Tigers Rumors

Waiver Trade Candidates: AL Central

By Tim Dierkes | August 2, 2010 at 10:33am CDT

The current AL Central picture: the White Sox and Twins are contenders, the Tigers are in the gray area, and the Royals and Indians are out of it. Waiver trade possibilities:

It's been an up-and-down year for White Sox closer Bobby Jenks; would he be claimed despite a $7.5MM salary? Would the Sox pull him back? I'd expect Scott Linebrink and Mark Teahen to clear waivers, although deals seem unlikely. Mark Kotsay and Tony Pena could be expendable in minor trades.

Twins such as Nick Punto, Nick Blackburn, and Brendan Harris should clear waivers, though Punto can't pass through until he returns from the DL.

Brandon Inge may return from the DL from a broken hand this week, and probably would clear waivers. Carlos Guillen, dealing with a calf strain, should clear if he returns from the DL this month. Jeremy Bonderman, Johnny Damon, Jhonny Peralta, Gerald Laird, and Brad Thomas are others who might make it through waivers. If the Tigers are out of it and one of these players is claimed, trimming a few hundred thousand dollars might be appealing.

Royals righty Gil Meche will attempt to finish the season as a reliever rather than undergo shoulder surgery, but it's hard to say if he'll return from the DL this month. Jose Guillen is a lock to clear, and perhaps a deal can be worked out. We'll be curious to see what happens when Yuniesky Betancourt, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Willie Bloomquist, Wilson Betemit, and Bruce Chen hit the wire. Bloomquist may go.

The Indians' Travis Hafner will clear waivers and stay put, if he's activated from the DL for should inflammation later this month.

For our primer on the waiver trade process, click here.

Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Ohman, Tigers, Mets, Rangers

By Luke Adams 2 | August 1, 2010 at 5:29pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as a handful of players suit up for new teams….

Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth are happy to be playing meaningful games with the Braves, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
Will Ohman had a hunch that he would be moved before the deadline, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
The Tigers have yet to make a blockbuster deadline deal under GM Dave Dombrowski, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) thinks it's very likely that the Mets will sign their first round selection, pitcher Matt Harvey. However, Callis doesn't feel that the pitcher is worth going over slot for.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban could be putting himself in position to buy the Rangers, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Cristian Guzman initially vetoed a deal to the Rangers, but changed his mind, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. MASN's Ben Goessling notes that the Nationals will pay for the rest of Guzman's salary this year (approximately $2.78MM), but will also receive $1.1MM from the Rangers.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney looks back on the deadline deals in his latest Insider-only blog, writing that "what in the world was Washington thinking?" was a question frequently asked by frustrated rival executives.
The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin says that the price of bullpen help was too steep for the Red Sox, who made "competitive offers" on Scott Downs, Brandon League, and Brian Fuentes.
Daniel Paulling of the Kansas City Star reports that Gil Meche won't have season-ending surgery after all, since doctors told the right-hander it would have kept him out of action in 2011 as well.
The Brewers were never close to making any trades, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Odds & Ends: Duffy, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox

By Mike Axisa | July 31, 2010 at 9:42pm CDT

Some leftovers in the wake of another trade deadline…

I'll be appearing on Sporting News Radio at 8:25pm PT tonight to talk about the deadline. You can listen in here.
ESPN's Jayson Stark named his trade deadline winners and losers, with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees among the teams earning praise.
The Phillies released Triple-A outfielder Chris Duffy, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he "had a chance to do something surprising and big," and that it was like "getting the wind knocked out of you" when it fell through. He didn't elaborate any further, so we'll have to keep playing the guessing game.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post says the Yankees took on $4.8MM at the deadline, more than any other team (Twitter links). The bankrupt Rangers came in second at $4.1MM.
Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he was working on some deals in recent days, but they "fell apart at the end."
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Red Sox finished second in the Kerry Wood race, ditto the Rays and Lance Berkman, both of whom ended up with their biggest rival.
Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider tweets that Yunesky Maya's deal with Washington will be made official within the hour.
The Padres inquired about Jacoby Ellsbury before picking up Ryan Ludwick, but were told he's not available according to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter links).
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers took on about $3MM with all their deadline moves. Their financial situation has been in question basically all season.
Chad Tracy has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, tweet Conor Foley with the Triple-A Scranton Yankees.
Barret Loux has joined the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League according to the team's official Twitter feed. Loux was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft, but recently failed his physical with the Diamondbacks and could be looking to rebuild his stock.
The Royals traded minor league catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations according to milb.com's official Twitter feed.

