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Minor Moves: Kevin Russo, Scott Olsen

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Here are Sunday's minor moves…

  • The Tigers have signed Kevin Russo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The 28-year-old utility man hit .284/.358/.351 with 15 steals in 456 Triple-A plate appearances while playing second, third, and all three outfield spots. Russo made a brief cameo with the 2010 Yankees.
  • The Rangers have signed Scott Olsen according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 28-year-old left-hander appeared in just three minor league games with the White Sox last year, allowing two runs in five innings. He missed most of 2011 with shoulder problems and hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2010 with the Nationals.

Central Notes: Hunter, Tigers, Brewers, Mozeliak

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Though several notable Indians players as have been the subject of trade rumors this winter, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian doesn't believe the Tribe is "on the verge of a complete overhaul."  Bastian thinks that Cleveland could trade "one or two" current stars (such as Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez or Carlos Santana) but the fact that the Indians have been looking at veterans like Kevin Youkilis and Shane Victorino indicates that the club doesn't plan to be out of contention for long.

A few items from both the NL and AL Central…

  • In his introductory press conference as a Tiger (reported on by MLB.com's Jason Beck), Torii Hunter said he was "scouting clubs" during last season in case the Angels didn't bring him back.  The Tigers were his top choice, to the extent that he had his agent Larry Reynolds call Detroit VP John Westhoff to express his interest.  "Dave [Dombrowski] and I got this deal done in less than an hour," Reynolds said. "That's unheard of in our business."
  • Also from Beck, Dombrowski hinted that the Tigers were still looking for a right-handed hitting left fielder who could platoon with Andy Dirks.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy attended the Brewers' annual medical symposium and explored how the team has been using medical data to keep their pitchers healthy and to look out for warning signs when acquiring pitchers.  Over the last decade, the White Sox and Brewers have had the fewest number of days spent on the DL by their pitchers.
  • The Brewers are looking for starting and relief pitching but no deals are happening soon, assistant GM Gord Ash told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Ash noted that the three-year deals given to Brandon League and Jeremy Affeldt raised the prices on the relief market: "That kind of pushed it up a little bit….I wouldn't say it's harder now; I'd say more expensive."
  • The Cardinals are also looking for bullpen help, and GM John Mozeliak told media (including including MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch) that the Cards may look to add a left-handed reliever in a trade given the rising cost of relief pitching.  Mozeliak also discussed such roster topics as extensions, non-tenders, the upcoming Rule 5 draft and the Cards' search for shortstop depth.

Tigers To Sign Torii Hunter

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The Tigers have agreed to sign Torii Hunter to a two-year deal, the team announced. The Reynolds Sports Management client will earn $26MM from 2013-14. To the Tigers, it's a worthwhile investment.

Torii Hunter - Angels (PW)

“Torii Hunter is a quality major league player who is a tremendous addition to the Tigers organization both on and off the field,” Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski said in a statement released by the team. “He continues to be a consistent contributor at the plate, in the outfield and on bases, and we feel Torii is a great fit for our lineup.”

Hunter joins a Tigers lineup that includes Austin Jackson, Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. The Tigers view Hunter as a number two hitter, Rosenthal reported yesterday. The 37-year-old figures to play right field for Detroit with Jackson in center and an internal option — perhaps Andy Dirks or Avisail Garcia — in left.

Hunter posted a .313/.365/.451 batting line with 16 home runs in 584 plate appearances as the Angels' right fielder last year. Advanced metrics valued his performance above five wins, but he didn’t obtain a qualifying offer from Los  Angeles. Perhaps wary of his age and league-best .389 batting average on balls in play, the Angels let Hunter leave without compensation. That’s a bonus for the Tigers who don’t have to surrender a draft choice to add their longtime AL Central rival.

Hunter ranked 20th on MLBTR's list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents. I predicted he would sign in Detroit and wrote today that Hunter would be a good fit in the team’s outfield at the right price. So far five contestants in MLBTR’s Free Agent Prediction Contest have correctly predicted the destinations of all five free agents who have signed.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement and Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the value of the contract (on Twitter). Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Upton, Hamilton, Kinsler, Hunter, Choo

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This was a bit before MLB Trade Rumors' time, but it was on this day in 1886 that the first trade in Major League history took place.  The Cincinnati Red Stockings acquired base-stealing outfielder Hugh Nicol and Jamie Moyer from the St. Louis Browns in exchange for rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400.  Here's some modern-day hot stove action from around the majors…

