Tigers Rumors

Mariners Interested In Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson

By Tim Dierkes | November 16, 2009 at 4:36pm CDT

The Mariners are interested in Tigers starter Edwin Jackson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, though names have been exchanged, a source tells the writers the talks are "not all that serious." The FOX writers say the Ms also like Curtis Granderson, who'd be used in left field. Rosenthal and Morosi downplay this rumor as well.

The cost for Jackson is young, affordable pitching, of course. The Brewers, Yankees, and Mets are three other clubs thought to be interested. Jackson is due an arbitration raise on this year's $2.2MM salary. He is one of a handful of well-paid Tigers who actually has strong trade value.

Odds & Ends: Butler, Holliday, Counsell

By Tim Dierkes | November 16, 2009 at 3:08pm CDT

A batch of links to kick off the work week…

Newly minted Royals Player of the Year Billy Butler has not held long-term extension talks with the team, MLBTR learned on a conference call today. Butler will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season.
Desipio on the Cubs-Curtis Granderson idea: "In the end, this smells like a winter of Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy trade rumors. One that ends with us talking ourselves into how Marlon Byrd isn’t so bad after all."
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes it's a three-horse race for Matt Holliday: the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick writes about Jed Hoyer and the Adrian Gonzalez situation.
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a dozen teams have expressed interest in free agent infielder Craig Counsell. He'd like a multiyear deal.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sums up the Rangers' hot stove storylines.
Evan Grant wonders what it would take for the Rangers to acquire Edwin Jackson.
ESPN's Keith Law believes it'd be unwise for a team to acquire Dan Uggla and move him off second base.
Sean Smith's 2010 CHONE projections for hitters are now available, so take a peek into his crystal ball.
Jeremy Greenhouse of The Hardball Times cautions against misuses of the WAR statistic.
Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail thinks the Blue Jays "will be all over" Brandon Phillips to play third base if the Reds make him available.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post suggests Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd will hold Type A free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt hostage with an arbitration offer. In my opinion, Betancourt has a decent chance of accepting.
Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay talked to Rays VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.

Odds & Ends: Morillo, Bay, Cabrera, Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 15, 2009 at 9:07pm CDT

Some links to read before the weekend draws to a close…

Juan Morillo, who pitched briefly for the Twins this year, has signed with a Japanese team, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors argues that Jason Bay fits best in the American League because of his suspect defense. Bay is a productive hitter, but questions about his ability to play the field may limit his appeal to NL clubs. His agent insists that Bay plays solid defense, but advanced metrics suggest that's not the case.
Here, Hissey argues that the Yankees should consider signing Mike Cameron for a year until Austin Jackson is ready.
Steve Kornacki of MLive.com reminds us that the Miguel Cabrera trade talk is just speculation at this point. It's fun to wonder about, though.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney doesn't think the Padres will face pressure to deal Adrian Gonzalez until next summer, so he doesn't expect them to be in a rush to deal their superstar. Instead, they'll wait to be overwhelmed.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic predicts where some big-name free agents will sign. He has the Yankees signing Matt Holliday.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Jeter, Marlins

By Luke Adams 2 | November 15, 2009 at 3:46pm CDT

Let's take a look at some Sunday morning links….

Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that the Pirates may be able to add one or two low-cost free agents this winter, but, as usual, they won't be making any big splashes.
The Boston Globe's Chad Finn thinks that the Red Sox should be doing whatever it takes to acquire Adrian Gonzalez.
When it comes to Derek Jeter, the Yankees ought to rethink their rule about not discussing early contract extensions, according to Bob Klapisch of FOX Sports.
Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press writes that all of the Curtis Granderson trade rumors could be much ado about nothing.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff has a few tidbits of info from around the league. He mentions that he doesn't see the Yankees taking care of their outfield/DH situation until after the winter meetings.
The latest Marlins mailbag from MLB.com's Joe Frisaro includes a few hot stove inquiries from readers.
Roch Kubatko looks back at some of the names that were bounced around Orioles hot stove talks a year ago and wonders if the Orioles will again be linked to Braden Looper, Jon Garland, and Matt Treanor now that they're all back on the market.
Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues hopes to see the Yankees stay internal to solve fill the eighth inning role, rather than venture to the free agent market and spend on a name like Rafael Betancourt, LaTroy Hawkins, or Octavio Dotel.
Adam McCalvy at MLB.com examines some of the rumored discussions that obviously fell through when the Brewers and Pirates were talking JJ Hardy.
El Lefty Malo crunches some numbers to try to predict how many additional runs the Giants will need to score to approach 90 wins and make a postseason run.

Discussion: Should Detroit Move Cabrera?

By Steve Adams | November 15, 2009 at 3:30pm CDT

Over the past week, we've heard rumblings about the Tigers making players such as Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson available in order to shed payroll in the coming years. In his latest column, Ken Rosenthal offers up another question: should the Tigers look to trade Miguel Cabrera? Rosenthal opines that it makes financial sense for the Tigers to do just that.

Cabrera, 26, is entering his prime and is already established as one of the game's elite hitters. His bat is the cornerstone of Detroit's offense, and his 209 career home runs and career line of .311/.383/.542 would draw interest from many teams. Cabrera is owed $126MM over the final six years of his contract, however. He also had his share of off-field issues at the end of the season, as the Tigers lost a three-game lead on the AL Central with four games to go. Could the $126MM be spent more effectively by the Tigers? Fangraphs would say that for the time being, Cabrera is worth the money; they valued his performance at $24.3MM in 2009.

