What Dombrowski does between now and the July 31 trade deadline will have everything to do with how fast the Tigers become shipshape. Like it or not, that probably means trading Jeff Weaver for players who can help the Tigers end this rebuilding charade, which has consumed the better part of 15 years.
Jeff Weaver remains a big commodity, with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks scouting him lately. And Damion Easley, Bobby Higginson and either Shane Halter or Craig Paquette are eminently available. If the Tigers would take on Denny Neagle’s contract (and they’re interested), they remain a candidate to make a big deal with the Rockies.
Tigers catcher Mike Rivera has done nothing but crush the ball since being sent back to Toledo. In the 21 games since his demotion he hit .321 with nine homers and 21 RBIs. He’ll be back in the majors at some point, but will have to improve his defense if he’s going to knock Brandon Inge out of the lineup.
The Cincinnati Reds are interested in acquiring Moehler, according to Reds sources. The Tigers could aim to obtain third-base prospect Brandon Larson in return.
I’m also happy to see them take a flyer on George Lombard. Not that I think he’s the next Candy Maldonado (or the next Franklin Stubbs, either), but at 26, he needs a shot at a job. Where better than a team as definitively moribund and beside the point as the Tigers? And when you don’t have to give up anything to give him that shot, how sweet is that?
There was some talk around baseball last week that Dombrowski is already willing to lower the “steep” asking price. Weaver isn’t Dombrowski’s type of player, some people said, not Dombrowski’s type of person.
Tigers and Braves trade Kris Keller for George Lombard According to the Detroit News, “Lombard, 26, is a high-potential prospect for whom the Braves had a high regard but could no longer wait.” Sounds a lot like Encarnacion. Lombard’s development has been slowed by injury, but Merv Rettenmund is familiar with him, and likes him.
Lee Thomas, special assistant to interim GM Mike Port, was in Atlanta last night, where the Tigers were playing the Braves. Detroit righthander Jeff Weaver, one of the pitchers most often mentioned as likely to be dealt before the trading deadline, was pitching for the Tigers, which almost certainly accounted for Thomas’s presence. Weaver didn’t disappoint, throwing a five-hit shutout …
Check out Jayson Stark’s Wild Pitches this week. He has a couple paragraphs on Ramon Santiago’s power surge against Boston that are pretty entertaining.
News, views, and analysis on the Detroit Tigers and baseball