Tigers Rumors

Cafardo Rumors: Wigginton, Ibanez, Rodney

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 11:00pm CDT

A few rumors we missed from Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column…

The Indians would want a young closer type in return for catcher Kelly Shoppach.
The Tribe has Houston’s Ty Wigginton on the radar as a third base possibility. But then who would play third for the Astros?
The Yankees have been calling around aggressively, even inquiring on Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. They’re not available.
The Mets are said to be eyeing Raul Ibanez for left field.
The Tigers are dangling setup man Fernando Rodney, hoping to acquire a better closer. Jon Paul Morosi believes the Tigers might aim for a reliever they control for a year or two, as their in-house options should be ready by 2010.
A conflict might arise with the Angels hoping to sign Mark Teixeira quickly while Scott Boras plans to let the market develop.

NPB Rumors: Tazawa, Iwase, Iguchi

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 9:21pm CDT

Some Japanese baseball-related rumors, courtesy of Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker:

Seven teams have surfaced in Japanese media reports as suitors for free agent amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa: the Red Sox, Braves, Mariners, Pirates, Tigers, Cubs, and Phillies. David O’Brien of the AJC says the Braves are "legit players" for Tazawa. The Red Sox are seen as the frontrunner, according to Paul Hoynes. Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald agrees that Boston is in the lead, and adds the Marlins to the mix.
Reliever Hitoki Iwase will remain in Japan. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka is a free agent, but may not necessarily come to MLB.
So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi may return to Japan for the ’09 season.
Saburo Ohmura is a 32 centerfielder with an eye on MLB. Newman tells me he profiles as more of a fourth outfielder.

Odds and Ends: Pudge, Ohman, Manny

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 11:47am CDT

Rounding up linkage for Monday…

The Jays claimed two players off waivers: shortstop Angel Sanchez and pitcher Kelvin Jimenez.
The Cubs and Nationals swapped minor leaguers. The Cubs sent pitcher Matt Avery to the Nats for another pitcher named Ryan Buchter.
Good stuff from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick – he surveyed 15 front-office people on the top stories of the offseason.
One of a million conversations taking place at the GM meetings: Brian Cashman chatting with Walt Jocketty.
Tony Massarotti’s top five lies told during free agency.
Ken Davidoff names his top ten GMs.
Joe Posnanski on the Mike Jacobs–Leo Nunez trade.
River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees should offer arbitration to Ivan Rodriguez.
The official list of the 191 players eligible for free agency.
The Braves hope to re-sign free agents Will Ohman, Greg Norton, and John Smoltz. The Smoltz situation may not be resolved until January.
Tracy Ringolsby lists needs for every team.
The Tigers signed an independent league lefty named Kris Regas to a minor league deal.
John Shea says the Giants and A’s will consider the big-name free agent sluggers this winter.
Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t see Manny Ramirez signing until Christmas time. He sees the New York and L.A. teams as suitors.
Joe Sheehan proposes five radical offseason moves.
The Cubs signed a couple of Korean players: catcher/outfielder Jae-hoon Ha and pitcher Soo-min Jung.

Phillies’ Offseason Agenda

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 11:13am CDT

12:47pm: Scott Lauber has the latest from the Amaro press conference.

Manny Ramirez seems unlikely as a left field solution. Execs surveyed by Jerry Crasnick felt the same.
Burrell switched to a Philly-based agent, and talks will begin soon with the Phillies.
Pat Gillick will remain with the Phillies as a paid consultant.

11:13am: The Phillies locked up Ruben Amaro Jr. as their GM through 2011. Items on his to-do list:

Left fielder Pat Burrell could be back if he accepts a two-year deal. Otherwise, the Phils will kick the tires on Manny Ramirez, Matt Holliday, and Magglio Ordonez. Jim Salisbury also notes that the Phillies have long liked Rocco Baldelli. They’ve also been linked to Garrett Atkins.
Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard are in for large raises through arbitration; Amaro may attempt to sign them long-term.
Salisbury sees free agent lefties Jamie Moyer and Scott Eyre re-signing. Scott Lauber suggests the Phils don’t want to go beyond one year for Moyer, though.
The team had a $104MM payroll in ’08, and that is expected to increase.
The Phillies (along with the Tigers and Nationals) have interest in free agent utility man Pete Orr.

Cafardo’s Latest: Contract Swap Meet

By Nat Boyle | November 2, 2008 at 11:41am CDT

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wonders:

"I never really understood why there aren’t more "swap meet" type deals in baseball. As in, ’You take what I can’t use and I’ll take what you can’t use.’"

It’s a valid question if you believe a change of scenery can help a player and yet these deals rarely happen. Cafardo then goes on to list all of the players he considers "overpriced, underperforming, too old, or not useful to their present teams." Here’s the list:

Table 1, starting pitchers: Barry Zito (Giants); Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson (Tigers); Adam Eaton (Phillies); Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista, and Jarrod Washburn (Mariners); Daniel Cabrera (Orioles); Jeff Suppan (Brewers); Ian Kennedy and Kei Igawa (Yankees); Scott Olsen (Marlins).

Table 2, relief pitchers: Mike MacDougal (White Sox); Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoenweis (Mets); Jason Frasor (Blue Jays); Luis Vizcaino (Rockies); Kevin Gregg (Marlins); Justin Speier (Angels); Brandon Backe (Astros).

