Tigers Rumors

Sherman’s Latest: Mets, Molina, Damon, Granderson

By Steve Adams | December 8, 2009 at 7:53am CDT

Here's a quick look into Joel Sherman's latest column:

The Mets need to add a starting pitcher, and given all of the already-volatile options in their rotation, they're likely to pursue someone more "vanilla" as Sherman describes. He names Kevin Millwood, Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and Jason Marquis. We've already seen that the O's may be closing in on Millwood today.
While acquiring Roy Halladay is a pipe dream, a full-on pursuit for John Lackey isn't quite as far-fetched, and Lackey would be every bit the No. 2 starter to complement Johan Santana that the previously mentioned options simply are not.
Minaya will meet with Lackey's representation but isn't confident; he'd prefer to wait for the price to come down, so as not to spend most of the Mets' available funds on one resource. If that price drops, though, suitors for Lackey will abound.
The Mets are confident that they can improve their pitching staff by improving their catching core; they're confident they can land Bengie Molina and believe he and Henry Blanco can help stabilize the staff.
If the Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson, they can use him as leverage against Johnny Damon. Adding Granderson will allow the Yanks to pose a "take it or leave it" offer to Damon, and remove some of the leverage Damon and Scott Boras may have. Sherman lists free agent alternatives to bring in should Damon leave in that scenario, including Mike Cameron or re-signing Xavier Nady.

Overnight Links: Myers, Castillo, Verlander, Padres

By Steve Adams | December 8, 2009 at 4:56am CDT

As we gear up for another long night, here's some links to take a look at if you're still awake:

Paul Hagen questions the Phillies' logic when refusing to look at bringing Brett Myers back. The Phils are looking for an inexpensive fifth starter candidate; Myers fits the bill and brings plenty of upside. Do they feel he's just not worth the trouble anymore?
Ben Shpigel explains why, in spite of a resurgent season from Luis Castillo, and in spite of the Mets' feeling that his contract is better than that of Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Juan Pierre, and Gary Matthews Jr., they're still looking to move him.
Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press feels the Tigers must do whatever it takes to keep Justin Verlander in Detroit for as long as possible. Rosenberg makes the interesting point that with one more dominant season, Verlander could put the Tigers in a similar position that Johan Santana put the Twins, though he concedes that Verlander's not as good. At least not yet.
Corey Brock tells us that new Padres GM celebrated his 36th birthday by kicking off the Winter Meetings and fielding calls on about "half a dozen" of his players, including Heath Bell, who could be due as much as $5MM through arbitration. Still, Brock suggests the Padres would prefer to keep Bell.
The Phillies payroll for 2010 will likely be around $140MM, says David Murphy. He also quotes Ruben Amaro Jr., implying that Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey will be tendered contracts.
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Indians could look to trade Kerry Wood during the Winter Meetings, but then discusses why it might be smarter to wait until midseason.
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart feels that Jose Valverde's probable departure is probably for the best, given the economics of the situation.
Danny Knobler at CBS Sports explains why the Pirates would even bother showing interest in Juan Pierre, whom they were linked to last night.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Sun-Times says White Sox GM Kenny Williams declined to comment on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, and implies that Hideki Matsui may not be a fit for the South Siders, even if Carlos Quentin moves to right field. Scott Podsednik, however, may still fit.
Aaron Gleeman looks at what it means to the Twins to have Carl Pavano back for 2010. Gleeman says Pavano's a better fit than past veteran starters the Twins have tried, as well as a safer bet than signing Jarrod Washburn to multiple years.

Multiple Teams In On Putz

By Steve Adams | December 8, 2009 at 1:03am CDT

J.J. Putz is drawing interest from several clubs, according to Jon Paul Morosi. The Cubs, White Sox, D'Backs, Rangers, Nationals, and Tigers have all shown varying levels of interest.

After being acquired by the Mets in a big three-team trade at last year's meetings, Putz was a disappointment in New York, posting a 5.22 ERA before going down for the season on June 4. The former All-Star recently held a throwing session for scouts in Arizona following bone spur removal surgery on his throwing elbow this season.

Lyon, Rodney Turn Down Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 7, 2009 at 11:32pm CDT

11:32pm: Lyon's agent tells Beck that his client could still work out a deal with the Tigers.

11:28pm: MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Fernando Rodney also turned down arbitration. Like Lyon, he could bring the Tigers a supplemental rounder.

10:39pm: Brandon Lyon will turn down arbitration from the Tigers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Lyon, a Type B free agent, will net the Tigers a supplemental round pick if he signs elsewhere.

The Phillies and Yankees are among the teams with interest in the 30-year-old.

Curtis Granderson Rumors: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 10:31pm CDT

10:31pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Yankees spent "much of the day" trying to acquire Granderson. They still haven't offered Johnny Damon a contract.

9:49pm: MLB.com's Doug Miller hears from one source who says the Mariners "might" be in the mix for Granderson. That's hardly a surprise, given that they've been linked to him in recent weeks.

5:14pm: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times talked to a Cubs source who's heard nothing to support rumors that the Tigers are trying to move Granderson this week.

4:05pm: With USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggesting the Tigers hope to trade Curtis Granderson this week, the center fielder requires his own post.

ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Tigers wanted shortstop prospect Starlin Castro and two others from the Cubs. That price is too high for the Cubs. Gammons' colleague Buster Olney says the Tigers want Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson from the Yankees for Granderson.

Edwin Jackson Rumors: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 9:43pm CDT

9:43pm: D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told Piecoro that team execs are heavily involved in trade talks and currently "talking about a lot of guys." He didn't mention Jackson specifically, but you have to think Byrnes would have squashed this rumor if the D'Backs and Tigers weren't talking about a possible Jackson deal.

8:27pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic thinks the D'Backs are making a push for Jackson, but doubts they'd include Max Scherzer in a deal. As Piecoro points out, Scherzer's under team control for three more years than Jackson, who can become a free agent after 2011. Those three extra years add lots of value.

8:03pm: MLB.com's Steve Gilbert wonders whether the Tigers and D'Backs could complete a deal without a third team. Do you see a potential fit?

6:26pm: The Tigers approached the Rockies about Jackson, but Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the asking price was too high for Colorado.

3:58pm: Rosenthal and Morosi say talks for Jackson have been more serious with the D'Backs than the Mariners, and the Angels are in on both Jackson and Granderson. The Red Sox are not in on Jackson, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs are not close to getting Jackson.

3:27pm: Price is back with something a little more concrete: he says the Tigers are sorting through offers from 12 teams for Jackson.

2:26pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports agree with Nightengale – the Tigers are close to trading Jackson. They say the Brewers, Mets, and Dodgers "are not on Jackson."

2:09pm: Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that a Mets official denied a Jackson trade.

1:54pm: Cryptic tweet from Ed Price of AOL FanHouse: "Rumor that Mets acquire Edwin Jackson." Price then updated that the rumor was "heard in the lobby" but not confirmed.

12:57pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that the Tigers are close to trading Jackson, "perhaps as early as today." No word on the potential destination, but we'll keep you apprised in this post. What's more, Nightengale says the Tigers hope to trade Curtis Granderson this week.

The Tigers acquired Jackson from the Rays during the Winter Meetings last year, on December 10th.

Tigers Re-Sign Adam Everett

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 7:05pm CDT

7:05pm: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Everett will receive $1.55MM.

4:13pm: The Tigers signed shortstop Adam Everett to a one-year deal, according to the team's Twitter account. The defensively-skilled Everett, 33 in February, had also drawn interest from the Pirates. Everett gets a one-year deal, according to John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.

As far as starting shortstop candidates still on the free agent market, there's Orlando Cabrera, Miguel Tejada, and perhaps Bobby Crosby and Khalil Greene.

Orioles Rumors: Soriano, Bedard, Jackson, Lindstrom

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 6:49pm CDT

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has the latest Orioles buzz from the Meetings, found here and here.

Should Rafael Soriano decline the Braves' offer of arbitration, the Orioles are "particularly interested." He'd cost their #39 pick in the June draft (though the pick will be pushed back further).
The Orioles are reviewing medical records on Erik Bedard as well as other free agents with injury issues. MacPhail downplayed the reviewing as standard preliminary procedure rather than serious talks.
We can rule the O's out for Edwin Jackson and Matt Lindstrom, while nothing is cooking currently on John Lackey or Dan Uggla.

Odds & Ends: Reed Johnson, Laynce Nix, Counsell

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 5:30pm CDT

Links for Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…

The Padres have been linked to Reed Johnson, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Reds are trying to re-sign Laynce Nix, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
The Brewers hope to have a decision one way or another on Craig Counsell by week's end, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Also, the Brewers learned that reliever Mark DiFelice needs shoulder surgery, creating a stronger bullpen need (MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reporting).
The Marlins would listen on arbitration-eligible starter Anibal Sanchez, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
Chad Jennings of the LoHud Journal notes that Yanks GM Brian Cashman hitched a ride to Indianapolis with the Levinson brothers, so of course Jason Marquis came up.
Yahoo's Tim Brown has some petty sniping from Scott Boras' camp toward Whitey Herzog for his comments about Matt Holliday.
Victor Martinez's agent Alan Nero talked to WEEI's Alex Speier about the prospect of his client reaching free agency.
The Orioles will meet with the Hendricks brothers about Aroldis Chapman before the Winter Meetings end, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko. ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. is hearing Chapman might not get much more than $20MM. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times tweets that the Yankees have interest at $15MM or less.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun learned that Orioles outfielder Felix Pie is drawing strong trade interest.
Chien-Ming Wang will be ready by May 1st, his agent told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. It'd still be surprising to see Wang tendered a contract on Saturday.
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to John Smoltz's agent Keith Grunewald about his client's interest in the Nationals.
Nationals manager Jim Riggleman suggested to WEEI's Alex Speier that the team would have to be overwhelmed to move Josh Willingham.
ESPN's Keith Law explains why the Meetings are in Indy and suggests improvements to avoid the cold weather and other issues.
The Cardinals expect Mark DeRosa to decline their arbitration offer today, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. DeRosa's agent will meet with Yankees GM Brian Cashman this week, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland assured John Tomase of the Boston Herald that his team is not having a fire sale.

Rangers Acquire Clay Rapada

By Tim Dierkes | December 7, 2009 at 1:05pm CDT

The Rangers acquired lefty reliever Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Rapada, 29 in March, spent most of the year in the minors. He had a 2.76 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in 45.6 Triple A innings.

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