Category Archives: Trades

Free Agents, Minors, Trade Rumors, Trades, Winter Meetings

Winter Meetings Day 4

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The last day of a very active winter meetings for Tigers fans is upon us. A look at what took place yesterday and what may take place today follows.

This should be old hat by now, but here are all the ways to keep up with the Winter Meetings at DTW.

Trades, Winter Meetings

More notes on the trade

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UPDATE 7:30 PM: Freddy Dolsi and Dusty Ryan were designated for assignment. I’m surprised by both moves with other seemingly expendable players on the 40 man roster…Jason Beck spoke with Gerald Laird and got his take…Beck also spoke with Dombrowski and Phil Coke’s role has been left open…Danny Knobler sees the Tigers as potentially big spenders after this season.

UPDATE: 4:50 PM: The press conference just ended Dave Dombrowski fielded most of the questions. Here are the notes:

  • Dombrowski: team needed to make adjustments. Wanted to get a young starter and a young centerfielder to start. Team is trying to stay competitive and set themselves up for the future.
  • On Schlereth: He was a player the team considered drafting in 2008. For the Diamondbacks to include him, they were going to need a second arm which brought in the Yankees.
  • On Austin Jackson: they are counting on Jackson to make the big league club. They have been scouting him for a while. “Jim Leyland breaks in young players as well as anybody.”
  • Cashman on Granderson: After speaking about how hard it was to give up the young players that they did he went on to say he’s a premiere player and an exceptional character guy. He can step in right away as an established player which was important with potential departure of Damon and Matsui
  • Dombrowski on trading Granderson and his popularity: It’s difficult and he told Granderson it was one of the more difficult calls he’s made in his career. Granderson has meant a lot to the franchise, the city, and the state but it is a business decision. He’s a unique individual. Hope is that they have acquired more players that the fans will learn to love.

UPDATE: 4:08 PM: Now pretty much every writer says its official and the presser comes at 4:30. Also John Lowe has a story on Leyland’s media session this afternoon and his concerns about the youth of the team and the right handedness of the lineup.

UPDATE 3:35 PM: Joel Sherman just tweeted that the trade is official. Expect press releases and a news conference very shortly.

UPDATE: 2:10 It sounds as if Jim Leyland is holding court with some reporters at the moment. Kevin ‘Duk Kaduk of Big League Stew (@bigleaguestew) has been tweeting the notes. Leyland is frustrated to be talking about players he used to have and is worried his lineup is too right handed. Sounds like a familiar refrain.

It looks like there will be plenty of news, notes, and opinion on the trade that will come out today – along with a formal announcement and quotes galore. I’ll use this post to try and capture some of the more salient information.

As of 11:15 AM what’s being reported is:

Roster Management, Trade Rumors, Trades, Winter Meetings

Winter Meetings Day 3

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As Tigers fans let us just hope that today is relatively boring. The Tigers will remain active and the roster will continue to change but hopefully we’re done with franchise-type players leaving. In the meantime here’s a recap of what happened yesterday – including some late notes – as well as a look at what may happen today.

Trades, Winter Meetings

Wrapping up the trade

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After some extensive reflection I’ve come to the conclusion that this deal will never really sit well with me. By never I don’t actually mean for eternity, but at least until the fruits of the trade bear some sort of championship or something. That isn’t a reflection on the players the Tigers received, more on the circumstances and the players they let go. Still, there are ends to tie up and dots to connect and other miscellany in need of blogging.

Roster Moves

The Tigers are plus 2 on their 40 man roster once this deal is made official. Jon Morosi tweeted that the Tigers have let it be known that Bobby Seay, Dusty Ryan, and Jeff Larish are on the trade block.

I can see trying to get something for players who aren’t in the plans, and it’s clear that Ryan isn’t a Jim Leyland favorite (and they signed Robinzon Diaz to a minor league deal today), but why hold space on the roster for Dontrelle Willis or Don Kelly?

Continue reading Wrapping up the trade →

Trades, Winter Meetings

What the Tigers got

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As unpleasant as giving up Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson is, the Tigers did manage to net themselves a handful of players who will be able to help in 2010. For the most part these aren’t prospects where fans need to hope that they pan out. The Tigers added a starting pitcher, 2 bullpen arms, and hopefully a centerfielder for the near future.

Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer is headliner of the group and he will take over Edwin Jackson’s spot in the rotation. Scherzer is a year younger than Jackson, but with only a year and a half of service time he won’t reach free agency until the 2015 season. The righty was Arizona’s top pick in the 2006 draft.

In 2009 Scherzer fanned better than a batter an inning and his 3.87 FIP was impressive. He’s a fastball (94ish), slider (84ish), change-up pitcher (85ish). Even if ‘09 was a breakout year for Jackson, Scherzer’s year was better.

