Tigers Rumors

Miguel Cabrera On The Trade Block?

By Mike Axisa | November 24, 2009 at 8:32am CDT

It's no secret that the Tigers are looking to cut down on future payroll, and to do so they've made both Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson available in trades. Lynn Henning of The Detroit News throws another name into the mix: first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Henning says that nothing "irresistible" has been offered for Cabrera yet, and that GM Dave Dombrowski said "I'm not getting into any names," when asked about his first baseman. The Red Sox are looking to add a big bat, and we've already heard rumblings that they could turn around and move Clay Buchholz if they sign John Lackey.

Cabrera, still just 26, is about to enter year three of his eight year, $152.3MM contract. He's owed $126MM through 2015, so I guess we can rule out the small market clubs as trade partners. MLBTR readers discussed the idea of trading Cabrera earlier this month.

Angels More Interested In Granderson Than Jackson

By Howard Megdal | November 23, 2009 at 8:14pm CDT

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim would prefer Curtis Granderson to Edwin Jackson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.

The reason is simple: control of the player. Granderson is signed through 2012, with a $13MM club option for 2013. Jackson, meanwhile, can become a free agent after 2011, and with agent Scott Boras' track record, Jackson is likely to hit the open market.

Rosenthal and Morosi write that someone with close knowledge of the Tigers said that the "Angels have depth in three areas of need for Detroit: catcher, shortstop, and minimum-salary pitching."

And Tigers' owner Mike Illitch hardly offered a strong denial that either player could be moved. "I don't know if I want to get into that," he said. "It's something I don't want to talk about. There's so many rumors out there now."

And surely more to come.

Mariners, Tigers Trade Talks Stall

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2009 at 8:49am CDT

Trade talks between the Mariners and Tigers have stalled, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson have been discussed, but Crasnick's source finds a deal "pretty doubtful." Crasnick indicates that the Mariners were never terribly interested in Granderson, but did like Jackson. The asking price is simply too high at present.

Crasnick says many feel Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is trying to sell high on Jackson, who posted a 3.62 ERA in 214 innings this year. Jackson is only 26, and he did improve both his strikeout and walk rates (6.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9). Some are dinging Jackson for his final eleven starts, over which he posted a 5.83 ERA with a 6.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. If you are an xFIP fan, that stat had Jackson at 4.58 this year. XFIP presumably wouldn't factor in at an arbitration hearing, however, and Jackson is due a pretty big raise on this year's $2.2MM salary.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Tigers, Mariners

By Luke Adams 2 | November 22, 2009 at 12:55pm CDT

A few Sunday links to peruse….

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports ranks his top 20 free agent starting pitchers not named John Lackey.
Jonah Keri of The New York Times warns the Yankees against getting complacent, outlining why the team needs to get younger.
Within a piece focusing on Clay Buchholz, John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that Jason Bay's defense shouldn't concern the Red Sox much, given Fenway Park's "cozy left field."
In another article, Tomase examines the big free agent signings of the last few years and notices a "disturbing trend of underperformance."
MASN's Phil Wood questions Phil Rogers' prediction that the Washington Nationals will be interested in signing Vladimir Guerrero.
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are currently paying the price for their failed win-now approach in 2006.
Even though Adrian Beltre struggled in 2009, it won't be easy for the Mariners to replace his production at third, according to Larry LaRue of The News Tribune.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Brewers, Green, Sellers, Astros, Byrd, Vizquel, A’s

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 20, 2009 at 9:24pm CDT

Some more links as the weekend begins…

Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun notes that the Orioles didn't make any contract offers on the first day of free agency.
Nick Green doesn't expect to back with the Red Sox, according to Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal.
Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Marlins, Royals, Tigers and Reds are currently baseball's most active sellers.
The Astros signed minor league free agent Jose Valdez, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter).
The Brewers agreed to sign Santo Aybar, according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. The 16-year-old shortstop has to pass an age investigation for the deal to go through.
Marlon Byrd repeated to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he wants to return to the Rangers in 2010. He's looking for a multi-year deal "at the right numbers." The Rangers have interest in re-signing the outfielder.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen knows the White Sox are talking to Omar Vizquel. Guillen didn't confirm anything other than his intention to continue wearing number 13.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford breaks down the suitors for Jason Bay, starting with the Red Sox, Angels and Mets.
John Sickels of Minor League Ball spoke with A's GM Billy Beane, who says his club's currently rebuilding. Check out the entire interview for more on the team's direction.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers are "kicking the tires" on every available pitcher.