Table 3, infielders: Julio Lugo (Red Sox); Jack Wilson and Freddie Sanchez (Pirates); Scott Rolen (Blue Jays); Miguel Tejada (Astros); Melvin Mora (Orioles); Rickie Weeks and Bill Hall (Brewers); Mark Teahen and Ross Gload (Royals); Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young (Nationals); Luis Castillo (Mets).

Table 4, catchers: Yorvit Torrealba (Rockies); Ramon Hernandez (Orioles); Bengie Molina (Giants); Kenji Johjima (Mariners).

Table 5, outfielders: David Dellucci (Indians); Eric Byrnes (Diamondbacks); Nick Swisher (White Sox); Dave Roberts and Randy Winn (Giants); Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano (Cubs); Gary Sheffield (Tigers); Gary Matthews Jr. (Angels); Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena (Nationals); Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham (Marlins); Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera (Yankees); Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones (Dodgers); Willy Taveras (Rockies); Jeff Francoeur (Braves).

Cafardo says the reason we don’t see more of these "swaps" is that GMs fear ridicule if these deals don’t pan out for them and that matching salaries can be tricky.

He cites a few examples: Julio Lugo for Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis as being a possible – this has been discussed here before as a longshot idea. Or what about Kosuke Fukudome for Gary Matthews?

See anything better?

Rangers Want Pitcher For Catcher

By Nat Boyle | November 2, 2008 at 8:53am CDT

The Rangers are seeking to deal one of their three catchers – Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, or Max Ramirez – for pitching, says Evan Grant of the Dallas News. Grant notes that they would still have Taylor Teagarden, who they’re also open to dealing if "the return is great enough."

Grant discusses potential matches in the Giants, Red Sox, Brewers, Reds, and Tigers:

"San Francisco has pitching depth, and the Rangers love the Giants’ arms, but San Francisco has a more pressing need for a corner infielder than a catcher because Bengie Molina is signed for 2009. Getting a pitcher such as Matt Cain might require the Rangers to discuss trading Chris Davis. Boston, Milwaukee and Cincinnati, however, may be the best fits for a catcher-for-pitcher deal. Detroit also needs a catcher, but the Tigers’ system is quite thin at pitcher."

MLBTR discussed this on Friday, including Hank Blalock in the discussion as well as the Rangers’ interest in Scott Olsen.

Odds And Ends: Street, Schilling, Tigers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 1, 2008 at 12:44pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

Huston Street tries to ignore the chatter, but realizes he might be traded before the season starts.
Curt Schilling’s Red Sox career is probably over, writes MLB.com’s Ian Browne.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers are open to improving the team in creative ways, but he’s not looking to trade away the team’s "core players."
Other than Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga, there’s a whole lot of uncertainty in the Tigers’ 2009 rotation, writes Jon Paul Morosi.
It looks like the Mets won’t trade Carlos Delgado. Instead, they’ll focus on rebuilding their bullpen and improving in left field and at second base.
Junichi Tazawa will meet with the Mariners and Braves Tuesday. Now the Phillies are in the mix for his services, too.

Odds and Ends: Jacobs, Howard, Renteria

By Tim Dierkes | October 31, 2008 at 2:25pm CDT

Links for Friday…

The A’s claimed infielder Joe Dillon off waivers from the Brewers.
Dave Cameron criticizes the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs. ESPN’s Keith Law also panned the move, suggesting Jacobs was a non-tender candidate for the Marlins.
Peter Abraham breaks down the different types of hot stove stories and sources.
Derrick Goold looks at Ryan Howard’s arbitration case.
MLB.com’s Chris Haft talked to various scouts about Matt Cain’s trade value.
Edgar Renteria hopes to remain in Detroit, saying "Next year, we are going to win everything."
ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian names his top ten offseason storylines.
Ken Davidoff says the Mets were interested in Brad Lidge last year, but the Astros’ asking price was too high.
Joel Sherman debates the merits of a Luis Castillo–Andruw Jones swap while stressing that no such deal is actually being discussed.
The 2008 Fielding Bible awards are out.

Tigers Decline Renteria’s Option

By Tim Dierkes | October 30, 2008 at 11:45am CDT

The announcement was made a month ago, but today the Tigers officially declined Edgar Renteria’s $12MM option for 2009 (or $11MM – I’ve seen conflicting reports). It’s possible the Tigers re-sign Renteria at a lower salary. Will they offer him arbitration, since he profiles as a Type A free agent? Eddie Bajek notes that Renteria would prefer the Tigers decline to offer, making him more attractive to other teams.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Teixeira, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | October 30, 2008 at 9:00am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column yesterday; let’s take a look.

Rosenthal says the "expectation in some baseball circles" is that the Brewers will offer a four-year, $100MM contract to C.C. Sabathia. However, between the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers he could probably do significantly better.
Mark Teixeira should draw interest from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels. Rosenthal adds that Mike Lowell does not have a no-trade clause (I believe I wrote earlier that he did).
The Padres and Braves are at an impasse in the Jake Peavy talks, with the Padres seeking five players. The Braves don’t want to surrender Tommy Hanson, as Tom Krasovic reported Saturday.
Scott Boras is reportedly pitching Jason Varitek as the Tigers’ next catcher.
Rosenthal suggests that Manny Ramirez’s defense may keep NL teams away.

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