Plus Scherzer is sabermetrically inclined so that should be fun.

Scherzer image credit: tunnelarmr on Flickr Continue reading What the Tigers got →

Trades, Winter Meetings

The trade: the emotional response

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I have some time I figure to take a look at what the Tigers have surrendered and what the Tigers are getting. Will look not just at the numbers, but at the finances and other potential ramifications. That is done better with a clear head. But first….first there is the grieving.

In 2002 the Tigers drafted a kid out of Chicago in the 3rd round. A hard worker this guy was. He didn’t have the one stand out tool, but he managed to do everything pretty well. For that reason he was always overlooked a little bit on various prospect lists.

After working his way through the Tigers system, improving at every stop he got a September call-up. Due to a variety of roster machinations and injuries he got a chance to show his stuff in 2005. I was there when he got that first 2005 start and I remember sitting with my buddy Russ who was asking about the new guy. I explained he could hit pretty good and he could run pretty good and he was a solid defender. After watching him stroke a triple Russ turned to me and said, “I’ll say he can run pretty good.”

In 2006 Curtis Granderson was the Tigers starting centerfielder on Opening Day in Kansas City. I remember interviews where he talked about his feeling when he was out there for the National Anthem and how he felt he had really made it at that point.

He became a key part of the magical 2006 team that made baseball relevant again in Detroit. For many of you reading this you wouldn’t even be on this site were it not for his contributions. He had a big series against he Yankees in the playoffs, but I mostly remember him for hitting a game-tying homer in the 9th inning against the Reds that year. As the season wore on though he became a regular target for quotes on Fox Sports coverage because he was so well spoken, humble, and affable.

When Tigers fan Brian Bluhm was killed in the Virginia Tech tragic shootings, Granderson who was informed that Bluhm was a big fan of his, made him his his number 1 fan on Myspace. What kind of high profiile athlete does that?

Of course 2007 saw the breakout season. The incredible quad 20 with the gold glove caliber defense in centerfield, including a dramatic wall catch that robbed Wily Mo Pena of a home run and secured a sweep of the Red Sox heading into the All Star break. A star was certainly born and further cemented when he joined TBS coverage for the Post Season and became a true ambassador for the sport of baseball.

The Tigers, the city of Detroit, and the state of Michigan had a favorite son. A guy who’s off the field heroics were at the same All Star level that his on field heroics were. And yet it was a guy who was incredibly accessible, even taking the time to answer a few questions for this humble blogger. People adored Granderson, and rightly so.

There was the work ethic and the personality, and the fact he could actually play the game as well. The city of Detroit for all its struggles has been blessed with a series of stars to be proud of. After Al Kaline, and Alan Trammell, and Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom, and, Joe Dumars. Guys who spent their whole career representing the city of Detroit. Granderson was going to be the next one. The one to carry the torch. Granderson was from Chicago but he became one of ours. It wasn’t any one thing, not the Grand Kids Foundation or the way he took a walk off away from Grady Sizemore or the way he conducted himself in interviews. It was all of those things in one special package.

For those who are upset about the trade, I can’t blame you. There is a baseball reason for what went down. But right now it’s okay to grieve. Granderson was a remarkable player and a source of pride for everyone who flipped on that English D cap in the morning. This is the kind of trade that rips the soul out of a fan. The good news is that for those who have their Granderson jersey and called Granderson THEIR Tiger you don’t need to keep that jersey in the closet. It’s an instant classic.

Roster Management, Trades, Winter Meetings

Tigers sign Brad Thomas, trade Clay Rapada

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The Tigers today announced the signing of southpaw Brad Thomas, and that they traded Clay Rapada to the the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. Furthermore, they outrighted Zach Simons.

Thomas pitched the last two years in Korea and Dave Dombrowski said in a statement he expects Thomas to contribute out of the bullpen at the big league level. Judging by this video it looks like Thomas has a fastball that sits 90-91mph and a breaking pitch that registers about 80mph.

Checking NPB Tracker it looks like Thomas was drawing interest from the Hansin Tigers. The Tigers have recently increased their presence in the pacific rim and last year it netted them  Fu-Te Ni from Taiwan. Ni made the leap the to the big leagues and led the league in stranding runners out of the bullpen.

Rapada was acquired as the PTBNL in the deal that sent Craig Monroe to the Cubs. He never really found a place with the club and I was a little surprised to see him kept on the 40 man roster.

Simons was acquired in exchange for Jason Grilli. He put together a solid second half in 2008 leading to a spot on the 40 man roster. He followed that up with a solid season at Erie with 8.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 leading to a 2.82 ERA in 51 innings. He only allowed 1 homer at Erie.

