Results tagged ‘ Detroit Tigers ’

Dombrowski on closer: “Our outlook has not changed”

Does this sound like a familiar scenario: The Tigers say they’re set at a particular position, one where prominent agent Scott Boras has a well-known free agent looking for a market. Boras bypasses team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski and talks with owner Mike Ilitch. The Tigers abruptly change course and get involved.

It happened three winters ago with Johnny Damon. Could it be happening right now with Rafael Soriano? With Tuesday’s report from MLB Network’s Peter Gammons that Boras talked with Ilitch about Soriano on Monday, you have to wonder.

Here’s the report from Gammons on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show this morning:

The Tigers have maintained that they’d like to give hard-throwing rookie Bruce Rondon a chance to win the closer’s job, though Dombrowski said they could still take a look at the market later and could add somebody under the right scenario.

Dombrowski reaffirmed that approach when reached Tuesday.

“Our outlook has not changed,” Dombrowski replied in an email.

In fairness, the Tigers initially downplayed the rumors about Damon a few years ago, only to reach a deal six weeks later. So eventually, maybe they’ll do the same with Soriano. If it happens, though, it doesn’t sound like it’s imminent. With the notable exception of Prince Fielder, no Boras deal ever seems to be quick.

All along, the expectation was that Boras would try to get the Tigers — and especially Ilitch — involved on Soriano. The question has always been whether Ilitch would listen. Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reported a couple weeks ago that it already happened, and that Ilitch said no. Others have reported that it hadn’t happened yet but they expected it to come. ESPN’s Buster Olney cited executives from other teams expecting it to happen.

That doesn’t mean Soriano will get the kind of massive deal that he wants, one that torpedoes the Tigers’ long-term plans for Rondon. Time will tell if there’s a compromise to be found somewhere in there.

– Jason Beck

Source: Tigers meeting with Torii Hunter in Detroit

Torii Hunter has been to Comerica Park and downtown Detroit several times as a visiting player. On Tuesday, he took a visit as a free agent, meeting with members of the Tigers front office as Detroit took its courtship to an in-person level.

A source confirmed what is being characterized as a meet-and-greet visit, first reported by FOXSports.com. The Tigers have an organizational policy of not commenting on free agents.

It is not necessarily a sign of an imminent deal for Hunter, who is weighing a visit with at least one other club and isn’t believed to have an offer from the Tigers yet. Nevertheless, it’s a sign that the courtship has grown serious. It also reinforces Hunter’s prediction on MLB Network Monday that his free-agent recruitment wouldn’t be drawn-out.

Hunter has played in Detroit on the visiting side for years, so long that he played at Tiger Stadium as a rookie for the Minnesota Twins in 1999. Tuesday’s visit allowed him a chance to meet with team officials in a different setting and get an idea about Hunter’s potential fit on the team.

– Jason Beck

Tigers emerge as suitor (front-runner?) for Torii Hunter

Torii Hunter’s play as a Minnesota Twins outfielder early in his career earned him the title as a Tiger killer around these parts. After all these years, it’s now realistic for Detroit fans to consider the possibility of Hunter becoming a Tiger.

It might not take long to figure out, one way or the other.

The Tigers are interested in Hunter, as reported earlier Monday by CBSSports.com’s Danny Knobler, and as has been expected since team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski laid out their needs for a corner outfielder two weeks ago. Between Detroit’s season-long struggles against left-handed pitching, its desire to become more athletic, its lack of a proven second hitter between Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera, and Delmon Young’s departure as a free agent taking away one of Detroit’s key right-handed hitters, the Tigers’ needs fit Hunter’s strengths.

Just as encouraging, there are signs the interest is mutual, and strong. Whether the Tigers should be considered the front-runners for Hunter, as MLB Network Radio’s Jim Bowden and others put it, is a matter of perception, one that could change if another of his suitors (Knobler mentioned Texas, while the Rays, Phillies and Red Sox have also been mentioned in reports for possible one-year offers) steps up in the coming days. But signs point towards a logical match between Hunter and Detroit.

Hunter sounded Monday morning like he already has a team or teams in mind, and could sign soon, maybe by Thanksgiving — the day he signed his five-year deal with the Angels in 2007.

“It’s going to be quick,” Hunter told MLB Network’s Hot Stove morning show with Harold Reynolds. “I’m not going to wait it out. I know who I want to play for.”

Hunter didn’t mention which teams, but he said he’s looking to win, not simply get paid.

“Everybody knows I want to win,” Hunter told MLB Network, “so whatever team’s out there that wants to win and can use me and let me be a part of it, that’s who I want to be playing with.”

Hunter’s five-year deal with the Angels earned him $90 million. He has plenty of money, and he has a son who just committed to a football scholarship at Notre Dame.

That said, it’s expected to take a multi-year deal to sign Hunter, a fact which impacts his market at age 37. If he were to settle on a one-year deal, his field expands.

