Tigers to Sign Freddy Garcia

Jon Heyman of SI is reporting that the Detroit Tigers are the winners of the very limited Freddy Garcia sweepstakes. At one time, it was thought Garcia could make an impact on this year's pennant race. Well, Garcia thought that any way. But teams who took a look at him weren't overly impressed.

The Tigers are a bit short on pitching with Jeremy Bonderman down for the count, so Garcia seemed like a logical option.

On another note, Jim Leyland said that Justin Verlander was suffering from a dead arm after yesterday's start. Perhaps Leyland shouldn't have let him throw 130 pitches his last time out.

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Break up the Royals

No one outside of Kansas City, and maybe not even there, picked the Royals to win the AL Central. But they're well on their way to a 162-0 season. They beat the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd straight time today, coming Edgar Renteria short of pitching a no-hitter. "Huh?", you ask.

Renteria had all 3 Tigers hits on the day, 2 of them allowed by starter Brian Bannister, who dominated the Tigers through 7 innings in a 4-0 win.

Kenny Rogers pitched well for Detroit, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, but the Royals reached the Tigers shaky pen for 2 more.

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Born to Score Runs

The Star Ledger's Dan Graziano sat down with an unnamed American League scout recently to compare the vaunted lineups of the Yankees and the Detroit Tigers. While Detroit's already potent lineup got even stronger with the addition of Miguel Cabrera, the Yankees led the AL in runs scored last season with 882.

Graziano and the scout performed a position by position comparison. Some of the results might surprise you.

FIRST BASE: The Tigers' Carlos Guillen moves over from shortstop, where he had a 102-RBI season and a .357 on-base percentage that was his lowest in four years. He's not as great an offensive player for a first baseman as he was for a shortstop, but he's a reliable and productive hitter, and he's probably better than whatever the Yankees will get from the mishmash of Jason Giambi, Shelley Duncan, Wilson Betemit and Morgan Ensberg. If Giambi can be healthy and good enough to play first every day, this could swing the Yankees' way, but as it stands:EDGE: Tigers.

SECOND BASE: This is one of a few spots where these teams might have the two best players in the league. Detroit's Placido Polanco had a brilliant year in 2007, with 200 hits, 105 runs scored and a .388 on-base percentage. He was one of the best all-around players in the game last year, but his season wasn't exactly in line with the rest of his career. Our scout is betting on the Yankees' 25-year-old on the upswing over the Tigers' 32-year-old coming off his career year. But as he says, "only, maybe, by a hair."EDGE: Yankees.

THIRD BASE: Another spot where the matchup is one in which any of the other 28 teams would gladly take the loser. Miguel Cabrera was the big off-season addition to the Tigers or any other team in baseball, and he may well be the second-best hitter in baseball. However, the Yankees' third baseman is the clear-cut, head-and-shoulders best hitter in baseball, and for now, our scout says, "there's nobody you'd take over A-Rod."EDGE: Yankees.

SHORTSTOP: Our scout isn't as high on Detroit's acquisition of Edgar Renteria as some others are. "He struggled in the American League the first time (with Boston, in 2005), so why should we think he can handle it this time?" This strikes us as a little harsh. Renteria is a nice all-around player and would hold up in a head-to-head comparison with most shortstops. But the Yankees' shortstop is, well, Derek Jeter. And since we're talking only offense, not defense, here, the choice is a clear one.EDGE:Yankees.

CATCHER: "A mismatch," our scout says. "(Detroit's) Pudge (Rodriguez) is a Hall of Famer, but he doesn't hit like one anymore." The Yankees' Jorge Posada did hit like a Hall of Famer last year. In fact, with another year or two like the one he had in '07, he might be a future Cooperstown candidate as well. For now, though, he's as good an offensive catcher as there is in the game.EDGE: Yankees.

LEFT FIELD: "Once (Johnny) Damon got healthy and in shape last year, the Yankees' offense took off," our scout says. He's right, and Damon seems healthy early in spring training. That, along with the fact that the player competing for playing time with Damon is Hideki Matsui, makes this one another mismatch. Jacque Jones looks like a good No. 9 hitter, but he's not likely to give the Tigers what Damon/Matsui will give the Yankees. EDGE: Yankees.