Analysis

I like the addition of Thomas as a low risk move. I don’t have huge expectations from a 32 year old pitcher with 23 innings of big league experience, but he’ll make the league minimum and if he doesn’t work, he doesn’t work.

Trading Rapada isn’t much of a surprise. His numbers at Toledo were quite good actually, but for some reason Leyland didn’t trust him.

I’m surprised to see Simons outrighted though. He had a solid season and the Tigers are reportedly shopping for bullpen help. I think that there is about to be another move where the Tigers acquire more players than they’re giving up (like a Jackson trade) or they’re planning to shop in the Rule 5 store on Thursday.

2009 Season, Trades

Tigers acquire Aubrey Huff

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The Tigers have acquired Aubrey Huff from the Orioles for Brett Jacobson.  Joel Zumaya has been moved to the 60 day DL. “Huff is a quality major league hitter, who adds a lefthanded bat to our lineup and brings versatility to our club with his ability to play numerous positions,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. He has batted .324 (34×105) with runners in scoring position this season. An announcement on the move for the 25 man roster likely won’t come until tomorrow when he reports.

Conference Call Notes:

  • DD: Huff adds left handed middle of the bat type hitter to the team. They’ve worked on getting a bat for awhile
  • DD: Huff can play first, third (spell Brandon), DH, and left field. Hasn’t played left since 2006. Huff is happy to play any position and play in a pennant race.
  • Huff will be a free agent after this year (currently Type A)
  • DD: Brandon Inge isn’t going on the DL
  • DD: no correlation between Jacobson move and possible Turner/Oliver signings
  • DD: not sure how much Guillen can play in the field but would like to have both bats in the lineup against right handed pitching
  • DD: Huff passed through waivers – he wasn’t claimed by Detroit
  • DD: Tigers are taking on the remainder of Huff’s salary
  • DD: Magglio is not the corresponding roster move

More to come…

Analysis

While Aubrey Huff is having an off year, it’s hard not to like this move. Mike Rogers has done the math already and it works out well for the Tigers with Huff likely adding a fraction of a win over the last 7 weeks of the season.  It’s not an earth shattering amount, but he can fit this team well for the stretch run and the price was certainly acceptable. Brett Jacobson was the 4th round pick last year and stands a decent chance of playing in the bigs by next year or the year after. But he was one of he bevy of relivers the Tigers took last year and he isn’t Perry/Satterwhite/Weinhardt.

Huff is a couple years removed from playing 3rd base, and while Dombrowski didn’t have specifics on his playing situation (that’s up to Leyland), I’d venture a guess that he gets about 4 starts a week and that one of those come at third. The others will likely come in the outfield meaning less time for Clete Thomas (presuming he doesn’t draw the short straw), Marcus Thames, and…perhaps Magglio Ordonez.

Since the beginning of August Leyland has gone away from the platoon arrangement, and instead has been trying to rotate at-bats through his different options. Clete wasn’t holding up his end of the platoon anyways and this move may help in the Ordonez-not-vesting scenario. Look at how these PA’s breakdown:

  • Guillen -60
  • Thomas – 54
  • Ordonez – 46
  • Thames – 38
  • Raburn – 29

Guillen will still DH against all righties, but there is room to spread a lot of those at-bats around. And I really think Thomas sticks because I think they prefer Thomas’ glove in the outfield in late innings at the very least.

Expecting Huff to produce isn’t a pipe dream given his track record. Lee notes he is a streak hitter, I didn’t know this about him but I’ll trust Lee’s info because I trust Lee.

Mostly though I like this move because there is so little risk involved. Huff is a pending free agent. I doubt he gets an arbitration offer if he is a Type A because chances are high he’d accept because I don’t know that he’d get a more favorable deal on the open market where the receiving team would have to cough up a first round pick. If he slips to Type B there’s a good chance the Tigers net themselves a sandwich pick.

Links and such

2009 Season, Trades

Tigers get Washburn

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The Tigers bolstered their rotation today by acquiring Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners. The Tigers give up Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

I’ll have more on this later (I’m at the zoo with the family and I want to keep Mrs Billfer happy) but I love this move for the Tigers (and the Mariners). I like Robles a lot but a good prospect isn’t a bad price to pay to upgrade a spot in the rotation.

If memory serves Washburn is a type B meaning the Tigers should net a draft pick as well.

UPDATE: This stuff is new since the initial “walking through the zoo updating the site” post.

Mauricio Robles pitches for the Lakeland Flying Tigers cr- Roger DeWitt
Mauricio Robles pitches for the Lakeland Flying Tigers cr- Roger DeWitt

Washburn sports a very sexy 2.64 ERA. It’s likely an unsustainable ERA due to a low strike out rate. But his FIP is still a very solid 3.75. This is a run below where Washburn has been since the 2002 season (when his numbers were very much like they are this year.

