Headlines

  • Red Sox Extend Roman Anthony
  • Buxton: Still No Plans To Waive No-Trade Clause
  • Write For MLB Trade Rumors
  • Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper
  • Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Yankees Release Marcus Stroman
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tigers Rumors

Quick Hits: MVP, V-Mart, Wang, Bullpens

By Dan Mennella | September 8, 2011 at 6:30pm CDT

A few stray items of note on this Thursday evening …

  • MVP voters who omit pitchers from their ballots should be recused from voting, opines Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com. Voting rules stipulate that all players, including pitchers and DHs, be considered for the MVP, so Justin Verlander and Roy Halladay are legitimate candidates, explains Ringolsby.
  •  The Tigers' signing of Victor Martinez to a four-year contract is proving to be one of the better moves of the offseason, opines Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
  • Nationals righty Chien-Ming Wang has been durable upon returning to the big leagues after missing two-plus years to injury, but he has trouble warming up his surgically repaired right shoulder before starts, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Because of this, Wang, a free agent at season's end, has been struggling early in his starts before settling in.
  • Each of the eight likely playoff teams boasts a strong relief tandem, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Half of them were formed in the past year: Last offseason, the Diamondbacks traded for David Hernandez and signed J.J. Putz, and the Tigers signed Joaquin Benoit. In July, the Brewers traded for Francisco Rodriguez and the Rangers acquired Mike Adams.
Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Washington Nationals Chien-Ming Wang David Hernandez Francisco Rodriguez J.J. Putz Joaquin Benoit Mike Adams Victor Martinez

160 comments

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Guillen, Tigers, Royals

By Zachary Links | September 5, 2011 at 6:05pm CDT

Let's take a look at a few items out of the American League Central division..

  • It's time for the White Sox to move on from Ozzie Guillen and work out a deal with the Marlins for him, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Guillen has long been linked to the Fish and it's unlikely that octogenarian Jack McKeon will return next season.
  • The Tigers appear to be the biggest trade deadline winners so far, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.  Since joining the Tigs, right-hander Doug Fister has a 2.97 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 0.5 BB/9 in six starts.
  • In today's mailbag, a reader asks Baseball America's Jim Callis if the Royals will still have a top ten farm system in 2012 after several players made their major league debuts this season.  Callis says that despite spending $14.1MM on the draft this year, Kansas City might not have more than four prospects in BA's top 100 next season, putting them outside of the top ten.
Share 0 Retweet 18 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Miami Marlins Doug Fister

60 comments

Arbitration Eligibles: Detroit Tigers

By Tim Dierkes | September 5, 2011 at 10:02am CDT

So far in our arbitration eligibles series we've covered all of the AL East: the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays.  Now we take on the AL Central starting with the Tigers.

  • First time: Rick Porcello, Max Scherzer, Phil Coke, Don Kelly, Brad Thomas
  • Second time: None
  • Third time: Delmon Young

I can see the Tigers tendering contracts to all but Thomas.  Porcello and Kelly project to be arbitration eligible as Super Twos.  Starters Porcello and Scherzer should get nice first-time salaries in the $4MM range.  Porcello, especially, is helped by a pre-arbitration salary of $1.536MM owing to the Major League deal he signed out of high school.  Kelly might get around $700K, while Coke projects at $1.4MM.  Thomas has battled elbow issues for most of the year, and the Tigers tried to outright him but had to put him on the 60-day DL.  He's likely to be cut prior to the non-tender deadline.

Young's non-tender candidacy was a factor in his trade to the Tigers.  His power has bounced back in 89 plate appearances with Detroit, though he's yet to draw a walk.  If you look at Young's current 2011 counting stats – 7 home runs, 49 RBIs, 39 runs – they should lead to a relatively meager raise.  We're thinking a $725K bump to a $6.1MM salary, a gamble the Tigers might take if they like what they see for the rest of the year.

If the Tigers retain Jose Valverde for $9MM and tender contracts to all arbitration eligibles, they'd have just under $100MM in 2012 commitments.  With a 2011 Opening Day payroll of $107MM, the Tigers would have to trade someone or raise payroll to 2008-10 levels to be able to add a prominent free agent or two.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Arbitration Eligibles Detroit Tigers

37 comments

Quick Hits: Brewers, August Winners, Free Agents

By Dan Mennella | September 1, 2011 at 5:11pm CDT

Twins minor leaguer Kyle Gibson, the No. 22 overall draft pick in 2009, will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Best wishes to Gibson on making a full recovery and perhaps debuting in the Majors late in 2012.

