OT: Tigers looking to Nab Brad Penny
jhackney
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Tigers have signed Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit and re-signed Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta. Not much more pocket room in Illitch's pockets to sign a "big name"? Maybe this is the reason they are not pursuing Carl Pavano? I don't know about you Tiger fans out there, but I was hoping for a bit more in way of signings for them. If given a grade, I would give them a C. What say you?
Sources: Tigers looking at Penny, other veteran starters
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JClay
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:09 PM ^
Joined: 09/14/2010
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SalvatoreQuattro
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:11 PM ^
After this nondescript offseason by the Tigers, I am more convinced then ever that the Lions have the brightest future of any Detroit team that does not wear the Winged Wheel.
Joined: 11/30/2010
MGoPoints: 79227
MaizeAndBlueWahoo
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^
I disagree. The Tigers are built to contend in the weak-ish AL Central and then look to outpitch their opponents in a playoff series. That's their only path to success - if you try and stack them up spending-wise and star-power-wise to Evil Empire I and Evil Empire II (NY and Boston) they'll fall short every time.
Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 41586
Wolverine0056
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^
I am an Indians fan, but I do like the Tigers also. I would give them a B. Martinez is a stud and a leader. He is worth the B himself. Peralta is a decent player that when he gets it going, he is a great hitter. The problem with him though is he never got it going for long, at least in Cleveland. The Tigers will be decent again sooner rather than later, especially compared to the Indians :(.
Joined: 08/02/2010
MGoPoints: 7773
dieseljr32
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^
I would actually give this a higher grade than a C. Prolly more towards the high B range. I posted a thread about the Carl Crawford signing and how I was bummed about the fact we missed out on him, Werth, and Dunn but after the smart people here on MGoBlog presented good logical facts to me, I wasn't that bummed anymore.
If Detroit got Brad Penny that would be pretty good but for now this hasn't been a bad offseason by any means. The lineup of Ordonez, Cabrera, and Martinez does sound pretty enticing. If Brennan Boesch can return to his career beginning form and if Guillen can stay healthy I bet they will have a pretty good lineup.
Joined: 04/19/2009
MGoPoints: 4795
jhackney
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^
I would like to hear the soothing voces of the MGoCommunity again then. Brad Penny? Maybe as a reliever. 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA at St. Louis and a 5.61 ERA with Boston. Granted it is in the AL East, but the numbers at St. Louis still don't jump off the map at me. Why not go for Pavano? Is he too much? I don't understand why Illitch doesn't use his pizza magic he uses on the Red Wings for the Tigers. If he buys the Pistons, he better not treat them like the Tigers.
Joined: 12/11/2008
MGoPoints: 19772
Hoke_Floats
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^
he is now the best avail. pitcher on the mkt
he will get a stupid deal from someone, way too much $ for way too many years
we did take a run at carl about 4 years or so ago when the yankees got him
he basically stole money from NY, after he got there he let himself go and was continually injured, I would not want to give this guy 3+ years at 40m or so
if you did not like signing benoit you will hate pavano
this is one carl thats not so hot
Joined: 09/21/2010
MGoPoints: 2226
BoiseBlue
December 22nd, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
Tigers were in the top 5 in payroll last year... since the mid-2000s Ilich has done everything in his power to make the Tigers competitive, even overpaying guys like Bonderman, Inge, etc.
Joined: 10/22/2009
MGoPoints: 317
jhackney
December 22nd, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^
I don't doubt you're right, but overpaying underachieving talent? Has he done much of this with the Wings? The Wings are competitors every year, the Tigers, not so much.
Joined: 12/11/2008
MGoPoints: 19772
OMG Shirtless
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^
MLB does not have a salary cap.
Joined: 08/16/2009
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jhackney
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:18 PM ^
They should, but they don't. Fixed the err of my ways. Thanks again.
Joined: 12/11/2008
MGoPoints: 19772
Sambojangles
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^
I actually think they've done pretty well. Getting Magglio back (for less money) is key, Martinez is really good and fits a need, and Benoit is a good pickup as well. We never had a chance at anyone like Crawford. Plus, I understand why Dombrowski is being cautious given the economy and ownership situation. It hasn't been a great year (like 08, and we all remember how that turned out) but it hasn't been terrible.
Joined: 12/15/2008
MGoPoints: 10996
AAB
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:19 PM ^
if he's playing catcher. His bat is fantastic for a catcher (his defense is pretty bad, but his bat makes up for it). As a DH, his bat is adequate-ish but not great at all.
Joined: 01/14/2009
MGoPoints: 8284
WolverineNick
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^
Magglios ten million for one year was a good signing with little risk involved for the Tigers.
I like the Martinez signing this guy is a top tier player but will split time between DH and catcher which means you will seeing more of....ugh Alex Avila.
