Tigers Rumors

Odds and Ends: Bautista, Uehara, Pavano

By Tim Dierkes | June 24, 2008 at 11:14am CDT

I tried busting out my old Super Nintendo last night, to see if I am still the Mario Kart stud I once was. The console didn’t work right though, so I ordered something called the FC Twin. It’s a console that came out a few years ago when Nintendo’s patent expired; it plays both NES and SNES games. I’m excited! On to the hot stove links.

We’ll be doing our usual live chat here today at 2pm CST.
The A’s don’t anticipate any problems in signing top draft pick Jemile Weeks. And the D’Backs are nearing a deal with their top choice, Daniel Schlereth.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is working to trade recently-designated reliever Denny Bautista. He’s optimistic. There is a general tone of optimism in this entire odds and ends post, in fact.
NPB Tracker has an in-depth look at Koji Uehara, who will finally get his wish of trying MLB in ’09.
Steven Goldman thinks it’s time for the Yankees to trade Melky Cabrera, who seems a bit of a tweener. Might be better to trade him amid a hot streak though. At least that’s what I do in fantasy baseball!
Yankee whipping boy Carl Pavano could actually be around in August.
MLB.com’s Jim Molony appeared on their Whip Around program (the 6/23 link). He mentioned that he doesn’t expect the Brewers to make a major acquisition.
Speaking of MLB.com, they’ve got a new Trade Talk blog up where various beat writers have weighed in.

Rays Promote Price to Double A

By Steve Adams | June 22, 2008 at 4:00pm CDT

MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli writes that the Tampa Bay Rays have promoted David Price to Double A Montgomery. Price, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, is on the fast-track to the Major Leagues, and there has been speculation that he could join the big league club before season’s end. This most recent promotion could be a step towards that outcome.

Price made six starts for Class A Vero Beach, going 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA and posting a brilliant 37:7 K:BB ratio in 34.2 IP. He could start for Montgomery as soon as Thursday.

A lot could happen over the next month or two, but if Price continues to baffle minor league hitters, he could shoot up to the Major Leagues quickly and be a factor as the Rays try to secure a spot in the postseason. Remember, Andrew Miller didn’t even have a month’s worth of experience when the Tigers brought him up to the big league club back in 2006.

Posted by Steve Adams

Odds & Ends: Hill, Lowe, Renteria

By Nat Boyle | June 22, 2008 at 10:58am CDT

Some musings from the central divisions:

In this piece by Gordon Wittenmyer covering Carlos Zambrano’s shoulder strain, the Cubs may be forced to shut down Rich Hill. Hill failed to get through the first inning for Triple-A Iowa start on Friday, recording 2 outs while giving up 6 ER and 4 BB, and the Cubs simply want to give him an extended mental break. This may turn up the flames even further on the Cubs pursuit of a front line starter.
For what it’s worth, Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press says Derek Lowe is unlikely to become a Tiger this season.
Will another AL club give up on Edgar Renteria after a year? In another piece, Morosi thinks Renteria could wind up staying with Detroit despite his $11MM club option and his batting average dropping over .060 points. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland both speak favorably of Renteria as a player and as a guy in the clubhouse. Still, possible free agent replacements do exist so this is worth monitoring.

By Nat Boyle

Denny Bautista Designated

By Tim Dierkes | June 20, 2008 at 4:39pm CDT

To make room for Joel Zumaya, the Tigers designated reliever Denny Bautista for assignment today. Jon Paul Morosi says the Tigers tried to make a deal in advance but couldn’t do it.

Bautista, 25, has already been with five organizations. He hasn’t had much success, but he can throw hard.

Odds and Ends: Kouzmanoff, Ricciardi, Wilson

By Tim Dierkes | June 20, 2008 at 11:26am CDT

Today’s linkage…

Athletics Nation proposes a couple of deals for the A’s.
RotoAuthority looks at Reds rookie pitcher Daryl Thompson, who draws a tough debut assignment on Saturday.
CBS Sports’ Scott Miller expects Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to be traded this summer. Kouzmanoff, 27 in July, is hitting .268/.328/.476 in 42 games following another lousy April.
J.P. Ricciardi apologized for his comments about Adam Dunn.
From the What Might’ve Been File: the Tigers offered Jair Jurrjens for Jack Wilson about a year ago. Nice to see that .500 will not be a goal for the Bucs, by the way.
Ken Rosenthal says "a potential selloff of veterans is on hold" for the Orioles right now, as the team is only 5.5 games out of the wild card.

Odds and Ends: Fujikawa, Inge, Haren, Jacque

By Tim Dierkes | June 17, 2008 at 1:26pm CDT

Today’s collection of links…

SI.com’s Jon Heyman does not believe Omar Minaya’s job is in jeopardy.
New blog to check out: NPB Tracker. Patrick’s goal is to provide a reliable source of information on Japanese leagues to an American audience. He’s already got a name for us to watch: reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. He’d like to be posted, but that’s up to the Hanshin Tigers.
Brandon Inge is up for full-time catching in ’09, even if it’s not his preference.
The D’Backs discussed an extension with Dan Haren, but talks broke off. They could rekindle. He’s signed cheaply through 2010 already.
The Tigers would’ve been interested in Barry Bonds if they didn’t have Gary Sheffield, according to Jim Leyland.
Jacque Jones has cleared waivers but hasn’t decided whether to accept a minor league assignment from the Marlins.
RotoAuthority looks at Chase Headley from a fantasy perspective.
Pretty interesting comments from Bill Bavasi on Erik Bedard. Watch video of Bavasi’s press conference here.