  • Free agent outfielder B.J. Upton visited Turner Field today, meeting with Braves general manager Frank Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  The Braves see Upton as their top free agent target this winter, as Upton will come at a lower price than Michael Bourn.
  • While the Red Sox have checked in with Josh Hamilton's agent, reports of Boston's interest in Hamilton are "overblown," a source tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • Ian Kinsler is willing to change positions if the Rangers ask, the second baseman tells Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  "Where I play on the field is not my decision. I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team win regardless of where I am on the field or where I’m hitting in the batting order," Kinsler said.  A move from second could open room for both Jurickson Profar and Elvis Andrus in the infield, while Kinsler could replace Hamilton in left or play first base.
  • Both the Angels and the Tigers benefited from Torii Hunter signing with Detroit, opines MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian breaks down Shin-Soo Choo's trade value both in terms of what the Indians could get in return and how Choo compares to free agents currently on the market.
  • The Indians' thin farm system is due to nearly a decade of poor drafts, writes Baseball America's Ben Badler.
  • It seems like the White Sox will look externally to fill their hole at third base, as GM Rick Hahn told reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) that "we are exploring a lot of options that we rank ahead of moving [Dayan] Viciedo in from the outfield," though he didn't completely rule it out.
  • With five notable Marlins on their way to Toronto, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at how players face large tax increases when they're dealt away from Florida, including a past instance of a player (Carlos Delgado) having tax protection written into his contract in lieu of a no-trade clause from the Marlins.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the Marlins/Blue Jays trade and Hunter's signing will impact other teams and players around baseball.
    Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/foul_territory/2012/11/ian-kinsler-would-ok-move-from-second-base.html#storylink=cpy

Arbitration Eligibles: Detroit Tigers

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The Tigers are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series. Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.

Many of the Tigers’ top players are headed to arbitration this offseason. The team has a large, expensive class that could shrink if a pair of players are non-tendered.

Three fifths of the Tigers’ rotation heads to arbitration this offseason, and while Fister and Scherzer are extension candidates, Porcello could be traded if the Tigers sign a free agent starter. Fister trails Scherzer by one year in the arbitration process and will end up earning about as much in 2013 as Scherzer did in 2012. Despite their different styles of pitching they’re actually reasonable comps in terms of innings, starts, wins and ERA. If the Tigers extend Fister he’d figure to obtain a deal of at least four years and $30MM. 

It might be more challenging to extend Scherzer. Not only is he a Scott Boras client, he’s one year closer to free agency, and impact starters are always in high demand. Jackson, another Boras client, might also appeal to the Tigers as a long-term answer in center field. 

The circumstances surrounding Detroit’s final extension candidate are unique. Alex Avila’s father, Al Avila, works in the Detroit front office as the team’s assistant GM. As MLBTR’s Extension Tracker shows, most recent extensions for catchers with three-plus years of service end up in the $8-16MM range.

Coke rounds out the Tigers’ arbitration class along with two non-tender candidates. Both Raburn and Boesch struggled at the plate this past season after showing offensive promise earlier in their careers. They could both be non-tendered given their projected salaries in the $2MM range.

If the Tigers tender contracts to Fister, Jackson, Avila, Scherzer, Porcello and Coke, they'll be facing an estimated total of $23.3MM for six players.

Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.

Miguel Cabrera, Buster Posey Win League MVP Awards

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Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Giants catcher Buster Posey were announced as the winners of the Most Valuable Player Awards in the AL and NL, respectively, the Baseball Writers Association Of America announced tonight.  Full results of the voting both the AL and NL can be found on the BBWAA's website. 

Posey and Cabrera become the first batting champs to both win MVP awards in the same season since Ernie Lombardi and Jimmie Foxx in 1938, and also are the first pair of MVPs whose teams squared off in the World Series since Kirk Gibson's Dodgers and Jose Canseco's Athletics met in the 1988 Fall Classic.

Cabrera became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown, leading the AL with 44 homers, 139 RBIs and a .330 batting average (Cabrera's slash line also included a .393 OBP and a league-leading .606 slugging percentage).  This is Cabrera's first MVP award, having been a top-five finisher in the voting five previous times in his career, including a second-place finish behind Josh Hamilton in 2010.  Cabrera becomes the first Venezuelan-born player to win an MVP and the second Tiger to win an MVP in as many years, following teammate Justin Verlander's MVP/Cy Young double in 2011.  