Braves Acquire Wilkin Ramirez

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2010 at 3:07pm CDT

The Braves acquired outfielder Wilkin Ramirez from the Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations by November 20th, according to the team. The Tigers had designated Ramirez for assignment on Wednesday to clear a spot for Jhonny Peralta.

Ramirez, 24, has a .230/.295/.458 line between Double and Triple A this year. Heading into the season Baseball America ranked Ramirez eighth among Tigers prospects, but obviously his stock has dropped since then. Still, they did praise his "tantalizing five-tool ability."

Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2010 at 9:00am CDT

1:15pm: Stark tweets that the pitching prospects going to the Cubs are Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.

1:09pm: The Cubs will get DeWitt and two minor league pitchers for Lilly, Theriot, and $2.5MM tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.

1:03pm: Lilly and Theriot for DeWitt is done, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

12:53pm: Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send Lilly and Theriot to L.A. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times agrees.

12:34pm: Blake DeWitt and at least one other player would go to the Cubs as part of a Lilly-Theriot deal if the sides can reach an agreement, tweets Rosenthal. The inclusion of Theriot will seal the deal from the Cubs' point of view, tweets Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lilly doesn't appear to have many suitors aside from the Dodgers.

11:39am: The latest on Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly…

The Cubs are likely to send Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
The Dodgers are growing more optimistic about acquiring Lilly, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
The Yankees are not pursuing Lilly, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, unless the Cubs "put him on a platter and give him away."
The Dodgers, Twins, Tigers, and Yankees have varying degrees of interest in Lilly, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal with the Dodgers seemed fairly close last night.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot

By Zachary Links | July 31, 2010 at 3:00am CDT

We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors. Here's some news from around the web..

The Padres prospect drawing the most interest from other clubs is Double-A starter Cory Luebke, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
The Dodgers had a chance to land Roy Oswalt from the Astros, but it would have cost them Chad Billingsley, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
Plenty of major leaguers read MLBTR, but it doesn't sound like Kyle Farnsworth is one of them in this article by Dick Kaegel and Samuel Zuba of MLB.com.
ESPN's Buster Olney (in these three tweets) says that the Red Sox, who have found the market for outfielders and relievers to be shallow, might make a smaller deal before the deadline or make their moves in the August waiver period.
The Diamondbacks offered second baseman Kelly Johnson to the Cubs for Ryan Theriot and lefty James Russell in return, writes ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.
Brad Hawpe says that he isn't concerned about being involved in a deadline deal, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Based on news from earlier today, it sounds like Hawpe doesn't have anything to worry about.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the Cubs could move Ryan Theriot to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson.
The Phillies may be done trading and are telling teams that they are out of money and prospects, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
The Tigers and Jays are talking, and John Buck may be an even better fit for Detroit than the relievers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Dodgers, Cubs Discussing Ted Lilly Deal

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2010 at 12:29am CDT

12:29am: The Cubs are sitting on multiple proposals for Lilly, tweets Rosenthal. The Dodgers are in the mix, but the two sides are still apart on money and players. He adds that the Dodgers find themselves in a similar position with the Pirates' Paul Maholm.

11:49pm: It's unlikely that the two sides get a deal done tonight, but talks are moving in a "positive" direction, a source tells Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter).

10:53pm: The Dodgers and Cubs are closing in on a deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).

10:37pm: The Cubs are discussing two possible scenarios with the Dodgers, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson. One would send Lilly to LA and the other would send Lilly to LA along with teammate Ryan Theriot. FOX Sports reported early this morning that the Dodgers could acquire Theriot. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark confirms that the Yankees are in on Lilly and notes that they also inquired on Theriot (Twitter link).

10:21pm: The Cubs continue discussing Lilly with the Yankees and Dodgers, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link).

9:49pm: The only thing preventing the Cubs from sending Lilly to the Dodgers is money, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The clubs can't agree on how much money the Cubs would take on, but it could be enough to prevent a deal from happening.

8:59pm: The Yankees are still in on Lilly, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The Padres had discussions about Lilly, but nothing is imminent, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).

8:24pm: The Dodgers remain active on Lilly and seem intent on acquiring him or Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Click here for the latest on Maholm.

3:18pm: The Reds have a "remote" chance of obtaining Lilly, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The clubs haven't spoken in recent days, but the Reds are not on Lilly's no-trade list.

2:10pm: The Tigers still aren't out on Lilly, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. He adds that a mystery team is in the mix. Hard to pin down a reasonable match, with the Padres not interested.

Rosenthal tweets that the Dodgers are more inclined to get Lilly without Theriot.

2:05pm: The Dodgers are talking to the Cubs about a multiplayer deal that would include Lilly and a position player, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Hernandez does not believe Theriot would be the position player. By the way, Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Padres are not a fit for Lilly.

