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D’Backs Acquire Armando Galarraga

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The D'Backs acquired Armando Galarraga from the Tigers for Kevin Eichhorn and Ryan Robowski, the teams announced. The D'Backs appear to be assuming responsibility for Galarraga's $2.3MM salary, though they can avoid paying the entire amount by releasing the right-hander.

Galarraga, 29, posted a 4.49 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 144 1/3 innings for the Tigers last year. He made headlines in June, when he came within one out of a perfect game, lost his chance at history on a blown call and handled umpire Jim Joyce's mistake with grace. 

Eichhorn, a 2008 third round selection, has a 4.80 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 105 minor league innings. When Baseball America ranked him 18th among D'Backs prospects before the 2010 season, they praised his three-pitch mix and athleticism. Eichhorn's father, Mark, played 11 seasons in the big leagues.

Robowski, who turns 23 next week,  has a 4.82 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 84 innings over the course of two pro seasons. The D'Backs chose the left-handed reliever in the 16th round of the 2009 draft.

D’Backs GM Kevin Towers says Galarraga will compete for a spot in his team’s rotation. Converted reliever Aaron Heilman is a candidate to start, along with Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Zach Duke and Barry Enright.

As I pointed out this morning, the Tigers and D'Backs have exchanged a number of pitchers in the past year or so. Tigers pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth arrived in Detroit in the December, 2009 deal that sent Edwin Jackson to Arizona. Six months later, the Tigers sent Dontrelle Willis to the D'Backs for Billy Buckner. Those deals, however, were completed under former D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes.

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said he was 'confident' in the market for Galarraga soon after the team designated him for assignment.

D’Backs Likely To Acquire Galarraga

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11:22am: The teams are likely to complete a trade today, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Eichhorn and another player would go to Detroit and the D'Backs would take on most of Galarraga's $2.3MM salary.

9:24am: The Diamondbacks are 'likely' to acquire Armando Galarraga from the Tigers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported over the weekend that the D'Backs were making a "strong push" for the right-hander and were exchanging names, including Kevin Eichhorn's, with Detroit. 

The Nationals do not appear to be interested in Galarraga and the Indians aren't likely to get involved. The Pirates could have interest in the 29-year-old Venezuelan, though. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has said he's 'confident' he'll find a taker for Galarraga, who was designated for assignment to create roster space for Brad Penny last week.

The Tigers and D'Backs have exchanged a number of pitchers in the past 13 months. Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth arrived in the Motor City in the December, 2009 deal that sent Edwin Jackson to Arizona. Six months later, the Tigers sent Dontrelle Willis to the D'Backs for Billy Buckner. Those deals, however, were completed under former D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes.

Armando Galarraga Rumors: Saturday

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5:20pm: Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are making a strong push for Galarraga and the two sides are exchanging names. He says that Single-A right-hander Kevin Eichhorn has been discussed, and it appears as though the D'Backs could take on Galarraga's salary in full.

Eichhorn, 21 next month, was Arizona's third round pick in 2008. Baseball America rated him as the team's 18th-best prospect in the 2010 edition of their Prospect Handbook, noting that he sits 87-91 with his fastball and already has a "solid three-pitch mix." In 86 1/3 innings last season, Eichhorn posted a 5.00 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

3:18pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson says that the Nationals are not interested in Galarraga because they do not consider him an upgrade over what they currently have in their rotation (Twitter link).

2:48pm: Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that the Pirates have some interest in Galarraga, however a trusted source tells him that they don't see it happening (Twitter links).

2:21pm: Beck has some more from Dombrowski: "We're making some progress on some trade talks at this point," said the GM. "Not quite sufficient to make any announcements, but I would think by the middle of next week we would be in a position where we would make a deal."

Meanwhile, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says not to expect the Indians to get involved (Twitter link). Galarraga's $2.3MM salary is too rich for the Tribe. 

11:43am: Talks with clubs about a trade involving Armando Galarraga are progressing, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is quoted as saying a deal "is likely." 

Galarraga was designated for assignment earlier this week after the team's one-year contract with Brad Penny was made official. Dombrowski said he was "confident" that a market would develop for the right-hander, who posted a 4.49 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 144 1/3 innings last season. He, of course, is most famous for his near perfect game last summer.