The AL MVP race was seen as a tight battle between Cabrera and Mike Trout, but Cabrera ended up with 22 of 28 first-place votes, while Trout collected the other six first-place votes and ended up a distant second.  Trout narrowly missed joining Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) as the only players to win Rookie Of The Year and MVP awards in the same season.  Adrian Beltre, Robinson Cano, Hamilton and Adam Jones round out the top six players on the AL ballot.

After missing much of the 2011 season due to a broken leg suffered in a home plate collision, Posey roared back in the best possible way, posting a .336/.408/.549 line, 24 homers and 103 RBIs.  Posey's .336 average led the Majors and earned him his first batting title, making him the first NL catcher to win a batting title since Ernie Lombardi in 1942.

In three years as a regular, the 25-year-old Posey has now won an Rookie of the Year Award, an MVP and two World Series rings.  Posey will receive a big raise this winter in his first trip through the arbitration process, as MLBTR's Matt Swartz projects Posey will receive $5.9MM in 2013.  Since Posey has four arb years as a Super Two player, the Giants could save themselves some money by locking Posey up to a multiyear contract.  Back in August, I thought Posey could get a seven-year, $84MM extension, but in the wake of his great postseason performance and his MVP award, a $100MM+ extension wouldn't be out of the question.

Posey received 27 of 32 first-place votes, easily outpacing Ryan Braun (three first place votes), Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina (two first place votes) and Chase Headley on the ballot.  Braves closer Craig Kimbrel was the finished in eighth place and garnered the most votes of any pitcher, also earning a second-place spot from one voter that made Kimbrel the only player beyond the top four to receive a top-three vote.

AL Links: Sanchez, Hunter, Yankees, Price, Red Sox

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With Torii Hunter joining the club on a two-year deal, the Tigers will now focus on re-signing Anibal Sanchez according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. They're unlikely to pursue another big name pitcher if they can't bring the right-hander back, however. Here's the latest from the American League, starting with some more on Hunter…

  • Hunter told teams he wasn't interested in talking to them unless things didn't work out with the Tigers, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees saw Hunter as a good fit but never made him an offer, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (on Twitter). They don't have any offers out to position players at the moment and are focused on re-signing Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera.
  • Hunter would have taken less than $26MM he received from Detroit to re-sign with the Angels, but a one-year contract was a non-starter at any price according to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
  • Knobler listed the pros and cons of trading David Price just a few hours after the left-hander took home the Cy Young Award. Some people with the Rays even identified the Rangers as the ideal trade partner.
  • The Red Sox won't alter their rebuilding plan in the wake of the Blue Jays-Marlins blockbuster, said GM Ben Cherington to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. "We know we have a plan this offseason and we're going to see how much we can execute it … We've started that and we'll continue to do that," said Cherington, who mentioned he found out about the blockbuster through MLBTR.

Red Sox Links: Ross, Reyes, Nolasco, Morrison

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Here's the latest out of Boston…

Offseason Outlook: Detroit Tigers

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The Tigers will look for corner outfield help and consider signing a starter.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Free Agents

The Tigers, American League champions in 2012, don't need to change the complexion of their roster this offseason. They’ll pursue pitching and consider corner outfielders in the coming months.

Anibal Sanchez - Tigers (PW)

The team began its offseason by re-signing manager Jim Leyland, a decision that makes sense after consecutive division titles and a World Series appearance. However, it didn't take long for the Tigers to announce that there won't be room for Jose Valverde and Delmon Young on next year's team.

Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski will focus on starting pitching and corner outfielders this offseason in an attempt to capture a championship for the first time since 1984. Torii Hunter has emerged as a strong possibility for the Tigers, and he'd be an excellent fit as long as they're not paying him to replicate his 2012 numbers. That won't happen, since his .389 BABIP isn't sustainable, but he can still add value on offense and defense. A two-year deal in the $16-20MM range might work for both sides.

If Hunter doesn't sign with the Tigers, free agents such as Melky Cabrera, Cody Ross and even Nick Swisher could appeal to Detroit's top executives. Swisher has more leverage than the others and might be prohibitively expensive for the Tigers given their other long-term commitments and offseason needs.

Like Swisher, Josh Hamilton appears to be too expensive for the Tigers. Hamilton would make the Tigers' lineup look scary, but he'll cost $100MM-plus. Owner Mike Ilitch has spent on elite free agents as recently as January, so the possibility of a deal with Hamilton lurks. Still, it'd require another aggressive move from ownership at a time that the free agent market offers many capable alternatives.

