more Rumor Central

[David Panian]

Here are other Tigers-related tidbits from ESPN's Rumor Central:

- The A's apparently will be trying to trade for hitters, and Carlos
Guillen might interest them. Now, the item calls Guillen an
"infielder," so we probably can't take it too seriously. Also, they
might be interested in Brandon Inge if they think their prospect Brett
Wallace is a first baseman or needs more time at Triple-A. A trade to
Oakland would put Brandon across the bay from the tattoo artist who
put his sons' names on his arms.

- St. Louis might make a change at closer since Ryan Franklin
struggled in September, and Fernando Rodney and all the other free
agent closers are listed as possible replacements.

- Jarrod Washburn says Minnesota, Milwaukee and Seattle have shown
interest in him.

David

[Steve Bielawski]

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Panian" <dpa...@comcast.net>

> Here are other Tigers-related tidbits from ESPN's Rumor Central:
>
> - The A's apparently will be trying to trade for hitters, and Carlos
> Guillen might interest them. Now, the item calls Guillen an
> "infielder," so we probably can't take it too seriously.

Carlos Guillen is old and expensive. He isn't a typical A's acquisition
by any means. Moreover, he has two years left on his contract. While I
could see the A's taking a chance on him in the last year of his
contract (similar to how they offered Orlando Cabrera a one-year
contract last year), I don't see them as likely to want to pick up two
years at that kind of money. Then again, perhaps they are getting
desperate.

Mr. Guillen is one of the few Tigers who bat left-handed. When he was
on the D.L., Curtis Granderson was often the only lefty in the line-up
for the Tigers. So, people expect the Tigers to trade away both of
their left-handed bats while getting prospects in return. If anything,
Dave Dombrowski is probably looking to add left-handed bats, not get rid
of them.

I just don't see that one happening.

> Also, they might be interested in Brandon Inge if they think their
> prospect Brett Wallace is a first baseman or needs more time
> at Triple-A. A trade to Oakland would put Brandon across
> the bay from the tattoo artist who put his sons' names on his arms.

Mr. Inge is in the last year of his contract, so he might be possible to
move. I'm not sure what he would bring in return, though, especially
given how bad he was at the plate in the last half of the season. He
likely would not bring as much as Mr. Dombrowski thinks he is worth.
However, if the right offer were out there, I can easily see Mr.
Dombrowski getting interested.

> - St. Louis might make a change at closer since Ryan Franklin
> struggled in September, and Fernando Rodney and all the other free
> agent closers are listed as possible replacements.

Fernando Rodney is likely to get a better offer than the Tigers wish to
give him. He is likely gone. Brandon Lyon did file for free agency,
but is more likely to be within the Tigers' price range than is Mr.
Rodney.

> - Jarrod Washburn says Minnesota, Milwaukee and Seattle have shown
> interest in him.

I hate the idea of him going to the Twins; I can see him being next
year's Carl Pavano. The good news is that at least two other teams are
interested in him, and that means that he likely will cost a bit. The
Twins don't have that much payroll budget, and they will have to use
what they have on their core players.

Given that teams cannot make financial offers until tomorrow, it remains
to be seen how much interest any of these teams really have in Mr.
Washburn.

[Roger King]

These trade rumors are strange in that they involve positions where the Tigers have no depth. There is no one really ready to play CF, certainly no one else to play 3rd unless one things Larish can do it full-time...and with the Tigers already having 2 question marks in the rotation, getting rid of Jackson opens up a 3rd.

Now granted - they really don't have depth anywhere but at least trading someone like Guillen makes a little more sense as they've got some combo of Raburn/Ramirez/Clete Thomas to cover LF and/or DH.

Roger King
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[kar...@aol.com]

If the Tigers could trade Guillen they would do it in a flash. Unfortunately an aging, often injured player earning $13 million dollars for the next 2 seasons is nearly impossible to trade. The players with the most trade value on the Tigers are Granderson and Jackson (with the possible exception of Verlander, Porcello and Cabrera who are not likely to be traded). But you're right they don't exactly have depth at those positions. So DD has to get pitching back from those trades to replace Jackson and possibly a center fielder to replace Granderson. It's possible he could replace Granderson with Ryan Raburn or Casper Wells. Personally I think DD is looking to get an awful lot back from trades of Granderson or Jackson. It kind of reminds me of when Toronto put Roy Halladay on the market this past summer and then asked for the sun and the moon in exchange. They didn't get it and they didn't trade him. DD is hoping to get 4 or 5 players in exchange for 2 and try to fill up several holes at once. If he doesn't get the right offer he doesn't have to make a deal. It's not as if the Tigers are backed into a corner and they have to make a trade.