The 29-year-old Galarraga avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $2.3MM just a day before being DFA'd. A number of clubs are still looking for rotation help, including the Yankees, Orioles, Indians, and Nationals, though their levels of interest in Galarraga is unknown. 

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Meche, White Sox, Indians

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The Twins grabbed headlines yesterday, finally agreeing to terms with Carl Pavano after months of discussions. Here's the latest on the Twins' AL Central division rivals:

  • John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has avoided arbitration hearings since taking over the team.
  • The Royals didn't expect Gil Meche to walk away from his $12MM salary without asking for some sort of settlement, but that's just what the right-hander did, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. GM Dayton Moore says we shouldn't expect the Royals to go out and spend for the sake of spending, even though they have money.
  • White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he likes the looks of Chicago's rebuilt bullpen, which features newcomers Will Ohman and Jesse Crain. 
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti told  MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he would still like to add a starter who can provide reliability, stability and leadership. Manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher told Bastian that they expect a lot from the Indians' young starters.

The Rays’ 2011 Draft

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The Rays will select eleven players before the Tigers choose once in this year’s amateur draft. It seems like Detroit’s at a colossal disadvantage, but the Tigers have shown that teams can draft well without first round selections.

They have spent big on players who price themsleves off of other teams’ draft boards in recent years. Detroit paid up for Rick Porcello and Jacob Turner after other teams shied away from their demands. This year, the Tigers spent $3.45MM on prep third baseman Nick Castellanos, a potential star who slipped out of the first round.

“I don’t think spending has anything to do with it at all,” Tigers executive David Chadd said after locking up Castellanos, Chance Ruffin and Drew Smyly last summer. “You have to take the right players. It comes down to the players, not the money.”

But one National League executive told MLBTR last month that it would be naive to leave money out of the equation. As the Tigers have shown, teams with more draft picks don't necessarily emerge with more talent.

“You’ve got to think about it like what’s your draft budget,” the executive said. "You have a finite amount of money that you can spend on the draft. And you can spend $15MM on 50 picks or you can spend $15MM on 55 picks.”

With ten selections before the beginning of the second round, the Rays will have the chance to infuse their highly-regarded farm system with even more high-upside players.

But like every team, they operate on a budget and in 2010 they allotted $7.15MM for draft bonuses. This year, it would cost $9.1MM for the Rays to spend slot money on the picks they have in the first, supplementary and second rounds alone.* So the picks themselves are not enough to assure the Rays of a strong draft.

“The way you get extra talent in the draft is either having extra picks that you paid slot for or by going over-slot for fewer picks,” the executive said. “But it’s really all about money you spend.”

The Rays will be picking early and often this June, an advantage that will give them more choice than any other team. But to fully take advantage of the many early picks, the team will have to spend more than it did in 2009 or 2010.

*Unless Felipe Lopez signs a major league deal. In that case the figure drops to $9MM. Thanks to MLBTR’s Mike Axisa for the calculations.

Tigers ‘Confident’ In Market For Galarraga

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The Tigers believe there’s a market for Armando Galarraga, the right-handed pitcher who agreed to a $2.3MM deal one day before getting designated for assignment. Since few viable free agent starters remain and a number of teams are looking for pitching, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says he’s 'confident' the team will be able to move Galarraga.

“It’s not like I have a for sure deal, but I do have enough clubs that have asked me about him,” Dombrowski said on a conference call with reporters.

If the Tigers demote Galarraga to the minor leagues, they’re responsible for his $2.3MM salary. If they release him, they’ll be responsible for part of his contract, depending on the date of his release and whether another club signs him.

The Tigers also announced their one-year deal with Brad Penny, the pitcher who ousted Galarraga from Detroit’s rotation. Penny missed the last four months of the 2010 season with a shoulder strain, but the Tigers have put him through physicals, examined MRIs and determined that the 32-year-old is in 'tremendous shape.'

“When Brad Penny is healthy, we think he’s a good pitcher,” Dombrowski said. “And we think he’s healthy.”