CENTER FIELD: This one's a mismatch for the Tigers, and no offense to Melky Cabrera. "Melky's a nice-looking player, but (Curtis) Granderson is a do-it-all superstar on the rise." Granderson's 2007 season was historic -- 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs and 26 steals. Cabrera might still be improving, but so might Granderson.EDGE: Tigers.

RIGHT FIELD: Bobby Abreu is another guy whose return to form keyed the Yankees' second-half surge. But Detroit's Magglio Ordonez would have been the league MVP if not for that A-Rod guy. This year, Ordonez will bat between Gary Sheffield and Miguel Cabrera, which means he could be even more productive.EDGE: Tigers.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Tough call here. "If (Gary) Sheffield is going to stay healthy, you give the edge to Detroit," our scout says. "But I don't think he'll stay healthy," and the "leftovers" from the Yankees' bench -- Giambi, Duncan, Matsui, Damon ... whoever's not playing the field on a given night -- should contribute more over the course of a season than Sheffield's backups will.EDGE: Yankees.

The Yankees came out on top in 6 of the 9 comparisons. But as we well know, and have seen far too often in the past few years, it will still be pitching, defense, and timely hitting that wins games in October.

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Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?

Earlier reports of the Tigers and Dontrelle Willis making good progress on a contract extension were not just rumors. The recently acquired lefty agreed to a 3-year, $29 million deal, with incentives that could push the value above $30 million in total.

Willis had to have realized his value is not what it once was. And though he could certainly re-establish his value, another bad season would have meant a possibly big hit to his value on the free agent market after the '09 season.

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Breaking News: Tigers Snare Cabrera, Willis

The Detroit Tigers have acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins for 6 prospects, including Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. Catcher Mike Rabelo is thought to be another of the players.

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WWBD? That's what would Bowie (Kuhn) do? Back in the day we can't see a deal like this being allowed. But for all of Bud Selig's talk, deals like this still go through.

Update 7:30 pm EST- The remaining prospects are Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop. Source

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Tigers Jacque for Position

The Tigers, who had already strengthened their infield with the acquisition of Edgar Renteria, picked up outfielder Jacques Jones from the Cubs today, for infielder Omar Infante.

Jones had signed a 3-year, $16 million contract prior to the '06 season. The Cubs are also sending along some cash to help cover the last year of the deal.

Jones will most likely platoon in left field with Marcus Thames, until prospect Cameron Maybin is ready for a full-time gig.

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Tigers Lose Zumaya Until Mid-Season

Update 11/2 1:50 pm - Zumaya had a 50-60 pound box fall on his shoulder while moving items due to the fires in Cali. "Because this injury does not involve the shoulder joint, per se, the things we most worry about in the shoulder -- the rotator cuff, the labrum, the biceps -- tend not to be affected by the surgery," team physician Dr. Bruce Miller said. "The prognosis is quite good that he'll make a recovery." Source

For the 2nd straight season, the Tigers will be without the services of their hard throwing set up man Joel Zumaya for a big chunk of time. Zumaya injured his shoulder while moving things at his California home and had to undergo surgery. The Tigers have not released any information regarding the injury. Zumaya missed most of this past season because of a torn tendon in his finger.

Free agent closer Todd Jones may have just upped his asking price since the Tigers had Zumaya as a fall back plan in case they lost Jones.

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1 Catcher Off the Market

Tigers keep Pudge

From Rotoworld:

Tigers exercised catcher Ivan Rodriguez's $13 million club option for 2008.
It was believed that GM Dave Dombrowski wanted to find a new catcher, but owner Mike Illitch preferred the idea of keeping Pudge. It was the right move. Rodriguez has become an awfully frustrating player to watch in the batter's box, and giving him a multiyear deal for this kind of cash would have been a bad idea. The Tigers, though, are better off paying $10 million for one more year -- there was a $3 million buyout attached to the option -- than they would have been giving a long-term deal to a likely

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Wild Magic Down to 6

The Cleveland Indians completed a 3 game sweep of the Detroit Tigers this afternoon, 4-2. For the moment the Tigers drop to 5 games back of the Yankees in the Wild Card race. More importantly, the Yankees magic number to clinch a playoff spot has been reduced to 6.

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