- Olney also writes that the Tigers could look further at the third tier of free-agent outfielders, listing names like Adam Duvall, Jay Bruce, Kevin Pillar, Tyler Naquin and Matt Joyce as potential fits. Detroit already inked Robbie Grossman to a two-year pact and will likely hand him the keys to an everyday gig in left field, but their outfield mix still isn’t quite settled. JaCoby Jones has shown flashes of high-quality play in center field but lacked consistency while battling injuries. Victor Reyes has had a nice run at the plate over the past couple of seasons but has yet to ever tally 300 MLB plate appearances in a given campaign. The Tigers have plenty of younger options in the form of Travis Demeritte, Daz Cameron, Derek Hill, Christin Stewart and Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo, but the first four all have minor league options remaining and Baddoo is no lock to make the club.
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Tigers Rumors
Tigers Designate Sergio Alcantara
The Tigers have designated infielder Sergio Alcantara for assignment, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets. His 40-man roster spot will go to newly signed catcher Wilson Ramos.
The Tigers acquired Alcantara from the Diamondbacks as part of the teams’ 2017 trade centering on outfielder/designated hitter J.D. Martinez. But Alcantara, who turned 24 last July, hasn’t amounted to much so far in the pros. He made his major league debut last season and batted a measly .143/.217/.381 with one home run.
While it’s hard to judge Alcantara based on the mere 23 plate appearances he totaled in the bigs in 2020, his minor league production also hasn’t been great. He has topped out at Double-A there and has slashed .256/.340/.318 in 2,611 trips to the plate.
Tigers Sign Wilson Ramos
JAN. 29: The Tigers have announced the signing.
JAN. 26: The Tigers have reached an agreement with free agent catcher Wilson Ramos on a one-year, $2MM deal, per José F. Fivera of Wow Deportes (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network confirms the deal (via Twitter). The team has not yet announced the deal, as it’s pending a physical, but the deal is done, as posted by his agent, tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com.
Ramos returns to the American League Central for the first time since beginning his career with the Minnesota Twins. Since his debut in 2010, Ramos has accrued 3,623 plate appearances across 946 games for the Twins, Nationals, Rays, Phillies, and Mets. “Buffalo” was a popular player and borderline star in the District, but an injury while in the final stages of arbitration prompted the Nats to let him walk in free agency. The Rays, ever in need of catching help, took a flyer on Ramos, allowing him to rehab and return midway through the 2017 season. He was an All-Star for the Rays in 2018 for the second time of his career.
The 33-year-old backstop spent last season with the Mets, slashing .239/.297/.387 across 155 plate appearances. He boasts a solid 103 wRC+ mark for his career with .160 ISO, 16.6 strikeout rate and 6.5 percent walk rate. He’ll have a chance to compete for “QB1” reps in Detroit. Grayson Greiner, Jake Rogers, Dustin Garneau, and Eric Haase will share the catchers room in the spring. Only Ramos, Greiner, and Rogers are currently on the 40-man roster. Signing Ramos buys some time for Rogers, should they want more time for the 25-year-old to develop. Per Fangraphs, Rogers was the top-ranked catcher in the Tigers system going into 2020.
Nationals To Sign Alex Avila
The Nationals and free-agent catcher Alex Avila have reached a one-year agreement, pending a physical, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Avila is a client of Excel Sports Management.
Washington will be the sixth major league team for Avila, who will turn 34 on Friday. Most of Avila’s career has been spent in Detroit, which Jon Heyman of MLB Network notes vied for a reunion this offseason, but he was a member of the Twins last season. Avila has typically been known for logging low batting averages and high on-base percentages, and he did just that in Minnesota, with which he batted .184/.355/.286 with one home run in 62 plate appearances. The total lack of power was out of the norm for Avila, who has posted a .394 slugging percentage and swatted 104 homers across 3,527 trips to the plate in the majors.