Odds & Ends: Atkins, Twins, Carlyle

By Tim Dierkes | November 20, 2009 at 1:20pm CDT

Links for Friday, as the free agent market officially opens…

As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out, the Angels' lack of interest in Matt Holliday bodes well for the Cardinals, but not for Scott Boras.
Scott Boras tells FOX Sports that interest in Adrian Beltre and Mike Gonzalez is strong so far. The agent says he's fielded offers for eight players already.
The Nippon Ham Fighters signed minor league free agent pitcher Buddy Carlyle, says NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. Newman also says the Yokohama BayStars are working to sign Chris Bootcheck, Jose Castillo, and Terrmel Sledge.
The Nats hired former Mariners manager John McLaren as a bench coach, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan ranks 131 free agents and provides capsules. We've also got SI's Jon Heyman and AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere with Top 50 lists.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch breaks down the market for Mark DeRosa.
ESPN's Buster Olney notes five arbitration-eligible players who could be traded, including Russell Martin and Kevin Correia.
SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mariners and Tigers continue to discuss Edwin Jackson.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets a comment from Brewers GM Doug Melvin: the team will fill current needs before discussing a Prince Fielder extension.
Garrett Atkins to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post: "I know that I will be on another team next year."
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune feels that free agents Carl Pavano, Jarrod Washburn, and Rich Harden are potential fits for the Twins.
Christensen's colleague Sid Hartman wonders if catcher Mike Redmond "could wind up with a job in the [Twins] organization." However, Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier a month ago that he plans on playing in 2010.
Paul Hagen's Phillies source shot down a story that Pat Gillick could be heading back to the Blue Jays.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has a Winter Meetings primer.
Chico Harlan is moving on from the Washington Post's Nationals beat, once a replacement is found.

Nightengale On Jackson, Swisher, Rays, Halladay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 19, 2009 at 11:46am CDT

USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggests we keep an eye on a possible three-way trade between the Tigers, Mariners and one other club. The Tigers would give up Edwin Jackson and the Mariners would give up Brandon Morrow. Here are some more rumors to read as you wonder who that third team might be:

Nightengale says the Rays are the "clear-cut favorite" to acquire Milton Bradley from the Cubs.
The Yankees are apparently letting teams know that Nick Swisher is available. Swisher was involved in his share of trade rumors after the Yankees acquired him last season.
The Dodgers are focusing on Roy Halladay, who would potentially cost Chad Billingsley and others.

Tigers Don’t Have To Dump Salaries; Could Trade

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 19, 2009 at 9:31am CDT

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski know a thing or two about fire sales, and he insists the Tigers aren't in the midst of one. The former Expos and Marlins exec told Lynn Henning of the Detroit News that he's only going to make solid baseball trades.

"I can assure you 100% that we do not have any kind of fire sale, or salary dump, or whatever you might call it, taking place," Dombrowski said.

The GM didn't mention Curtis Granderson or Edwin Jackson specifically, but both have been involved in trade rumors recently. It's still possible that the Tigers could deal one of the two players and Dombrowski said the Tigers are in conversations with other teams.

"To me, you're always in position where you listen to what people have to say," he said.

As long as the Tigers are wiling to listen, teams like the Brewers, Mariners and Cubs will continue to call. Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that the club's trade talks aren't likely to slow down negotiations with any of the team's free agents.

Odds & Ends: Mulder, Matsui, Smoltz, Rangers

By Mike Axisa | November 18, 2009 at 4:25pm CDT

Some afternoon linkage…

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt tweets that "it would be a huge upset if Mark Mulder doesn't try his comeback attempt in the Brewers' spring camp."
Meanwhile, Brewers' GM Doug Melvin said the George Kottaras pickup was all about depth, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
NPB Tracker passes along a report that says the Yankees stand to lose at least $15MM in revenue if Hideki Matsui leaves as a free agent.
The Tigers aren't one of the teams that have expressed interest in John Smoltz, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Yesterday we learned that at least seven teams are interested in the righthander.
Tom Hicks is trying to put together a group of local businessmen that would allow him to maintain major ownership of the team, says ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett. The deadline to submit a bid for the team is Friday, so if you have a couple hundred million bucks burning a hole in your pocket…
Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball reports that the Nationals have named Davey Johnson Senior Advisor to GM Mike Rizzo.
ESPN's Howard Bryant writes about a salary cap, and how baseball doesn't need one.
Last, but certainly not least, everyone welcome FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal to Twitter!

Twins And Brewers On Washburn’s Radar

By Mike Axisa | November 18, 2009 at 1:30pm CDT

Free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn hasn't made much of a secret of his desire to play near his Webster, Wisconsin home, and he told FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi that both the Twins and Brewers are on his radar.

"The Twins and Brewers are both on the radar for me," Washburn said. "The thought of playing close to home has always appealed to me, and I think both of those teams would be good fits for me.

"I don't know yet if either of those teams have mutual interest, but we will see."

Obviously, those two teams fit Washburn's geographical desires. Both are said to be seeking veteran starters this offseason as well. Washburn also feels there's "mutual interest" in a return to the Mariners, noting that he enjoyed his time in Seattle and his family loved it there.

He also mentioned that his surgically repaired knee feels good.

"The surgery on the knee wasn't real extensive," Washburn told FOXSports.com in a Wednesday e-mail. "Dr. (Lewis) Yocum said he didn't have to do too much in there — just a little cleaning up.

"It feels great now, almost like I didn't even have a surgery. So, I don't see it being a problem for me in the future."

The Tigers acquired the 35-year-old from Seattle at the trade deadline, only to see him pitch to a 7.33 ERA in eight starts. Washburn has already received word from Detroit that they will not attempt to re-sign him.

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