Though Dombrowski acknowledged that there’s always some risk involved when signing pitchers, he said Penny has the upside to be much more than a fifth starter.

“He does not have back of the rotation stuff,” Dombrowski said, before praising the right-hander’s mid-90s fastball, breaking ball and change-up.

Now that the Tigers have added the two-time All-Star to their rotation, Dombrowski says the team’s rotation projects to be better than it was a year ago. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are still developing, Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the game and the Tigers believe in Phil Coke’s ability to transition to the rotation.

“We’re happy,” Dombrowski said of his team’s offseason. “I think a lot of clubs say that and I’ll be a lot happier if we’re playing late into October.”

Tigers Designate Galarraga For Assignment

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One day after agreeing to terms with him on a $2.3MM contract for 2011, the Tigers have designated Armando Galarraga for assignment. The team announced the move on Twitter, while making its deal with Brad Penny official.

Galarraga's contract is non-guaranteed, though the Tigers would owe him termination pay if they were to release him.

Tigers, Joel Zumaya Avoid Arbitration

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The Tigers agreed to a one-year deal with Joel Zumaya, avoiding arbitration, the team announced. Zumaya will earn $1.4MM in 2011, according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Zumaya, eligible for the third and final time, earned $915K last year.

Zumaya has an electrifying fastball and as many strikeouts (210) as innings pitched (209 2/3) in his career. In fact, the hard-throwing right-hander has the highest strikeout rate among all Tigers relievers with at least 100 appearances since the start of the 1953 season.

But Zumaya has had trouble staying healthy. Hand, shoulder and elbow injuries have limited him to 60 appearances in the past two seasons. He was effective when he pitched in 2010, posting a 2.58 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Armando Galarraga is the Tigers' lone unsigned arbitration eligible player now that Zumaya and Ryan Raburn have agreed to deals. Raburn and the Tigers agreed to a two-year deal this week.

Quick Hits: Soriano, Manuel, Galarraga, Angels

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Some items from around the majors…

  • The Angels aren't one of the teams reportedly still interested in Rafael Soriano, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  The Yankees are "still trying," in spite of their earlier statements to the contrary.
  • Charlie Manuel's agent tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that Manuel and the Phillies have a mutual interest in working out a contract extension before Opening Day.  Manuel has one year left on his current deal, and Salisbury speculates that he's looking for a two-year extension worth roughly $4MM per season.
  • Armando Galarraga is out of options, eligible for arbitration and has probably been squeezed out of the Detroit rotation by Brad Penny, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com.  If Galarraga gets too large of a salary bump in arbitration, the Tigers could choose to trade or just release him before Opening Day.
  • The Angels' quiet offseason has been heavily criticized, but Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reminds us that the Halos still have a very solid team.
  • If the Twins don't re-sign Jim Thome, Kelly Thesier of MLB.com says the team could return to what it was looking for last winter: a right-handed hitting backup option in the outfield or at first base.  Thesier cites Jorge Cantu and Troy Glaus as possibilities, and we've heard the Padres were considering the same two players.  The Twins could also dip into the rest of the DH market, or look to upgrade their bullpen.
  • There isn't much historial evidence to suggest that Josh Beckett will return to his ace form over the long run, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

Tigers, Ryan Raburn Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Tigers announced that they agreed to a two-year deal with Ryan Raburn, avoiding arbitration. The 29-year-old will earn $3.4MM for 2011-12, according to the AP (on CBSSports.com). The deal pays him $1.3MM in 2011 and $2.1MM in 2012, according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (on Twitter). Raburn was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, so the Tigers will control his rights for a year after the extension expires.

Raburn established career highs in runs scored (54), hits (104) and doubles (25) last year. He added 15 homers and posted a .280/.340/.474 line in 410 plate appearances. Raburn did a bit of everything last year, playing all three outfield positions, logging 18 games at second base and appearing at first and third.

The right-handed hitter figures to pick up regular at bats in left field next year, and he's a candidate to sub in at other positions. That flexibility should give manager Jim Leyland some options. Meanwhile, GM Dave Dombrowski must come to terms with Armando Galarraga and Joel Zumaya, the team's unsigned arbitraiton eligible players. Keep track of the developments with our Arbitration Tracker.

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