Tigers Rumors

Tigers May Need To Trade Magglio

By Tim Dierkes | October 28, 2008 at 11:21am CDT

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News looks at the Tigers’ offseason situation this morning. The Tigers need help in the bullpen and at shortstop and catcher. They don’t have the payroll room to support this shopping list, so a trade of Magglio Ordonez may be necessary.

Ordonez, 35 in January, hit .317/.376/.494 in 623 plate appearances this year. Assuming 457 plate appearances in 2009, Ordonez is owed $51MM over the next three seasons ($17MM per year on average). That’s about market value. Henning says the Tigers could trade Ordonez mainly for salary relief, or eat money to get better players in return. My guess at possible suitors: the Rays, Reds, and Phillies.

Henning figures that money, as opposed to lost draft picks, might make it difficult for the Tigers to wade into the free agent market to fill their needs.

Odds and Ends: Hughes, Tigers, Affeldt

By Tim Dierkes | October 27, 2008 at 12:58pm CDT

Links for Monday…

I’m working on this year’s Top 50 Free Agents list, with predicted destinations. It’s always a tough puzzle to assemble. Anyone have educated guesses on where Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez, Braden Looper, and Jon Garland might sign?
MLB.com’s Mychael Urban believes Mark Mulder would like to return to the A’s, but the team may not be interested. Plus, Mulder isn’t even considering destinations until he is healthy.
Japanese free agent pitcher Kenshin Kawakami hired American agent Tony Attanasio. The Red Sox may be interested.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes the Yankees to task for their unwillingness to include Phil Hughes in a Johan Santana package.
Tigers officials are meeting in Detroit for four days to discuss trade possibilities.
MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel explains why a Luis Castillo for Jose Guillen swap is unlikely.
Dave Cameron considers Jeremy Affeldt a possible free agent bargain. He could be underrated, but not a bargain if he renews last year’s desire for a four or five-year deal.

Another Year For Rogers?

By Steve Adams | October 26, 2008 at 3:05pm CDT

Jon Paul Morosi at the Detroit Free Press writes that Kenny Rogers has not ruled out pitching again in 2009.

Rogers, who will turn 44 in November, says his arm feels stronger than it has in the past, and that his hip injury from the 2008 season has healed.

"I know I can pitch. I could go out and have a great year next year. It can happen."

Rogers says that the Tigers’ disappointing season is on the players, and not on the front office or Jim Leyland and his coaching staff. It’s hard to argue with that thought, as the struggles by Justin Verlander, Gary Sheffield, Nate Robertson, the entire bullpen, and Rogers himself resulted in a last-place finish for a team that was thought to be a dominant player in the AL Central coming into this season. Perhaps Rogers’ feeling that the Tigers had the talent to win will be enough to make him come back for one more try?

Morosi notes that Rogers will certainly not earn the $8MM he earned in 2008, and instead suggests a reasonable $2MM base salary with several incentives. The Tigers desperately need pitching, but are attempting to cut payroll at the same time. Bringing back Rogers on such a deal could potentially have nice benefits, if he does indeed have something left in the tank.

Rogers went 9-13 in 2008 with a 5.70 ERA. He has not ruled out pitching somewhere other than Detroit if he does decide to return.

Odds and Ends: Springer, Sheffield, Bonds

By Tim Dierkes | October 18, 2008 at 9:54pm CDT

How about some weekend odds and ends?

Free agent reliever Russ Springer intends to pitch next year, and he prefers the Cardinals. The Cards haven’t discussed a contract with him, though, and they might prefer their younger (and cheaper) righthanded relievers.
Dave Cameron thinks Nate Robertson might be a sleeper, based on his peripheral stats. Boof Bonser is another pitcher whose ERA didn’t match up with his other numbers this year.
Peter Woodfork apparently bowed out of the Mariners GM job competition after his interview. The Ms could decide between Tony LaCava, Jerry DiPoto, Kim Ng, and Jack Zduriencik by Tuesday.
Scott Boras won a $550K decision against former client Gary Sheffield. Will Sheff make good on his February promise to say "ugly things" about Boras now?
Phil Rogers speculates on Manny Ramirez in a Cubs uniform, but admits they’d have to somehow move Alfonso Soriano first. Small obstacle: $106MM owed to Soriano over the next six years, plus his full no-trade clause.
Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Barry Bonds could be awarded $100MM or more if the players union wins its collusion case. Bonds would like to play in 2009, but no one expects it.

Final Interviews For Mariners GM Job

By Tim Dierkes | October 16, 2008 at 12:05pm CDT

12:05pm: Baker and Stone learned of a fourth final candidate for the Mariners GM job: Jack Zduriencik of the Brewers.

