MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reports the Athletics are evaluating Magglio Ordonez for a spring tryout.
Ordonez has reportedly made “consistent progress” in his recovery from ankle surgery and expects to play in 2012 despite being active for just 92 games last season. If he signs with the Athletics, it would only be on a minor league contract.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: Magglio Ordonez, news, Tigers
Tigers signed INF Brent Dlugach to a minor league contract.
Dlugach, 28, spent the majority of his career in Detroit’s farm system before a brief stint on Boston’s 40-man roster this past season. A sixth round pick in 2004, he’s strictly organizational depth for the Tigers.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: Brent Dlugach, news, Tigers
Brad Penny confirmed via his Twitter account Wednesday that he “might be in Japan next week.”
We learned last week that Penny was “weighing an opportunity” to pitch for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League. Japanese website Sponichi is now reporting that a deal is close. “The deal has not been finalized yet, but I hear we are in the final stages,” said Fukuoka team chairman Sadaharu Oh. “We see him as a pitcher for our starting rotation.” Penny wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday that while he had offers from MLB teams, he had a “much better offer in Japan.” The 33-year-old right-hander had a lousy 5.30 ERA and 74/62 K/BB ratio over 181 2/3 innings last season for the Tigers.
Source: mlive.com
Tagged as: Brad Penny, news, Tigers
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Monday that Miguel Cabrera is unlikely to be tried in left field.
Cabrera played the position for a couple years with the Marlins, but he has a much different body type now and left field at Detroit’s Comerica Park is more spacious than most. Instead, the Tigers are going to continue with their plan of trying the 28-year-old slugger at the hot corner. We’d bet on him ultimately splitting time between first base and DH with Prince Fielder.
Source: mlive.com
Tagged as: Miguel Cabrera, news, Tigers
Victor Martinez has undergone microfracture knee surgery.
V-Mart also needs ACL surgery, and won’t undergo that for another 6-8 weeks. V-Mart has been ruled out for the 2012 season, and might not be ready to begin his long road of rehab until the middle of the summer. He hit .330/.380/.470 with 12 home runs and 103 RBI in 145 games last season for the Tigers.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: news, Tigers, Victor Martinez
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the consensus among major league executives is that Miguel Cabrera will not be able to play third base regularly.
“There’s no way they go with that,” said one highly ranked National League executive. “It can’t work.” The Tigers appear confident that Cabrera will be able to make the transition back to third base, but he hasn’t played the position since the start of the 2008 season. With just 383 career starts, the 28-year-old figures to share playing time with Prince Fielder at first base and log at-bats at designated hitter.
Source: go.com
Tagged as: Miguel Cabrera, news, Tigers
Justin Rogers of MLive.com expects Brennan Boesch to benefit the most from Prince Fielder’s presence in the Tigers’ lineup this season.
Manager Jim Leyland said Thursday that he’s planning on using Boesch in front of Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, meaning he could see some of the best offerings of any player in baseball. Rogers notes that Leyland used 127 different lineup combinations in 2011 and that his spot in the order is far from guaranteed. However, if he can replicate the production he had hitting in front of Cabrera last year, Boesch is primed for a monster season.
Source: mlive.com
Tagged as: Brennan Boesch, news, Tigers
According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, Brad Penny is “weighing an opportunity” to pitch for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League.
Crasnick previously reported that Penny was drawing interest in Japan. The 33-year-old right-hander had a lousy 5.30 ERA and 74/62 K/BB ratio over 181 2/3 innings last season for the Tigers, so he’s unlikely to get anything more than a minor-league contract in the states.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: Brad Penny, news, Tigers
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that Brad Penny is drawing interest from teams in Japan.
Penny was terrible with the Tigers last season, posting a 5.30 ERA to go along with a measly 74/62 K/BB ratio over 181 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old right-hander would almost certainly have to accept a minor league deal in order to continue his career stateside, though Crasnick’s report would seem to indicate that MLB teams aren’t knocking on his door.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: Brad Penny, news, Tigers
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that when Victor Martinez (knee) returns in 2013, he will bat fifth behind Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.
If that will be the setup next season, then it stands to reason Miggy will hit third and Prince fourth this year, which was the most likely scenario. Fielder will be in line for a nice RBI total, while Cabrera’s run total will be lofty and he could also see more pitches to hit.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: news, Prince Fielder, Tigers