Tigers Interested In Freddy Garcia

By Tim Dierkes | June 17, 2008 at 10:18am CDT

Who said the Tigers were sellers? According to Jon Paul Morosi, they’ve contacted Freddy Garcia’s agent to express interest. At 6.5 games out, the Tigers have roughly a 15% chance at making the playoffs (not unlike the Mets).

Garcia is coming back from shoulder surgery, and if all goes according to plan he could reach a Major League mound in late August. It’s important that he makes it before September so that he’s playoff-eligible. Morosi notes that Detroit is a good fit for Garcia, given his friendship with Carlos Guillen and the team’s Venezuelan leanings.

On May 16th, Buster Olney said at least seven teams were monitoring Garcia: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, and Mariners. The Indians also had past interest. We can probably take the Ms off the list now.

Odds and Ends: Viciedo, Broussard, Rincon, Threets

By Tim Dierkes | June 12, 2008 at 11:35am CDT

Time to round ’em up.

The A’s are leading the charge for international free agent pitcher Michael Inoa; they could offer him $4MM. All teams have scouted him.
MLB.com’s Jim Molony names the Astros, Yankees, Cardinals, Angels, Mets, and Pirates as teams considering Cuban defector Dayan Viciedo (assuming he becomes a free agent).
The Orioles would like to sign Ben Broussard, if he’ll accept a minor league assignment. Broussard if mulling his options and should sign within 24 hours. He could step in if the Orioles trade Kevin Millar.
Jeff Weaver has been released by the Brewers. Weaver’s lost it; he has a 6.22 ERA in nine Triple A starts.
The Twins have asked Juan Rincon to accept a minor league assignment. If he refuses, the Twins will be on the hook for his salary and he’ll become a free agent. Rincon’s last decent year was 2006.
No team was willing to keep lefty reliever Erick Threets in the Majors. He cleared waivers and will head to Triple A as a member of the Giants organization.
Andy Pettitte wouldn’t commit, but admitted it’d be a "joy and an honor" to pitch at the new Yankee Stadium next year.
Tigers backup catcher Vance Wilson may retire after a setback in his elbow recovery.

Considering A Tigers Fire Sale

By Tim Dierkes | June 11, 2008 at 9:52am CDT

The Tigers are ten games out in the AL Central, 10.5 out of the Wild Card. Jon Heyman talks of fire sale speculation, but he doesn’t know where they’d start. Lynn Henning has ideas, though. Let’s discuss the trade candidates.

Magglio Ordonez, RF. Henning thinks dealing him makes sense, since the Tigers have replacement options. He earns $15MM this year and $18MM in ’09 with possible expensive vesting options for ’10 and ’11. He also has limited no-trade protection. Brian Giles or Xavier Nady might be more sensible targets teams in need of right field help.
Ivan Rodriguez, C. It appears that Rodriguez also has no-trade protection. He’s been reduced to a platoon and earns $13MM.
Edgar Renteria, SS. Renteria has an $11MM club option for ’09 with a $3MM buyout. It appears that the Red Sox may be on the hook for the buyout though. Renteria isn’t hitting much and his defense is not rated highly.
Todd Jones, RP. Teams will be wary of his 0.82 K/BB ratio. He wouldn’t bring much of a return.
Brandon Inge, 3B/C. Unless the Tigers acquire a catcher have a free agent target in mind, they may want Inge around for ’09.
Placido Polanco, 2B. He’s having a decent year and is signed through ’09 at $4.6MM per year. He may actually have some trade value.
Nate Robertson, SP. Robertson earns $4.25MM in ’08, $7MM in ’09, and $10-11MM in ’10. He has a fairly respectable 2.2 K/BB despite his 5.88 ERA. He has value, but a trade would mostly be a salary dump.
Kenny Rogers, SP. He makes $8-10MM this year. He’s made all his starts but has not impressed.
After this exercise I can see what Heyman meant. The Tigers’ veterans don’t have much trade value.

Ivan Rodriguez To Lose Playing Time

By Tim Dierkes | June 9, 2008 at 9:45pm CDT

Ivan Rodriguez, the Tigers’ $13MM catcher, will now be used in a platoon with Brandon Inge. They’ll alternate starts behind the plate.

Rodriguez, 36, is hitting .245 (AVG)/.286 (OBP)/.349 (SLG) in 208 plate appearances. This didn’t come out of nowhere – PECOTA had him at .267/.295/.390. PECOTA is a projection system developed by Baseball Prospectus. The PECOTA system uses comparable players to make its estimates.

Hot stove implications of Jim Leyland’s new plan: the Tigers will learn if Brandon Inge can be their everyday catcher in 2009 (Inge is signed through 2010). If not, the Tigers seem more likely to explore the free agent market than to re-sign Pudge. What a difference a few months can make – last offseason the Tigers exercised Rodriguez’s $13MM option and tried to trade Inge.

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