10:19am: According to Geoff Baker and Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, the Mariners are bringing back Jerry DiPoto, Tony LaCava, and Kim Ng for second interviews for their GM position. Peter Woodfork, Tony Bernazard, and Lee Pelekoudas did not make the cut. Furthermore, Baker believes DiPoto and LaCava have a leg up on Ng.

Tigers assistant GM Al Avila talked to the Tigers about his future before the Ms asked for permission to interview him, and now has an extension through 2011.

Odds and Ends: Castillo, Avila, Young

By Tim Dierkes | October 15, 2008 at 11:28am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
Mets GM Omar Minaya regrets the Luis Castillo contract. In another post, Minaya admits that in an ideal world he wouldn’t have to give multiyear deals to relievers, but that’s the way it is.
The Tigers decided not to allow the Mariners to interview assistant GM Al Avila.
Outfielder Luis Gonzalez would be open to re-signing with the Marlins, but it doesn’t seem likely. Gonzo hopes to play in 2009, as he’d like to reach certain statistical milestones.
Viva El Birdos examines the Cardinals’ trade chips.
Charley Walters wouldn’t be surprised if the Twins have trade talks with the Giants regarding Delmon Young. The Giants seem more likely to pursue a slugging infielder, however.

Odds and Ends: Gillick, Cashman, Burnett

By Joe Pawlikowski | October 14, 2008 at 12:16pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

Tim’s chat will be moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
J.C. Bradbury thinks A.J. Burnett would be wise to accept Toronto’s two-year, $30MM extension offer.
Ken Rosenthal examines the Caucasian-ness of the Red Sox roster, and what it could mean to their free agent targets.
The AL free agent catchers list is done at Detroit Tigers Thoughts. Eddie has Ivan Rodriguez as the last Type A, though that’s not concrete.
Sox Machine tries to determine the trade value of the White Sox roster. They consider John Danks, Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham, and Aaron Poreda basically untouchable.
The Tigers will start looking for a new pitching coach today, though the candidates are unknown.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks Brian Cashman should hire soon-to-be-ex-Phillies’ GM Pat Gillick as a consultant. Surprisingly, Sherman never mentions that Gillick worked with the Yankees in the past. He was their scouting director in 1975 and 1976 before moving onto the Blue Jays.
Craig at Fishstripes looks at the ridiculous Dan Uggla and Scott Olsen for Yorvit Torrealba and a pitching prospect speculation, which appeared on MLB.com.

Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres

By Tim Dierkes | October 10, 2008 at 1:56pm CDT

Links for Friday…

The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.

Predicting the Tigers Offseason

By Joe Pawlikowski | October 6, 2008 at 11:38am CDT

Tim has already broken down the Tigers situation, noting that they already have $115 million tied up in players for 2009, not counting arbitration raises. With speculation that the team could reduce their payroll by $40MM from the team’s $137.7MM Opening Day 2008 figure, that could mean some big changes. This is no good for a team that finished in the cellar.

Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press takes a look at the Tigers situation and makes five predictions for what could happen. Let’s take a look at what he’s come up with:

First, he doesn’t think J.J. Hardy will be manning the six-hole for the Tigers. His name has been bandied about, since Milwaukee has Alcides Escobar in the pipeline. The Brewers would likely require starting pitching in return, which the Tigers don’t have. Morosi finds fault in each of the free agent shortstop options as well.
Morosi thinks that Jim Leyland wants an experienced catcher for 2009, rather than going with internal option Dusty Ryan from the get-go. He mentions Arizona’s Miguel Montero, and then, of course, moves to Texas and their surplus. Gerald Laird could be a good fit, though it’s not known what the Rangers would want in return.
The Tigers could also look to the Rangers for a shortstop. They have Elvis Andrus and Joaquin Arias in the pipeline, as well as Michael Young, whose five-year, $80MM extension just begins kicking in for 2009. To get a catcher and a shortstop from Texas, I would imagine, wouldn’t happen without the inclusion of Rick Porcello.
Following in the White Sox footsteps, the Tigers could pick up some free agent parts to fill out their bullpen. Wil Ohman will be a free agent, as will Brandon Lyon. The Yankees could decline Damaso Marte’s option as well. Since the Tigers finished in the bottom 15, they wouldn’t lose a first rounder for signing the probable Type-A.
Finally, Morosi thinks that the Tigers will shop Magglio Ordonez, but not find the right price. It would, however, server the purpose of reducing payroll and plugging other holes. Leyland says the team would have to be blown away by an offer, though.

Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper

By Tim Dierkes | September 29, 2008 at 3:02pm CDT

Let’s gather up today’s linkage.

Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan’s record of playing for 12 different teams.
Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.

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