Most of the damage the left-handed Avila has done on offense has come off righty pitchers, and he should get the majority of his playing time against them in 2021. Avila will complement the Nationals’ starting backstop, Yan Gomes, who bats from the right side. Notably, Gomes has fared much better at the plate versus lefties than righties throughout his career. He and Avila could make up a formidable offensive tandem if they perform the way they usually do offensively.
On the defensive side, Avila had difficulty as a pitch framer last season, ranking in Statcast’s 31st percentile in that category. However, Avila has never had much trouble throwing out would-be base stealers. His lifetime 30 percent caught-stealing rate checks in a few points above the league average. As Jessica Camerato of MLB.com points out, Avila will catch past teammates in Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Jon Lester in D.C.
Infield Notes: Phillies, Simmons, Wong, Tigers, Paredes
The Phillies narrowed their focus on Andrelton Simmons before he signed with the Twins this afternoon, writes Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Didi Gregorius remains in play to return, but he may not be so keen on another one-year deal. Regardless, the Phillies prefer not to move Jean Segura back to short, notes Lauber. Even with Gregorius more-or-less the only remaining starting shortstop on the market, Segura’s presence, as well as Scott Kingery, means they don’t have to panic on an overpay. Should they ultimately strike out on Gregorius, Jonathan Villar and Hanser Alberto lurk as free agents, or the Phils could turn to the trade market to make a play for either Trevor Story of the Rockies or Javier Baez of the Cubs. Neither club has seemed particularly likely to move their star shortstop, but Phillies’ president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski might be the guy to convince them. Let’s check in on some other infield news…
- With middle infielders flying off the shelves, Kolten Wong is seeing an uptick in interest, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). The ace defensive second baseman has seen at least preliminary interest from the Tigers, Mariners, Rays, Cubs, Phillies, and Cardinals, with whom he’s spent his entire career. Wong’s power disappeared in 2020, slashing .265/.350/.326, but he won a second consecutive Gold Glove Award and continued to be an on-base presence for the Cardinals. Wong has quietly posted 3.3 bWAR per 600 plate appearances throughout his career, and as he enters his age-30 season, he could prove one of the more impactful free agents remaining on the market.
- The Tigers plan on experimenting with Isaac Paredes at second base, writes Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Paredes is penciled in as the Tigers’ everyday third baseman, but manager A.J. Hinch said basically that there is no harm in expanding the 21-year-old’s skill set. He’s been on fire playing winter ball, and with Jeimer Candelario having a big season in 2020 (and Spencer Torkelson on his way to claim one of the infield corners,) it’s certainly worth testing the limits of Paredes’ defensive abilities.
Tigers To Sign Derek Holland
JAN 26: If Holland makes the Major League team, he will make $925K with the potential for another $150K in incentives, per Petzold (via Twitter). He will also have opportunities to opt out of the contract should he not make the Major League team, though the exact conditions of those opt-outs are unclear.
JAN 23: Derek Holland is a Detroit Tiger, he announced via his Twitter bio. The veteran lefty will join the Tigers on a minor league deal, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The Tigers will invite Holland to Major League camp with the intention of utilizing him out of the bullpen, notes Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The deal has not been announced by the club.
The well-traveled southpaw spent 2020 with the Pirates after previous stops on the Cubs, Giants, White Sox and Rangers. He’s best known for his eight-year stay with the Rangers from 2009 to 2016. He spent much of that time in the Rangers’ rotation, including one start in the 2011 World Series. Holland went 8 1/3 innings giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out seven to beat the Cardinals 4-0. Though that series didn’t end as planned for the Rangers, Holland’s performance in that game four win certainly marked a highlight for the then-25-year-old. Holland was a bit of a breakout star on that 2011 pennant-winning team, throwing 198 innings with a 3.95 ERA/3.94 FIP and 3.1 fWAR.
His best overall season would come two years later. During that 4.5 fWAR 2013 campaign, Holland logged 213 innings with a 3.42 ERA/3.44 FIP, 40.8 percent groundball rate, 21.1 percent strikeout rate, and 7.2 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, Holland’s career took a turn the following season when left knee surgery cut his season to just 37 innings. Shoulder problems limited his 2016 season to 10 starts and 58 2/3 innings as his run prevention numbers rose to a 4.91 ERA/5.30 FIP.
