in jeopardy, adding that owner Mike Ilitch was skeptical about hiring a rookie manager from day one.

AL Notes: Scioscia, Angels, Orioles, Price

By Jeff Todd | September 10, 2015 at 8:40pm CDT

Reiterating what Angels manager Mike Scioscia recently said himself, club president John Carpino says that the skipper “will not be involved in the GM selection process,” Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. But he also acknowledged that a new hire won’t have full authority to chart the organization’s operating philosophies. Instead, per Carpino, that will be determined through a “collective effort,” which Shaikin says appears to be an implicit validation of the widely-held notion that the incoming GM will face some notable restrictions. Indeed, Scioscia expanded upon his recent comments regarding the need for philosophical harmony, which, he said, “encompasses, certainly, how you are going to recruit talent, the draft, free agents, international scouting, and the development process.”

Answering some Angels fan questions, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez provides a look at some theoretical free agent targets. The Halos have rotation depth, but some within the organization believe a top-end arm would make sense, he says. If not, a significant corner outfielder — he addresses Yoenis Cespedes — could be under consideration.
The collapse of the Orioles has been somewhat overshadowed by other divisional storylines, but has nevertheless been dramatic, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick explores. “It’s a snowball time of the year,” said manager Buck Showalter. “There’s so much positive and negative feeding frenzy this time of year, nothing is as good or bad as it seems.” There is immense uncertainty in Baltimore entering the offseason, and Crasnick sets the stage well for what figures to be an interesting winter.
Blue Jays lefty David Price says he enjoyed his relationship with then-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, but doesn’t envision being uniquely moved to sign with the Red Sox just because Dombrowski is now at the helm there, as John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. Price did note that he has found his time in Toronto thus far to be “pretty special.” While it’s not at all clear whether Boston will pursue the star lefty, Dombrowski is obviously a fan (having acquired him at last year’s trade deadline) and has indicated that the team intends to improve the top of its rotation.

Brewers Claim Daniel Fields

By Steve Adams | September 10, 2015 at 2:02pm CDT

The Brewers announced that they’ve claimed outfielder Daniel Fields off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Double-A (Twitter link). With this claim, Milwaukee now has 38 of its 40-man roster spots filled.

The 24-year-old Fields, a sixth-round pick by the Tigers, made a brief appearance in the Majors with Detroit this season, going 1-for-3 in what is to date the only big league game of his career. He’s spent most of the past two seasons at the Triple-A level, where he’s batted a combined .225/.312/.358 with 13 homers and 25 steals in 825 plate appearances.

Baseball America has ranked him among the Tigers’ Top 30 prospects in each of the past six offseasons (26th last winter) since he received a $1.625MM bonus to forgo his college commitment to Michigan. Their latest scouting report noted that he has fringy arm strength and is a fringe-average runner, making him better suited to play left field than center field. He does have average raw power, per BA, but he’s also prone to swinging and missing. BA twice ranked Fields as the best athlete in the Tigers’ minor league system, though the last time he earned that distinction came in the 2010-11 offseason.

Tigers Designate Daniel Fields For Assignment

By Jeff Todd | September 8, 2015 at 1:05pm CDT

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

By Steve Adams | September 4, 2015 at 1:15pm CDT

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.

Tigers Outright Josh Zeid

By Steve Adams | September 3, 2015 at 12:35pm CDT

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

By Zachary Links | August 30, 2015 at 11:32am CDT

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

By charliewilmoth | August 29, 2015 at 10:55am CDT

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

By Steve Adams | August 26, 2015 at 4:07pm CDT

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

By Zachary Links | August 23, 2015 at 7:10pm CDT

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.

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