Here are a few other items of note on this Thursday afternoon:

  • The Brewers were interested in acquiring lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez from the Orioles before Baltimore dealt him to Texas, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “We had the irons in the fire,” Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin said. The Brew Crew remains without a southpaw in their bullpen.
  • The Diamondbacks were among the five winners of August's post-deadline trade period, opines Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Arizona shored up its infield by acquiring infielders John McDonald and Aaron Hill from Toronto in exchange for Kelly Johnson. Morosi's other winners: The Rangers, Tigers, Braves and Indians.
  • Impending free agents, however established they may be, should still be scouted dilligently, writes Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). For example, though some of us may take it for granted that Albert Pujols' fractured wrist is fully healed, scouts from interested teams will be watching all of his final at-bats for even the slightest change in his swing or approach. After all, Bowden explains, with tens, and sometimes hundreds, of millions of dollars at stake, every bit of info helps.
Share 0 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Milwaukee Brewers Texas Rangers Aaron Hill John McDonald Kelly Johnson Mike Gonzalez

8 comments

Heyman On Cubs, Valverde, Bell, Hernandez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 26, 2011 at 11:20am CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com runs through the Cubs’ options for their open GM position and concludes that White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn is “perhaps the most logical choice” for chairman Tom Ricketts. Click here for more rumblings about the Cubs and keep reading for Heyman’s other notes from around MLB… 

  • Manager Mike Quade is seen as a “long shot” to return as the Cubs’ manager next year.
  • The Tigers will “surely” exercise Jose Valverde’s $8MM option for 2012, Heyman writes.
  • No one with the Giants or Padres saw a Heath Bell trade as a likely possibility, according to Heyman. The Giants won the claim for Bell earlier in the week.
  • The Reds are believed to be open to trading Ramon Hernandez, since catching prospect Devin Mesoraco could replace him. Hernandez hit the waiver wire this week.
Share 0 Retweet 14 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Heath Bell Jose Valverde Ramon Hernandez

46 comments

AL Central Notes: Inge, Thome, White Sox, Kipnis

By Mark Polishuk | August 20, 2011 at 8:21pm CDT

As the Indians and Tigers continue their battle for the top spot in the AL Central this weekend, let's look at news from all around the division….

  • Brandon Inge is back in the Majors after a stint in Triple-A, and he tells MLB.com's Jason Beck and Chris Vannini that he could've left the Tigers after being designated for assignment last month.  "I could have said, 'Fine. Release me and I know I could go to probably 20 other teams and play. Especially National League teams, too,' " Inge said.  "But I didn't want to. I didn't want to go out like that….if you've been treated well by an organization and your teammates, why would you buck the horse on that one? Just stay there, ride it out."
  • Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports chronicles Jim Thome's rise from unheralded 13th-round draft pick to the 600-homer club.
  • The White Sox have six minor league pitchers on their 40-man roster who have been continually passed over for Major League call-ups this season, and Larry of the South Side Sox blog investigates why.
  • With Jason Kipnis on the DL, the Indians could be in the market for infield help, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  • Ron Gardenhire discusses the Twins' 2012 rotation and says that Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing could be moved to the bullpen if the club finds other starting options, reports Joe Kieser for MLB.com.
Share 0 Retweet 15 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Brandon Inge Jim Thome

0 comments

GM Candidate: Al Avila

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 18, 2011 at 4:58pm CDT

MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re now going to bring you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Tigers executive Al Avila.  

Cabrera Renteria

When you consider where Al Avila came from, it’s not surprising that he has an eye for talent. The Tigers assistant GM grew up watching baseball alongside his father, longtime Dodgers scout and executive Ralph Avila, family friend Tommy Lasorda and veteran baseball executive Al Campanis. So Avila had no choice – he watched a lot of baseball growing up.

He played, too, but unlike his son, All-Star catcher Alex Avila, Al didn’t have much of a playing career. Soon after signing as a non-drafted free agent, he moved on to other pursuits, running the Daytona Beach Admirals (a job that included everything from public address announcing to helping the grounds crew) and coaching at St. Thomas University. 

Avila, a native Spanish speaker, has extensive experience in Latin America, so he was a fit for the expansion Marlins and joined the club as assistant director of Latin American operations in 1992. Under Avila, who became scouting director in 1998, the Marlins signed Luis Castillo, Alex Gonzalez, Edgar Renteria, Livan Hernandez and Miguel Cabrera (pictured with Renteria) and drafted Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett.  It certainly appears that Avila’s early exposure to organized baseball paid off.

“My strength is on the baseball side as far as scouting and player development,” he told MLBTR. “As far as the statistics, I’m not on the computer and creating all the stats, but I do use them. I see them as a tool to help you reach a better decision.”

Avila says he considers numbers while making decisions, but isn’t about to forget his background in scouting and player development. In the draft, for example, the Tigers will take players’ stats into account and ultimately trust the eye of scouting director David Chadd.

Avila and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, the Marlins' GM from 1991-2001, worked together in Florida, leading the Marlins to their first World Series Championship, before assuming their current roles in Detroit. Avila, who served as the Marlins’ interim GM after Dombrowski left the Marlins for the Tigers, now assists the GM with the Major League roster, the minor league affiliates, pro scouting and amateur scouting. 

