Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tigers Rumors

Quick Hits: Angels, Doumit, White Sox, Tigers

By | at

Trade talk is heating up for a number of clubs, but Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez, not to expect much chatter out of the club between now and July 31st.  “We have a 25-man roster right now of guys that are playing particularly well, they’re feeding off each other,” the GM said. “I don’t think it’s imminent that we make any kind of moves, nor do I think that it’s a must.”  It was already hard to imagine the Halos making additions, in part because of their already hefty $154MM payroll.  More from around baseball as Saturday turns to Sunday..

  • Twins‬ Assistant GM Rob Antony told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) that he'll engage Ryan Doumit's agent in extension talks soon.  Doumit has enjoyed his time in Minnesota and has interest in returning next season.
  • White Sox GM Ken Williams kept mum today when asked about the current climate of the trade market, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  The club has been linked heavily to Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski must find a way to acquire a solid everyday second baseman and a right-handed power bat, opines Lynn Henning of The Detroit News.
  • Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig was set to have workouts for teams today for scouts in Mexico but wound up being a no-show, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The 21-year-old has apparently changed representation and will now audition for clubs in Cancun over the next week.

Draft Notes: Astros, Ruiz, Virant, Rays, Tigers

By | at

Earlier today we learned that the Astros signed fourth-round pick Rio Ruiz for $1.85MM, well over the slot recommendation for his pick.  Here's more on Ruiz and today's other draft signings..

  • Ruiz's signing effectively ends any chance Houston had of inking eleventh-rounder Hunter Virant, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America.  The California high school left-hander dropped in the draft because of his demand for a seven-figure bonus.
  • Rays second-round selection Spencer Edwards announced via Twitter that he has signed with the club.  The Texas high school shortstop was tabbed with the No. 88 pick.
  • The Tigers have agreed to terms with the club's 23rd round draft selection, right-hander Drew Harrison, according to Director of Media Relations Brian Britten (via Twitter).  The University of Oklahoma product stands at 6'4" and was once a coveted prospect for his ability at the plate.

Tigers Notes: Martinez, Porcello, Turner, Castellanos

By | at

The 34-35 Tigers trail the AL Central-leading Indians by 2.5 games, but owner Mike Ilitch remains confident in the people running his team, Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press reports. “I know we’ve got the right foundation,” Ilitch said, “the right people in place.” Here are more notes on the Tigers from Sharp…

  • Ilitch expects the Tigers to enjoy a boost in offense and leadership if Victor Martinez returns this season. “He was really our leader, and he’s starting to come around again,” Ilitch said.
  • Sharp wonders if the Tigers would consider trading Rick Porcello for a veteran starter or a right-handed bat with power. GM Dave Dombrowski could make Porcello available now or in the offseason if Jacob Turner is ready for a full-time starting role in 2013. Porcello, 23, has a 4.95 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 80 innings this year and will remain under team control through 2014.
  • Turner, Nick Castellanos and Avisail Garcia are as close to untouchable as minor league prospects get, Sharp writes.

AL Central Notes: Turner, Doumit, Royals

By | at

The Tigers are calling on Missouri native Jacob Turner to make his season debut against the Cardinals this afternoon. Turner, who started three games for Detroit last year, had a 3.43 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 42 innings at Triple-A before getting called up. Here are today's AL Central links…

  • If Turner stays in the Major Leagues from this point on, he'll have two years and 134 days of service time after the 2014 season. There's a good chance it'd be enough for Super Two status, but it won't be enough to accelerate Turner's free agency. However, the Tigers' primary focus is no doubt winning games this year.
  • Ryan Doumit, who signed a one-year, $3MM contract with the Twins last offseason, has enjoyed playing in Minnesota and has interest in returning next season, Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com reports. No extension talks have taken place, and there’s a sense the Twins will wait until after the trade deadline before determining how Doumit fits into their long-term plans, Mackey writes.
  • The Royals won’t necessarily be sellers this summer, scouts tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Royals are in fourth place in the AL Central, 4.5 games behind the division-leading Indians.

Minor Moves: Patterson, Bergmann

By | at

We'll keep track of the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Tigers released utility player Eric Patterson, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets. Patterson, 29, posted a .244/.365/.317 line in 267 plate appearances at Triple-A before getting released. He has experience with the A's, Cubs, Red Sox and Padres in five MLB seasons.
  • The Rockies signed free agent right-hander Jason Bergmann, according to the team's website. Bergmann, 30, had been pitching for the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League before signing with the Rockies, who are in need of pitching depth. He has a career ERA of 5.04 with 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in six seasons with the Nationals, most recently in 2010.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp To Sign Brad Eldred

By | at

The Tigers announced that they released Brad Eldred from their Triple-A roster and that he has elected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan (Twitter link). Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net first reported the deal three days ago (Twitter link).

Eldred, 31, appeared in five games for the Tigers this year and also has MLB experience with the Pirates and Rockies. The 6'6" first baseman has a .268/.336/.546 batting line with 251 home runs in 11 minor league seasons. He already has 24 home runs at Triple-A Toledo this year.