It leaves the Tigers with an intriguing decision. Detroit has two highly regarded, right-handed hitting outfield prospects with postseason hero Avisail Garcia and Futures Game MVP Nick Castellanos. Both are expected to have a chance to compete for a job in Spring Training, possibly a timeshare with Andy Dirks or Brennan Boesch in one corner outfield spot.

The other corner spot is open, and that’s where Hunter fits in. Add in Hunter’s clubhouse presence and track record of working with young outfielders — Mike Trout credited Hunter’s help as an impact on him during his Rookie of the Year interview Monday night on MLB Network — and he’s one potential signing that could improve two spots, not to mention his potential impact on center fielder Austin Jackson.

However, a two-year deal for Hunter likely would mean a longer wait for Castellanos or Garcia. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, an extra year or two of development, but it’s something the win-now Tigers have to weigh.

– Jason Beck

Shields, Vargas reportedly get a look from Tigers

The Tigers were interested in James Shields when the Rays debated whether to put him on the trade market last July, enough that Doug Fister was a Plan B of sorts when it became clear they weren’t getting Shields, at least not without selling the farm. Now that Shields could be on the market again, don’t expect the resurgence of Detroit’s rotation behind its top four starters to stop them from taking a look.

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Tigers special assistant Dick Egan was spotted at Tropicana Field for the Rays’ series against the Mariners, which Shields opened with 7 2/3 quality innings on Friday. Conveniently, Seattle left-hander Jason Vargas, another rumored Tigers trade target in their starting pitching search, started there on Saturday.

The Tigers usually send out Egan on special assignments, not simply to update reports on teams. If he shows up at a ballpark, it’s for a pretty good reason. You can find at least two reasons above why the Tigers would have him in St. Petersburg this weekend. Of the two, Shields would be the obviously bigger draw.

Though Shields’ ERA is up from last year, while other stats are down, he appeals to the Tigers for a lot of reasons. First, he’s a consistent innings eater, averaging better than six innings a start. Even during his recent struggles, he has lasted at least seven innings in four of his last five starts. He also has postseason experience, though he struggled in his last two Division Series starts.

The Tigers, moreover, have the pieces that would potentially appeal to the Rays, who covet a young catcher according to CBSSports.com’s Danny Knobler. While the Tigers aren’t deep in a lot of areas in the upper levels of their farm system, they have 3-4 quality catchers in their system, led by Futures Game participant Rob Brantly at Triple-A Toledo and James McCann, last year’s top draft pick, at Double-A Erie. With 25-year-old Alex Avila holding down the job in Detroit, the Tigers can afford to part with a catcher and still have depth for down the road.

By contrast, the Tigers were never heavily involved in Vargas rumors last year, zeroing in on Doug Fister instead. If they’re going to acquire a starter to replace lefty Drew Smyly, doing so with another left-hander would have a major appeal to avoid an all-righty rotation. Vargas fits that, and he does it while averaging nearly seven innings a start. His ERA, hit totals and WHIP ratio are all significantly higher away from Seattle’s Safeco Field, including six innings with four runs at Comerica Park earlier this season. However, he has quality starts in his last three outings, all on the road, all of them victories.

– Jason Beck

Could Omar Infante become a Tiger again?

The Tigers traded away Omar Infante five years ago in a deal that ranks among the most regrettable of Dave Dombrowski’s tenure in Detroit. Now, as they look for ways to stop their revolving door at second base, it’s conceivable that they could try to get him back.

Jayson Stark of ESPN suggests Infante is on the Tigers’ shopping list for second basemen. Now 30, Infante entered the weekend batting .290 for the Miami Marlins with 23 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBIs, good for a .769 OPS. He’s two years removed from an All-Star selection with the Braves.

The Tigers signed Infante as a teenager in Venezuela and developed him in their system. At one point, he was among the top prospects in then-general manager Randy Smith’s system. The last time Infante was a Tiger in 2007, manager Jim Leyland said he’d make an ideal National League player with his ability to play all over the infield. He found that role in Atlanta, where he played three infield and three outfield spots in 2008 and 2009.

Since coming to Miami, however, his focus has been at second base, which was his starting position in Detroit in 2004 and part of 2005 until the Tigers traded for Placido Polanco midway through that season.

That left Infante as a utility player in Detroit until the Tigers traded him to the Cubs after the 2007 season for Jacque Jones, who was released about five weeks into the 2008 season.

It wasn’t a particularly painful deal because Polanco played second base so well in Detroit through 2009, after which the Tigers let him go as a free agent. The Tigers have run through a handful of second basemen in 2 1/2 years since then, from Scott Sizemore to Will Rhymes to Brandon Inge, and now a mix of Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn. The Tigers have always worried about Santiago breaking down physically as an everyday player, but Raburn has failed to hold down the starting job in two tries over as many years.

– Jason Beck

Opening Day – First Pitch

The reigning American League Most Valuable Player throws the first pitch of the day, 91 mph changeup for called strike, Red Sox @ Tigers, live on MLB.TV:

Justin Verlander

Be sure to check out the MLB.com digital guide to see how to get the most out of baseball and technology in 2012.

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