Holland has since settled in as a swingman, primarily working out of the bullpen the past two seasons. He made five starts and seven bullpen appearances for the Pirates in 2020, finishing with a 6.86 ERA/6.14 FIP. Though those numbers don’t offer much promise, and batted ball metrics show he’s been hit hard the past two years, he did log a solid 25.1 percent strikeout rate and 8.4 percent walk rate.
Tigers Notes: Paredes, Catching
- Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) that the team might give Isaac Paredes a look as a second baseman, as “there’s no harm in trying” to see if Paredes can contribute at another position. Paredes was used exclusively as a third baseman during his 2020 rookie season, but he has made 27 starts as a second baseman in the minors and also quite a bit of time at the keystone in the Mexican Winter League. Paredes would seemingly be Detroit’s top choice as the regular third baseman in 2021, though there is some flexibility given that Niko Goodrum, Harold Castro, and Sergio Alcantara can all play multiple positions.
- Also from Hinch, “in an ideal world, there’s somebody out there who can help us” at catcher, though Hinch stopped short of saying that the Tigers will definitely look to add a new face to the current catching mix. Grayson Greiner, Jake Rogers, Eric Haase, and minor league signing Dustin Garneau comprise the Tigers’ choices behind the plate.
Minor Transactions: 1/23/21
The latest minor moves from around the game…
- Former Nationals farmhand Drew Ward has signed a minor league deal with the Tigers, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The 26-year-old was a third round pick by the Nats back in 2013. He posted a 105 wRC+ in Triple-A and 139 wRC+ in Double-A during the 2019 season for the Nats. He consistently posted solid offensive numbers on his march through the Nats’ system, though his walk rate fell below average in 2019 as his strikeout rate shot up close to an unsightly 40 percent. The lefty bat can play both infield corners and serve as depth in that regard for the Tigers. It should be noted that while Ward’s walk rate and strikeout rate worsened in 2019, Ward’s isolated power numbers proved the best of his young career. If an approach shift resulted in selling out for power more often than not, Ward at least registered a .232 ISO across 205 plate appearances in Double-A and .270 ISO in 117 Triple-A plate appearances. Not to mention, Ward slashed a robust .335/.407/.633 with a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 9.3 percent walk rate while playing Indy ball in 2020.
Tigers Rumors: Marwin, Moreland
- The Tigers have shown interest in free-agent utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Signing with Detroit would reunite Gonzalez with new manager A.J. Hinch, who was the Astros’ skipper during part of Gonzalez’s time in Houston. Gonzalez had his best year in 2017 under Hinch, which was also a World Series-winning campaign for the Astros. The success Gonzalez had as an Astro led the Twins to sign him to a two-year, $21MM contract going into 2019, but the club didn’t get great value from that investment. The switch-hitting 31-year-old batted an underwhelming .248/.311/.387 in 662 plate appearances with Minnesota, though he did continue to provide defensive versatility. He saw at least some action at first, second, third, short and both outfield positions as a Twin.
- Along with Gonzalez, the Tigers are interested in first baseman Mitch Moreland, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Moreland has been on the market since the Padres declined his $3MM option at the start of the offseason. The 35-year-old divided last season between San Diego and Boston, with which he combined for a strong .265/.342/.551 line and 10 home runs in 152 plate appearances. Moreland’s production did plummet as the year progressed, though.
Tigers Interested In Jason Castro
- The Tigers have interest in free-agent catcher Jason Castro, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. As Morosi notes, Castro played under new Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch for two seasons when he was the Astros’ manager. The 33-year-old Castro would give the Tigers a credible veteran at catcher, where Grayson Greiner and Jake Rogers – who have struggled in the majors – are the only 40-man options on the roster right now. Castro, who divided last season between the Angels and Padres, looked to be nearing a reunion with Houston late last month, but things have gone silent on that front in recent weeks.