The Tigers will have $102.1MM committed to Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, and Brandon Inge in 2010, before arbitration raises to other players including Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.

However, following the 2010 season, the contracts of Ordonez, Bonderman, Robertson, Willis, and Inge will be coming off the books in Detroit, freeing up more than $57MM. Given that information, is it better to trade their best hitter to save payroll and stock the farm system, or try to gut it out and work through the financial difficulties that 2010 has to offer? Rosenthal speculates one possible trade scenario to Boston, an exchange of Cabrera for Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Lowell, and a solid prospect such as Lars Anderson or Stolmy Pimentel. What's the better move for the Tigers, and what kind of package could Cabrera fetch if he were available on the trade market this offseason?

Curtis Granderson Rumors: Saturday

By Mike Axisa | November 14, 2009 at 10:12am CDT

Cubs' GM Jim Hendry "absolutely" is interested in offering a prospect-heavy package to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson according to a source close to the team, says Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune. Yesterday we heard that the two sides were not yet in trade talks, but Rogers' source says that Hendry and Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski "spoke about Granderson and other Tigers players during the GM meetings earlier in the week at the O'Hare Hilton."

So far we've heard that the Cubs, Angels, and Yankees have interest in the 28-year-old outfielder. Granderson hit .249/.327/.453 in 710 plate appearances this year, though ESPN's Keith Law says he's become just a platoon player because of his struggles against southpaws.

Tigers Talk: Verlander, Payroll, Free Agents

By Mike Axisa | November 14, 2009 at 9:27am CDT

Steve Kornacki of MLive.com has plenty of material from Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski for us this morning, but it's all spread out among several articles. We're here to make things easy for you, so let's round 'em up…

Dombrowski indicated that no player on his team is untouchable, but "there are some on our club that we want to hold on to." He also added that there was more trade talk at the GM meetings this year than in previous years.
The team obviously wants to keep Justin Verlander around for a long time, but Dombrowski wouldn't comment about the possibility of locking him up to a long-term deal. "I won't get into that because that is best kept internal," he said. Verlander can become a free agent after the 2011 season.
Dombrowksi acknowledged that the team is "looking to be fiscally responsible," citing economic changes in the community.
The Tigers called both Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff this week to let them to know the team won't be pursuing them. We first heard the team won't attempt the re-sign the two a little over a week ago.
MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that the team has had contact with the agents for Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Placido Polanco, and Adam Everett, but the talks were believed to be just preliminary.

Curtis Granderson Rumors: Friday

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2009 at 3:55pm CDT

3:55pm: The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers tweets that the Cubs are not yet involved in trade talks for Granderson, "but will become aggressive when the Tigers are ready for offers."

9:38am: The Angels and Tigers have discussed a trade for center fielder Curtis Granderson, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff says the Halos would use Granderson in left field and either shift Juan Rivera to DH or trade him. In my opinion, the Angels could fill several needs cheaply for the Tigers with players such as Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood. Davidoff adds that the Yankees "think very highly" of Granderson and the Cubs are "expected to inquire." Talking to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers, Baseball America's Jim Callis suggested the Cubs are in the best position of these three suitors to acquire Granderson.

Granderson, 29 in March, hit .249/.327/.453 in 710 plate appearances this year. His defense is at least respectable. His contract is reasonable - $25.75MM guaranteed over the next three years. ESPN's Keith Law, however, considers Granderson a platoon player given his inability to hit lefties.

Brewers, Tigers Discuss Edwin Jackson

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2009 at 1:37pm CDT

Between trades and free agents there are easily more than 50 starting pitchers available. The Brewers, looking to add two starters, figure to be linked to many.

One new name to pop up today is Detroit's Edwin Jackson; Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says that Brewers GM Doug Melvin has spoken to the Tigers about him. Atlanta could also match up with the Brewers, as MLB.com's Mark Bowman sees a possible match with Javier Vazquez and, to a lesser extent, Derek Lowe.

By my calculations, the Brewers should have more than $15MM to spend if they non-tender Dave Bush, Jody Gerut, and Seth McClung. Who would you like to see them pursue?

Odds & Ends: Uggla, Granderson, Lackey

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2009 at 10:55am CDT

Links for Thursday…

MLBTR will be mentioned on ESPN2's SportsNation program today at 3pm CST, check it out!
FanGraphs' Dave Cameron thinks the Marlins are shopping Dan Uggla a year late, and believes he'd be expensive enough in 2011 that the Marlins "are really only selling one year of value."
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says not to dismiss the Uggla-to-left field rumor, in relation to the Braves.
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald at the GM Meetings that "one club, I think, changed course a little bit, with more players being available." Silverman figures Epstein was referring to the Reds or Tigers.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post plays around with various Curtis Granderson-Yankees scenarios and effects. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says the Cubs must pursue Granderson. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs have yet to pursue him, but "conversations appear inevitable."
Brewers GM Doug Melvin had a sit-down with John Lackey's agent Steve Hilliard this week, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sees a three-year deal worth $18-24MM for Marlon Byrd, though he notes the limited demand for center fielders.
NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman looks at American players who could wind up or remain in Japan in 2010.
Carl Pavano's agent Tom O'Connell had an excellent first meeting with the Twins Wednesday night, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. In another article, Christensen notes that Glen Perkins settled his service time grievance with the Twins.

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