As much as big money for relievers seems to be frowned upon by the MLB elitist media, I cant help but look back upon the 06 season and see the critical role relief pitching played in that pennant run. In other words if Benoit can do what he did last season, the Tigers did good here. ( praying for Zumaya to stay healthy )
The biggest question for me is LF, Rayburn was absolutely on fire down the stretch this past season and Bosch at the beginning of the season was hitting seeds on first pitch fastballs. I think Rayburn is more than likely the every day LF, I dont think that what we saw was a flash in the pan last year but, was hopefully a kid that has toiled around in the bigs for years with Tigers and hes now getting it. Bosch i believe is more of what you saw in the second half of that last year.
I think theyve made enough moves to be a legitimate contender in the AL central even though i believe the Sox will be the favorites.
Joined: 11/05/2010
MGoPoints: 969
Blue_Sox
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^
I'm not a Tigers fan, but I don't get why everyone hates Avila so much. He might not hit that well, but he's definitely no Gerald Laird. Besides, with the catcher position there are many other things you can do to add value as a catcher. I think he handles a pitching staff pretty well and calls a good game. He's thrown out 31% of baserunners the last year and a half which is darn good. In the AL Central, where you have teams that like to run, that's very important.
I know he only hit .228 last year, but you can make up for that in other areas of a lineup. That's part of the reason signing a guy who's a great-hitting catcher--but not a great-hitting DH who will primarily play there--didn't seem like the best move to me. Besides, he's only 23 and think that, for a guy probably brought up too early, he will improve there.
Joined: 09/30/2010
MGoPoints: 4578
AAB
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^
2010 WAR: 1.1. If it's anything more than like 1 year, 4-5 million, it's probably a pretty terrible deal.
I think this has been an awful offseason for the Tigers. They overpaid massively for a reliever (and gave him a multi-year deal, which is just a terrible idea), and their big signing is a guy whose value comes largely from the fact that his bat is so good for his position, who they now appear set to DH him and take away most of his value.
The only signing I was a fan of was the Ordonez one, mostly because it's short and relatively cheap relative to the value he'll provide.
Joined: 01/14/2009
MGoPoints: 8284
Blue_Sox
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:50 PM ^
That WAR represents just 9 starts because he tore his lat muscle and missed the last 4 months of the season.
But that does bring up an even bigger issue. No one really knows how healthy he will be. I wouldn't expect too much given the injury and the stats of 2 months in the NL Central following a dreadful '09 in the AL East (was he going to perform at that improved level all season?).
I would sign him with an incentive-laden deal that allowed to hedge against that risk. If signed for the right amount of money, it could have huge upside. But also don't think you would be able to just pencil him in for 30 starts.
Joined: 09/30/2010
MGoPoints: 4578
AAB
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:58 PM ^
Good catch. Still, he was worth .1 wins in 2008 in 17 starts and 2.5 wins in 2009 in 30 starts, and he hasn't topped 6 k/9 since 2006. I think a multi-year deal or one with a significant base salary would be a big mistake.
Joined: 01/14/2009
MGoPoints: 8284
Blue_Sox
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:08 PM ^
A healthy Brad Penny would probably be better than Galarraga. Sign him for cheap and have a backup plan in case he sucks is a wise move.
Joined: 09/30/2010
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st barth
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:18 PM ^
...hoping that the Tigers sign Cam Newton after the bowls because that guy can do everything. He's awesome!
Joined: 12/02/2008
MGoPoints: -576
jhackney
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^
I think you mean Pryor...
Joined: 12/11/2008
MGoPoints: 19772
Hoke_Floats
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:31 PM ^
Not much out there for Tigers to grab...
We have a very solid rotation. We would be grabbing Penny to be our 4/5 guy. Verlander/Max/Porcello is a solid 3 man group (ranked #7 in the big by Buster Olney)
Cabrera is an absolute stud, we just signed a guy to protect him and brought back maggs to get on base in front of him.
We needed a solid set-up man and Benoit was the best available. Back end of the rotation is pretty solid and could be sick if zumaya gets his act together (I know, I know)
Joined: 09/21/2010
MGoPoints: 2226
GVBlue86
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:46 PM ^
I don't understand your take on the Tigers here. You really want them to spend so much money and years on free agents that are over 30? This years free agent class was not that good. With the few good players (Dunn, and Crawford etc), you knew their pricetags would have shot above what they are really worth and I for one am glad we didn't go after them with all that money and all those years.
I Think they have done a good job. They aren't done in my mind. We also have some real good guys coming up (C. Wells, Boesch (maybe), Sizemore, J. Turner). If one or two of them make an impact this year, this team will definitley compete in the division for the pennant.
They would have had a great chance to make the playoffs last year had it not been for all the injuries. Our lineup also was pretty damn good for most of the year. I am excited for this year and if Zumaya can be anything close to what he was, our bullpen will be dynamic.
Joined: 10/01/2009
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