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Tigers To Sign Ramon Santiago

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The Tigers announced that they've agreed to sign Ramon Santiago to a two-year contract. The deal guarantees Santiago slightly more than $4MM, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The 32-year-old infielder will provide manager Jim Leyland with a familiar option for three infield positions.

Santiago hit .260/.311/.384 in Detroit this past season, appearing at shortstop, second and third. He became the Tigers’ regular second baseman toward the end of the season and continued starting in the postseason. He was not a ranked free agent, so the team would not have obtained a draft pick had he signed elsewhere.

Though the Tigers like Santiago, they didn't appear to view him as an everyday solution at second base heading into the offseason. It's not clear if they now view him as a viable everyday starter or if he'll return as a utility player.

Tigers Interested In Maicer Izturis

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The Tigers have interest in trading for Maicer Izturis of the Angels, reports Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Izturis is believed to be next on their wishlist after Martin Prado of the Braves.

The Tigers are looking for upgrades at second base, third base, and in the leadoff spot, three roles Izturis has filled at different times in his career. The 31-year-old hit .276/.334/.388 with five homers and nine steals in 494 plate appearances this past season, playing second, third, and shortstop. He is owed $3.8MM in 2012 and can become a free agent after the season.

Mets, Cardinals, Reds, Tigers Inquire On Dotel

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TUESDAY: The Mets are "strong players" for Dotel, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The Mets, who signed Dotel as an amateur in 1993, like that he won't cost a draft pick.

MONDAY: The Cardinals, Reds and Tigers are among the teams that have inquired on free agent right-hander Octavio Dotel, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Teams won’t have to surrender a draft pick to sign Dotel, but the Cardinals will obtain a supplementary first round draft choice in 2012 if he signs elsewhere thanks to a recently-announced status change for certain free agents.

Dotel, 38, posted a 3.50 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 30.1% ground ball rate in 54 innings for the Blue Jays and Cardinals in 2011. He's especially effective against right-handed hitters, as this past season's split stats show (.410 OPS vs. RHB, .845 OPS vs. LHB). The Angels also have some interest in Dotel.

Tigers Inquire On Mark Buehrle

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The Tigers' rotation hasn't been considered a major concern, with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Rick Porcello under team control through at least 2014 and top prospect Jacob Turner waiting in the wings.  However, they're one of the many clubs inquiring on free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, reports Lynn Henning of the Detroit News.

The Tigers are familiar with Buehrle, since he made 34 career starts against them as a member of the White Sox.  In Henning's opinion, signing him would allow the Tigers to use  young pitching as trade bait.  The number of reported Buehrle suitors reaches 14 if you include the Tigers, though the White Sox and Cardinals were part of that Jim Bowden tweet and those clubs are not considered likely.

Elsewhere on the free agent front, Henning says the Tigers have been following Yoenis Cespedes for years.  Tigers vice president and director of amateur scouting David Chadd admits Cespdes is a "five-tool player."  In a more speculative sense, Henning thinks Kelly Johnson and Octavio Dotel may be Tigers targets.  The Tigers are known to have spoken with Aramis Ramirez's agent this month.

Tigers Inquired On Aramis Ramirez

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7:29pm: The Tigers spoke with Ramirez's agent earlier this month and haven't been in touch since, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.  The lack of communication in recent weeks shouldn't be read into too much though considering the Thanksgiving holiday.

6:41pm: The Tigers have inquired on free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter).  The Cubs offered arbitration to Ramirez, a Type B free agent, on Wednesday.

While it's hard to pin down where Ramirez will land, we do know that he won't be back with the Cubs.  Ramirez's agent, Paul Kinzer, confirmed to reporters this month that his client plans to move on this offseason.

Earlier this week, Tim Dierkes wrote that the Tigers, Twins, and Brewers could be fits for Ramirez, if they have the money.  Tim could see the veteran getting as much as three years and as much as $42MM when all is said and done.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Cespedes, Pujols

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Six years ago today, the Red Sox traded Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez to the Marlins for two players who would help them secure a second World Series title in four seasons: Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. I looked back at the trade in detail two years ago, declaring it a win-win. Here are today’s links, starting with an update on the Red Sox…

American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll update them in this post throughout the day in advance of the 11pm central time deadline.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here. 

Updated team decisions:

Teams with decisions still due:

Tigers Notes: Cabrera, Martinez, Verlander

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Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila and Victor Martinez collected MVP votes this year, but none topped the winner of the award, Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander. Here are some updates on the Tigers' top players…

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Tigers aren’t considering moving Cabrera to third base in 2012, though they may consider playing him at the hot corner during interleague play. Doing so would enable the Tigers to keep Martinez in the lineup without subjecting him to the grind of catching (he'd play first). 
  • Morosi also credits Cabrera for putting together an MVP-caliber season after being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated during Spring Training.
  • One veteran baseball executive told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that Verlander would be positioned for a deal worth at least $25MM per season if he were a free agent right now. Before the 2010 season, Verlander signed a five-year, $80MM extension that provided the Tigers with three additional years of team control. If he hadn’t signed the deal Verlander would be one of the offseason’s top free agents and might be positioned to eclipse C.C. Sabathia's record $161MM contract (no starting pitcher has obtained more guaranteed money).

Justin Verlander Wins AL MVP

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Justin Verlander won the American League MVP award, according to the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Verlander took home the AL's Cy Young award last week.  He's the first pitcher to win the MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and the first starter since Roger Clemens in '86.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Gonzalez, Michael Young, Dustin Pedroia, and Evan Longoria rounded out the top ten.  Ian Kinsler, Alex Avila, Paul Konerko, C.C. Sabathia, Adrian Beltre, Ben Zobrist, Victor Martinez, James Shields, Mark Teixeira, Asdrubal Cabrera, Alex Gordon, Josh Hamilton, and David Robertson also received votes.    

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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