11:58am: The Dodgers are waiting for Lilly's cost to come down, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. He notes that they're also monitoring Paul Maholm and Jason Frasor. The Pirates are willing to move a starting pitcher for the right price, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

7:10am: The Dodgers and Cubs are discussing a trade that could send Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to Los Angeles, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They say it's not known whether a deal is close. The Cubs would need to kick in cash – Lilly has $4.3MM remaining and Theriot has $933K.

Theriot received a $2.6MM salary for 2010 after losing an arbitration case to the Cubs in February. He's under team control through 2012; the FOX writers see him taking over at second base for the Dodgers. It doesn't seem to be the strongest need for them, with Blake DeWitt currently outperforming Theriot and Jamey Carroll and Ronnie Belliard also on the roster.

There aren't a ton of great matches for Lilly at this point, as action with the Tigers, Twins, and Mets has cooled and the Phillies are out of the mix. I wonder if we'll hear anything about the Cardinals and Padres looking at the lefty.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Berkman, Dunn, Dodgers

By Mike Axisa | July 30, 2010 at 9:23am CDT

On this date two years ago, Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,000th career hit with a first inning single against the Rangers. The hit was his 1,722nd in the big leagues, which came after he racked up 1,278 hits with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Including the postseason, the 36-year-old Ichiro has 3,456 career base hits to his credit, a staggering number no matter how you look at it.

Here is the latest from around the baseball blogosphere, a day before the non-waiver trade deadline…

Phoul Ballz spoke to Lakewood Blue Claws manager Mark Parent about Jonathan Villar's inclusion in the Roy Oswalt deal. Parent managed Villar this season.
Pale Hose Pariah looks at the trade value of Lance Berkman and Brad Hawpe.
River Ave. Blues wants to see the Yankees swing a trade for Berkman to be the team's designated hitter.
1 Blue Jays Way breaks down to the Anthony Gose–Brett Wallace swap.
The Process Report tackles the Adam Dunn to the Rays rumor.
Meanwhile, SD Sports Net wants to see the Padres trade for Dunn.
Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness explains why the Dodgers shouldn't add a starter before the deadline.
Pittsburgh Lumber Co. calculates Paul Maholm's trade value.
Scouting The Sally compares the trade value of top prospects Jesus Montero and Wilmer Flores.
Blogging From The Bleachers breaks down the various Cliff Lee hauls.
Bleacher GM steps into Dave Dombrowski's shoes for a little while.
More Hardball looks back at some terrible trades from the 1990's.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Morosi On Giants, Downs, Myers, Tigers

By Luke Adams 2 | July 30, 2010 at 12:10am CDT

Let's check out the latest updates from Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports….

The Giants continue to search for a left-handed reliever, with Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler injured. While we've heard the club had been eyeing lefties such as Will Ohman and Scott Downs, Morosi indicates that, like every other team that has inquired on Downs, the Giants weren't enthused by Toronto's asking price. CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban (via Twitter) reports that the Giants are "working hard" to complete a trade tonight, though there's no indication of whether it would be for bullpen help or another piece.
Starters like Ted Lilly and Brett Myers appear unlikely to be traded to Minnesota. The Twins would need to overpay to pry Myers away from the Astros.
The Tigers aren't looking to make a blockbuster deal, but could still make minor moves to upgrade their roster. The club doesn't want to "overexpose" their young players, which played a part in their acquisition of Jhonny Peralta. A bullpen addition is still a possibility for the Tigers, who were scouting the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Adam Dunn Rumors: Thursday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 29, 2010 at 11:10pm CDT

The latest on Adam Dunn, with more updates to come throughout the day…

The Nats are believed to have requested either Gordon Beckham or both Daniel Hudson and Dayan Viciedo in exchange for Dunn, tweets Heyman. That price was too high for the Sox, who told Beckham he wouldn't be on the move this week.
The price for Dunn is high, but not ridiculous, according to Heyman (via Twitter). The White Sox and Rays are still involved.
The Giants have minimal interest in Dunn at his current price, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Morosi notes that the Tigers are not pursuing Dunn.
The White Sox and Tigers have plenty of interest in Dunn, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
Three-way scenarios involving the Nationals, White Sox, Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson are in play, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Rosenthal reported that such talks were underway earlier in the week.
The Rays are the favorites to acquire Dunn, according to one executive who spoke to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Giants are the only other team Sherman hears in connection to Dunn (Twitter links).
The Tigers are not pursuing Dunn, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
The White Sox are saying internally that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Yankees are now out on Dunn. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that the Yankees would give up top prospects for a piece they need, but not for a luxury like Dunn. The Yanks lead the majors in scoring, so Dunn's bat is not an absolute necessity for the Bronx Bombers.

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