Andy Dirks emerged as a capable hitter this past season, and Quintin Berry played quite well at times, so the Tigers do have enough internal options to fill one corner outfield spot. However, Brennan Boesch must be considered a non-tender candidate following a disappointing campaign.

Other than outfield depth, starting pitching appears to be the Tigers' most prominent offseason need. Anibal Sanchez hits free agency as MLBTR's number four free agent following a strong season with the Marlins and Tigers. Ideally the Tigers would be able to retain him and keep their deep rotation together. Though he'll require a multiyear commitment, he's just 28 years old. Alternatively, the Tigers could pursue veteran free agent starters such as Dan Haren and Ryan Dempster.

Assuming the Tigers add a starting pitcher, they'll have the flexibility to consider starting Drew Smyly in the minor leagues or trading Rick Porcello — the Rockies and Blue Jays might have interest in the 23-year-old ground baller. This kind of depth wouldn't be a problem, since injuries inevitably surface and starting pitching will be in demand on the trade market. 

The Tigers have suggested they'll let Jose Valverde go without spending big on a replacement closer. This line of thinking makes sense, as a long-term deal for someone like Rafael Soriano would expose the team to lots of risk. Perhaps the Tigers will express interest in an injured reliever such as Ryan Madson or Joakim Soria. It'd be one way of bolstering a bullpen that seemed vulnerable at times this past season. They could also use a second reliable left-handed reliever to go along with Phil Coke.

Exercising Octavio Dotel's option made sense since the reliever continues to dominate right-handed batters. The Tigers also elected to bring Jhonny Peralta back for another season. While Peralta has his shortcomings, he's an affordable option for one year and the free agent market doesn't offer much at shortstop. It's possible the Tigers will acquire another shortstop and flip Peralta, not that such a scenario seems likely for now.

It'd also make sense for the Tigers to find a right-handed hitting backup catcher. It sounds as though Gerald Laird will sign elsewhere and the Tigers will consider options such as Kelly Shoppach and Miguel Olivo. Both Shoppach and Olivo have long histories of hitting left-handers and could be available on short-term contracts for $1-2MM.

The Tigers' class of arbitration eligible players includes three fifths of the team's rotation, two up the middle position players and one of the team's top relievers. It's possible the Tigers will talk to players such as Scherzer, Fister, Jackson and Avila about extensions. Even Justin Verlander could be viewed as an extension candidate. Two years remain on his contract, so free agency isn't so far away anymore. Any extension would have to be commensurate with Verlander's status as the game's top pitcher, so the TIgers could be inclined to wait if Ilitch prefers not to commit to another nine-figure contract. It's hard to imagine Verlander's leverage could get any higher.

Detroit's arbitration class also includes two non-tender candidates in Ryan Raburn and Brennan Boesch. Both showed promise on offense early in their careers but could be cut loose since their projected salaries surpass $2MM.

If the Tigers add a starting pitcher and obtain a corner outfield depth, they’ll project as a playoff team again. Maybe this time it'll result in a World Series title.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Scutaro, Stanton, Hunter, Reyes, Tolleson

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The Marlins’ colossal deal with the Blue Jays has some wondering if Giancarlo Stanton will be the next big name shipped out of Miami, but that may not be the case.  Outside executives tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that of all the players the Marlins floated at the GM meetings, Stanton was not among them.  Here’s more from around baseball..

  • Multiple sources tell Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Giants are confident that they’ll be able to re-sign Marco Scutaro.  The veteran would likely return on a two-year deal.
  • Torii Hunter left his meeting with the Tigers today without a deal or a formal offer, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link).  Several officials still see Detroit as the frontrunner for him, however.  We kept track of the latest on Hunter in one handy post on Tuesday.
  • The Red Sox made a push for Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes, but the Blue Jays just blew the Marlins away, a source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
  • Infielder Steven Tolleson agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the White Sox, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).  Kubatko adds that the Orioles would have liked to retain him.
  • More than a dozen teams have checked in on free agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Bonderman has an offer in hand from the Tigers and the Nationals are among the dozen teams with interest, Olney tweets.
  • The Red Sox are among the teams in contact with Jason Bay as he considers his options for 2013, tweets Olney.  Bay is looking for a solid opportunity as well as familiarity and Boston would obviously provide the latter.
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