A couple things are working in Washburn’s favor. He has added a new pitch and he’s had tremendous outfield defense behind him. In Detroit he should be able to bring his new pitch, but the outfield defense won’t be as good. Granderson and Thomas are no reason to worry, but Ordonez/Thames/Raburn wouldn’t play in the Mariners outfield.

French’s FIP is nearly identical and is 3.87. French was a fringe prospect until he was pushed to AAA this year and saw his strikeout rate jump and his walk rate drop and he elevated his prospect status. A favorable debut at the MLB level is certainly encouraging.

So here we have 2 pitchers who are both pitching much better than anyone expected going into the season, and their numbers are similar now. The Tigers are banking that Washburn is a better bet to sustain his success throughout the season than French is. It’s not a bad bet.

Of course if French performs as well or better than Washburn (as some expect) we’ll look back at this trade with disgust because then the Tigers will have parted with a lefty 20 year old fanning better than a batter an inning at high A ball. Because Robles is the cost of “upgrading” to whatever level of performance that Washburn will bring over French.

2009 Season, Trades

The one where I admit my wrongness: Edwin Jackson edition

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Back in December 2008 the Tigers completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that sent Matt Joyce to the Rays for Edwin Jackson. I wasn’t a fan of the trade, and those who read the post titled “Tigers set to send talented outfielder to Tampa for guy who throws hard” may have picked up on my displeasure. This is where I say I’m wrong.

Jackson has pitched better than I ever would have anticipated. He was credited with a breakout year in 2008 when he notched 14 wins, but wins and losses don’t really measure breakouts. His walk rate certainly improved, but he struck out fewer than 6 batters per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio was well under 2. Based on his career he looked to be a number 4 starter coming into 2009. That combined with Joyce’s potential, and other issues like contract status and years of service caused me to pan the deal.

Continue reading The one where I admit my wrongness: Edwin Jackson edition →

2009 Season, Minors, Trades

Tigers trade James Skelton for Brooks Brown

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The Tigers have sent James Skelton (or actually they just let the Diamondbacks keep him after the Rule 5 pick cleared waivers) to Arizona for Brooks Brown. I’ve written about Skelton in the past, so we’ll focus on Brown for a moment.

Brown started at AA for the Diamondbacks last year and had a 4.18 ERA with 112 K’s in 144 innings pitched. He’ll be assigned to Erie to start the year. The right hander is 24 years old. Brown didn’t make the BA top 10 for Arizona, but his name did come up in the chat and Will Lingo had this to say:

Will Lingo: That is a pretty good analysis. Brown took a 3.63 ERA into the final month last season, but he was pretty bad from there on out and in the AFL. His stuff also hasn’t been quite as good as it was in college, so some people think he should just take his sinker-slider combo to the bullpen. But his big frame and durability still suggest he could provide more value as a starter. He’ll get another shot in the Triple-A rotation, but I think if he gets to the big leagues it will be as a reliever.

Sickels had him as the 15th best prospect in the organization but noted a loss of velocity and command.
Continue reading Tigers trade James Skelton for Brooks Brown →

2009 Season, Roster Management, Trades

Tigers solve crowded outfield by trading for outfielder

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Aside from trying to handicap the Tigers starting rotation battle, the other story of interest was figuring out the last 2 spots on the bench. That picture is a little clearer today with the news the Tigers have traded for Josh Anderson. In exchange they send Rudy Darrow to the Braves.

Anderson (who when I first heard of the trade I got confused with Brian Anderson AND Josh Fields), hits left handed and runs pretty fast (42 steals last year on 49 attempts), and he has hit a little at the minor league level. He’s kind of like this year’s version of Freddy Guzman except that Dave Dombrowski has said he’s made the team (Anderson is out of options). At 26 Anderson isn’t a prospect but could prove useful coming off the bench.

However, the Tigers still have a plethora of outfielders in the mix. Ryan Raburn is likely traded or using his last option. Brent Clevlen? He’s out of options and it looks like he’ll be removed from the 40 man roster. Marcus Thames? His future is also a little cloudy. Jeff Larish? Not sure where he’ll end up either. Clete Thomas, who offers the most similar skill set, gets to develop a little more in the minors.

As for Darrow, he was set to begin this year pitching out of the bullpen for Erie (8.2 K/9,2.5 K/BB between Erie and Lakeland in 2008) . Darrow has an unusual delivery and could prove to be a useful bullpen arm at some point, but it’s a fair price and one I don’t envision the Tigers regretting greatly in the future.

This isn’t a move I really dislike at the moment, but one I really don’t understand a lot either. Man, I’m ready for the roster to just be set and be done with spring training.