With a few hours left before the non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Tigers are still looking for one more deal that would help their bullpen with a right-handed reliever. Though they already added a righty with David Pauley as part of the Doug Fister trade, they could use another to help take some workload off of Al Alburquerque, who hasn’t pitched since last Sunday due to inflammation around the ulnar nerve in his right elbow.

Alburquerque played catch Saturday and felt improvement, giving Tigers officials optimism that he can avoid a DL stint. Still, given the off and on elbow issues he has experienced this summer, it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest they’re going to have to keep an eye on him.

Foxsports.com reported the Tigers have been in touch with the Padres, who have Chad Qualls, and have shown interest in Rays righty Joel Peralta and Baltimore’s Jim Johnson.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland gave no indication the Tigers were done dealing when he talked with reporters Sunday morning.

“Would I be shocked [by another deal]? No,” Leyland said. “I really can’t say that I’d be expecting another move, but I wouldn’t be shocked.”

– Jason Beck

Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski didn’t rule out another trade before Sunday afternoon’s non-waiver Trade Deadline. But judging from his remarks, if something does happen, it’s likely to be a smaller swap. The roster, for the most part, is set.

“I don’t know if we’ll do anything,” Dombrowski said Saturday afternoon after announcing the trade for Doug Fister and David Pauley.

“I mean, we continue to talk to people, see if there’s ways to make our club better. Again, you never tell what comes out of the blue at this point. Anything can come out of the blue. But our starting pitching, we feel this solidifies our starting rotation. We’re not going to make any moves with our positional players. The way our club settles is the way it is. I guess if there’s one spot that came out of the blue, it might be a bullpen situation, but if we finished here, we’d be happy.”

The Tigers reportedly remain in the mix for Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez, but it’s difficult to see them pulling off a deal unless the Rockies’ asking price drops dramatically. After reports Friday night suggested the Rockies wanted Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer, Dombrowski said Saturday that any trade discussion involving their current starters is and has been a non-starter.

“We have never, ever contemplated trading anybody off our starting staff at this level,” Dombrowski said. “That never has been part of any conversations. Have we been asked for that? Yes. Have we ever contemplated or talked about that? No.

“And when you really stop and think about it, it would make no sense whatsoever, because you’re trying to plug a hole and you just created another hole.”

Conceivably, the Tigers could trade a starter and upgrade to another starter now that Fister is in the fold. But the core group of the Tigers rotation looks very much intact. When Dombrowski talked about his starting staff and where Turner fits in, he talked about them as a long-term group.

Ace Justin Verlander is under contract for three more seasons. Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer don’t hit free agency until the same time. With that in mind, part of the appeal for the Tigers with Fister was that they can keep him for four more years after this before he can become a free agent.

“We’re very happy,” Dombrowski said. “All of a sudden, you look forward and we’re in a spot where you have Verlander and Scherzer and Porcello, who we can see now starting to dial it up like he’s capable, and Fister, who’s a very good pitcher. Four young guys, four guys for an extended period, and we still have Jacob Turner behind them.”

– Jason Beck