Quick Hits: Padres, Phillies, Drabek, Vlad

By | at

Teams interested in acquiring starting pitching help surely noticed when the Cubs placed right-hander Ryan Dempster on the disabled list with right lat tightness today. Dempster, 35, is one of the top starters known to be available in trades. Here are today’s links…

  • A quick sale of the Padres may not be possible at this point, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. The three apparent finalists are all leading bid groups with multiple investors, which will require extensive background work once a sale is announced. 
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com examines the trade stock of some of the Phillies biggest names in the event that their slide continues into late July.
  • Blue Jays righty Kyle Drabek is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, tweets Barry Davis of Sportsnet.ca. This will be the second time Drabek has been through Tommy John.
  • Free agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero isn't close to signing, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
  • There's no indication the Tigers are interested in Jim Thome, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press reports. Thome, a "longtime tormentor" of the Tigers, bats left-handed, which means he’s not a perfect fit in Detroit. The Tigers are interested in acquiring a bat before the July 31st trade deadline and they'd prefer to add a right-handed hitter, Morosi reported yesterday.
  • GM Brian Cashman told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio that the Yankees haven't pursued contract extensions for Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson, but aim to keep both players long-term (Twitter link).
  • Maury Brown explains that TV deals are boosting franchise values across MLB in a piece at Baseball Prospectus.

Quick Hits: Tigers, Bryan LaHair, Red Sox Draft

By | at

The Yankees completed a sweep against the Nationals on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. with a 4-1 victory. The win marked New York's third consecutive sweep of three games or more for the first time since 1998. With the Yankees taking three from the Nationals, the Reds (7-5) are now the lone MLB team with an all-time winning record against the Bronx Bombers. Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has already conceded his interest in acquiring a right-handed bat before the non-waiver trade deadline, but any potential move hinges on the health of Victor Martinez, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. “The possibility (of Martinez returning) exists in a strong enough fashion that you have to give it some thought, but I don’t really know where that stands – and I don’t know that we will know until July,” Dombrowski said in an interview Sunday morning. “We may get Martinez and (Al) Alburquerque back. Those would be two pretty good acquisitions, and our bullpen actually has pitched pretty well in recent times.”
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that the Dodgers are not interested in Cubs first baseman Bryan LaHair but are talking with Chicago about right-hander Ryan Dempster. Los Angeles may want to reconsider its stance as LaHair has a slash line of .297/.380/.560 as compared to .261/.322/.368 for the Dodgers' first basemen.
  • According to calculations by Baseball America, the Red Sox will face increased penalties from MLB if they continue spending at their current pace to go 5% over their draft budget as pointed out by Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. When a team exceeds its budget by 5% or less, it is penalized by paying 75% on the amount over the threshold. Teams that go over by 5 to 10% are mandated to pay a luxury tax of 100% on the excess spending and forfeit their next first round draft pick.

Quick Hits: Gio, Phillies, Rangers, Burnett

By | at

Brayan Pena's attempt to stretch a single into a double in the 9th inning drew a throw from the outfield and allowed Jarrod Dyson to score from third with the game-winning run in the Royals' 4-3 result over the Brewers tonight.  It was Kansas City's second unusual walkoff victory in as many nights, as they won on a bases-loaded walk from Mike Moustakas on Wednesday.  The Royals picked up the sweep against Milwaukee, winning all three games by one run.

Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • The Nationals' trade for Gio Gonzalez was the "best deal anyone made last winter," a rival scout tells Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. "They didn't get him cheap, but he can dominate, and how many starters can you say that about?"  The Nats look like the big winners of the deal thus far, given Washington's first-place position and Gonzalez's Cy Young Award-caliber numbers since joining the team.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down what the Phillies could possibly receive for some of their top assets on the trade market.
  • The Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Astros and Red Sox are positioned to dominate the rumor mill leading up to the trade deadline, predicts Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
  • Despite injuries to Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara, Rangers GM Jon Daniels "still feels good" about his bullpen, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (Twitter link).
  • A.J. Burnett has brought both veteran leadership and quality pitching to the Pirates, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.  “It was important for our guys to see a guy that’s brought in and it’s not a trading-deadline deal where you have a guy for two months,” said manager Clint Hurdle. “We brought in a guy for two years. He can go ahead and unpack his bags. He’s going to be around, he can be involved, be engaged.”
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski outlines his team's pursuit of Roy Oswalt to John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.  Dombrowski said the Tigers were prepared to meet Oswalt's salary demands in the offseason but the veteran just didn't want to pitch in Detroit.  Oswalt's representatives contacted Dombrowski again once the season began and Oswalt was without a team, but the Tigers had already moved on with Drew Smyly in the rotation. 

Tigers Interested In Carlos Quentin

By | at

The Tigers are interested in trading for Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Quentin's $7MM salary could be an impediment for the Tigers, Morosi adds.

Quentin figures to be one of the best available hitters this summer. Since returning from arthroscopic knee surgery, the 29-year-old has a .421/.542/.921 batting line with five home runs in 48 plate appearances. However, the Padres could wait to make major trades until they settle their ownership situation.

There's room for improvement on Detroit's offense. Tigers right fielders rank second-last in MLB in OPS (.637) and the team's designated hitters rank last in the American League in OPS (.604). The Tigers could use Quentin as a designated hitter at the expense of Delmon Young or mix him in at the corner outfield positions along with Brennan Boesch and, once he's healthy, Andy Dirks.

The Padres could theoretically obtain compensatory draft picks for Quentin by retaining him and making him a qualifying offer after the season, when his contract expires (it still seems unlikely that they would make such an offer). If Quentin is traded, his new team wouldn't be able to obtain compensation picks under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top