It’s a broad set of responsibilities that hasn’t gone unnoticed by MLB owners. Avila interviewed for GM jobs with the Reds, Orioles, Mariners and Diamondbacks and became a finalist for the latter two openings. More recently, the Tigers denied the Mets' request to interview Avila this past offseason, but his peers say it won’t be a surprise if Avila ends up in a GM’s office before long.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Share 2 Retweet 11 Send via email0

2011 GM Candidates Detroit Tigers

2 comments

Teams Spend $236MM On Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 17, 2011 at 2:51pm CDT

The totals are in and Major League teams have again broken draft spending records. According to figures compiled by Jim Callis of Baseball America, MLB teams spent a combined $227.94MM on this year's draft bonuses and $235.99MM including additional guaranteed money in MLB deals for Danny Hultzen, Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke. 

A year ago, MLB teams spent about $35MM less: $195.78MM, or $201.83MM including additional guaranteed money in big league deals. The Pirates led the way in 2011, spending over $17MM and breaking the $11.93MM record the Nationals set a year ago. Washington also broke its previous record, spending over $15MM on Rendon, Purke, Alex Meyer, Brian Goodwin and others.

Though only seven teams had ever spent over $10MM on the draft before this year, ten teams did so in 2011, according to Baseball America. Along with the Pirates and Nationals, the Royals ($14.01MM), Cubs ($11.95MM), Diamondbacks ($11.93MM), Rays ($11.48MM), Mariners ($11.33MM), Padres ($11.02MM), Blue Jays ($11.00MM) and Red Sox ($10.98MM) spent eight figures on the draft.

The Tigers ($2.88MM), who didn’t select until the second round, and White Sox ($2.76MM) were the only clubs to spend less than $3MM, according to Baseball America.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

2011 Amateur Draft Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals

0 comments

Mariners Acquire Ruffin To Complete Tigers Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 17, 2011 at 2:04pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they have acquired Chance Ruffin from the Tigers to complete the trade that sent Doug Fister and David Pauley to Detroit for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez and a player to be named on July 30th.

Ruffin, a supplemental first round pick in last year's draft, reached the big leagues earlier in the summer and appeared in two games for the Tigers. The 22-year-old could not be traded until this week since he had signed his first professional contract less than a year ago at the time of the July 31st trade deadline. In 48 2/3 minor league innings since signing last summer, Ruffin has a 2.03 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. 

Baseball America rated Ruffin as the Tigers' seventh best prospect before the season and identified his slider as the best among Detroit's prospects. His father, Bruce Ruffin, pitched in the Major Leagues for 12 seasons with the Phillies, Brewers and Rockies.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners Transactions

2 comments

Twins Acquire Oliveros To Complete Young Trade

By Tim Dierkes | August 16, 2011 at 1:04pm CDT

The Twins acquired righty reliever Lester Oliveros from the Tigers to complete yesterday's Delmon Young trade, announced the team.  The Twins had until October 15th to choose the player to be named later, but they needed less than 24 hours.  They also received lefty Cole Nelson in the deal.

Oliveros, 23, dominated at Double-A this year, earning a promotion to Triple-A in May and to the bigs in July.  He was sent back to Triple-A later that month, but was demoted back to Double-A on Saturday.  Baseball America ranked Oliveros 17th among Tigers prospects prior to the season, noting that he profiles as a middle reliever.

Young got off to a fine start for the Tigers yesterday, homering in his first plate appearance.

Share 0 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Transactions Delmon Young

0 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
Show all
    Top Stories

    Red Sox Extend Roman Anthony

    Buxton: Still No Plans To Waive No-Trade Clause

    Write For MLB Trade Rumors

    Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper

    Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Yankees Release Marcus Stroman

    Cubs Release Ryan Pressly

    Cubs To Host 2027 All-Star Game

    MLB Trade Tracker: July

    Padres Acquire Mason Miller, JP Sears

    Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

    Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley

    Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano

    Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly

    Yankees Acquire David Bednar

    Blue Jays Acquire Shane Bieber

    Mets Acquire Cedric Mullins

    Padres Acquire Nestor Cortes

    Last Day To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office

    Cubs Acquire Willi Castro

    Recent

    Where Do The Twins Go From Here?

    Pirates Outright Genesis Cabrera

    Padres To Activate Michael King On Saturday

    Dodgers Likely To Select Justin Dean

    Yankees Release JT Brubaker

    Poll: Who Had The Best Deadline In The AL West?

    Astros Sign Enyel De Los Santos, Designate Luis Contreras For Assignment

    Cardinals Claim Jorge Alcalá

    White Sox Select Jacob Amaya, Designate Gus Varland For Assignment

    Kenley Jansen Aiming To Pitch “At Least” Four More Years

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

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

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version