Tigers Rumors

Heyman: Ten Teams That Could Add Payroll

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 22, 2009 at 12:54pm CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com provides a list of ten teams that could add payroll. He adds the Angels, Brewers, Red Sox and Brewers to the list we assembled last week. Here are his ten teams:

The Red Sox could add payroll, but they don't have significant needs.
The Mets could add payroll and they need a hitter who can play first, the outfield, or both.
The Phillies could add payroll to acquire pitching.
The Angels, with several contracts expiring this year (Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins), could add salary.
The Giants could take on payroll to add a bat.
The Brewers and Cardinals could both free up money to add a pitcher or hitter.
The Tigers, White Sox and Dodgers round out Heyman's list, but he warns us not to rule out the Yankees.
Don't look for the White Sox to deal prospects away to increase their playoff chances, even though they trail the Tigers by just 5.0 games.
On another note, no one's called the Mariners about Adrian Beltre.

Tigers Rumors: Magglio, Boras, Guillen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 22, 2009 at 9:38am CDT

A closer look at the drama between the Tigers, Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras, along with a couple other Tigers notes:

Boras told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he wasn't delivering a message to Jim Leyland when he spoke out against the Tigers' decision to bench his client. Boras says he'd phone Leyland if he wanted to talk to him.
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press says Boras did phone Leyland- the problem is, the call came in the middle of yesterday's Tigers game.
Leyland believes Boras overreacted to the team's decision.
Ordonez could return to the Tigers' lineup against the Cubs tomorrow, according to Jason Beck.
And Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Carlos Guillen is feeling better and could be ready for action by early July.
The Tigers are looking to trade for a power bat regardless.

Odds & Ends: Pedro, Ordonez, Holliday

By Eddie Schmid | June 20, 2009 at 9:17pm CDT

On this day in MLBTR history: Last year, the Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and Matt Holliday talks were still swirling. In '07, we actually cared who was on Eric Gagne's team veto list and saw Michael Barrett get traded to the Padres.

Bill Ladson at MLBlogs got word that reports that a Nationals rep saw Pedro Martinez pitch Friday are untrue.
Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues takes issue with CERA, the stat that tries to determine "catchers' ERA."
Jason Beck at MLB.com has more clarification on Jim Leyland's comments on Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras. Says Leyland: "It was total nonsense on the agent's part that I blindsided Magglio Ordonez."
John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle outlines a scenario where 16-year-old super-prospect Bryce Harper might fall to the A's in next year's draft.
Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times wonders if Holliday could end up with the Angels.
Clark Spencer at the Miami Herald wonders where Josh Johnson will end up after 2012.
Joel Sherman at the New York Post proposes an idea where the Commissoner's Office swallows one bad contract on each MLB team, and which he believes should go.

Boras: “No Compelling Reason” To Bench Magglio

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 20, 2009 at 2:21pm CDT

SATURDAY, 2:21pm: Tigers manager Jim Leyland shared some rather strong words with the media Saturday afternoon in response to Boras' comments: (Quotes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott).

"I'm very respectful of Scott Boras, but I'm not going to listen to his (nonsense)," Leyland said. "Scott Boras might be better off if he lets Magglio and myself handle this instead of him. … "This is about Magglio Ordonez and a manager trying to do something that he thinks may help and get him right. Is it the right thing? I don't know. But that is what this is about. And I'm not going to take shots from people in the newspaper that are untruths."

"If it's the truth and I'm wrong," the manager continued, "then go ahead and punch me in the jaw, but don't give me this (nonsense)."

FRIDAY, 5:43pm: Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports that Scott Boras says there's "no compelling reason" behind the Tigers' decision to bench Magglio Ordonez indefinitely. Boras called the move "myopic," providing many stats to show why Ordonez deserves to play. For example, he's hitting .301 over the course of the last 30 days.

Ordonez's contract calls for vesting options that would kick in depending on the number of times he bats this year, so the Tigers' decision to bench Ordonez seems financially motivated. He needs 215 plate appearances for an $18MM option to vest for 2010, and there's another $15MM at stake for 2011.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Tigers should release Ordonez instead of just benching him. As Rosenthal says, his .343 slugging percentage is hardly better than the numbers Rey Ordonez put up.

Odds & Ends: Chipper, Tigers, Padres, Diamondbacks

By Mike Axisa | June 20, 2009 at 12:16pm CDT

Some Saturday links…

Furman Bisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says it's time for the Braves to put Chipper Jones on the market.
The Tigers designated catcher Dane Sardinha for assignment to make room for righty Alfredo Figaro, according to CBSsports.com.
Nick Canepa of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that now is as good a time as any for the Padres to inject some youth into the team.
In addition to first rounder AJ Pollock, Nick Piecoro reports that the Diamondbacks have announced the signing of four draft picks, including supplemental first rounder Mike Belfiore.
CJ Nitkowski blogs that he and the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization have parted ways.
Rob Biertempfel reports that the Pirates signed another draft pick.

Leyland’s Contract Extended Through 2011

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 19, 2009 at 2:52pm CDT

ESPN.com's Amy Nelson reports that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski announced Jim Leyland has agreed to manage the team through 2011. Leyland says he's "absolutely flattered" by the deal, which he describes as a "total shock."

The Tigers lead the AL Central with a 35-31 record even though they've had next to no production from Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen (injured) or Gary Sheffield (now on the Mets), three hitters who were expected to contribute.

Leyland has led the Tigers to a 292-260 record over the course of his three and a half years in Detroit. The Tigers won the AL pennant in Leyland's first year, 2006.

Odds And Ends: Cuban, Harper, Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 19, 2009 at 12:57pm CDT

Tigers Bench Magglio Ordonez Indefinitely

By Howard Megdal | June 18, 2009 at 7:13pm CDT

News comes from Tom Gage of the Detroit News that the Tigers are benching Magglio Ordonez indefinitely.

Ordonez hasn't been terrible with the average or plate discipline, but his power has disappeared. His season line is .273/.347/.343 entering Thursday's game, and with two home runs all year, he simply hasn't been a middle-of-the-order hitter.

Between Ordonez's benching and the news that Carlos Guillen may not return this season, the Tigers are facing a power deficit. While they are in first place now, it is hard to imagine they will stay there all season without adding some offense.

Keep in mind, Ordonez receives $18MM in 2010 if he gets 135 starts or 540 plate appearances in 2009, or 270 starts or 1,080 plate appearances in 2008-2009 combined. Considering he had 144 starts and 623 plate appearances in 2008, that means his benchmarks are actually 126 starts or 457 plate appearances in 2009.

Consider that Ordonez is already at 57 starts, 242 plate appearances in 2009, and figure "indefinitely" will mean "most of the time" for the remainder of the season.

Teams Willing To Add Payroll

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 4:27pm CDT

Deep-pocketed teams like the Cubs and Yankees say they'll have trouble adding salary this year, and they're far from the only ones. Here's a quick list of teams that could add payroll:

Mike Ilitch's Red Wings just made it to the Stanley Cup final and he says the Tigers can add salary if it'll make them winners, too.
Earlier in the week we heard that the Phillies can take on payroll.
The Cardinals are in a position to add salary as well.
The Dodgers are spending $2.7MM less than expected this year because of the Manny Ramirez suspension. This could give them the flexibility to take on a contract.
The White Sox would have taken on payroll in the failed Jake Peavy trade.
The Mets have about $5MM in payroll flexibility.

Add any teams I've missed in the comments and we can flesh this list out.

Odds And Ends: Strasburg, Guillen, Smoltz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 17, 2009 at 2:19pm CDT

Links for Wednesday afternoon…

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball points out that a $5MM annual salary would place Stephen Strasburg within the top third of arbitration-eligible pitchers from last offseason.
John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press reports that Carlos Guillen will have to undergo season-ending surgery if his shoulder doesn't heal soon.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com looks at the impact John Smoltz's return will have on each of the five other Boston starters.
In an article for SI.com Joel Sherman argues the Indians shouldn't trade Cliff Lee this year. They can contend with Lee in 2010, if not this year, so Sherman says it makes sense to try to win with him.
Jorge Says No! outlines possible fire sales for the Nationals and Orioles.
Yankees first rounder Slade Heathcott and his agent were in New York last night, but the Yankees aren't expected to sign their selection quickly, according to Peter Abraham.

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