DeTrOiT TiGeRs BaSeBaLL

Willie · Jan 12, 2015

Detroit Tigers pitchers, catchers report to spring training Feb. 19; full-squad workouts begin Feb. 24

Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in Lakeland, Fla. on Feb. 19, the team announced Wednesday.

Position players, meanwhile, are set to report on Feb. 23 and workouts for each group will begin the following day in advance of the team's annual exhibition against Florida Southern College at Joker Marchant Stadium, which is March 2.

The Tigers will open Grapefruit League play the following day with a home matchup against the Orioles, who swept Detroit in three games in the AL Division Series in October. The two clubs haven't faced each other in spring training since 2012.

This spring will mark the Tigers' 79th year of preseason play in Lakeland, Fla. -- the longest-standing relationship between a major league team and host city. It's also Detroit's 50th consecutive season at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Spring training single-game tickets go on sale Jan. 10.

Willie Horton, Al Kaline and Alan Trammell, who was recently hired as a special assistant to Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, will be in attendance and in uniform this spring. It'll mark the first time Trammell has been in a Tigers uniform since 2005, his final season as Detroit's manager. (Mlive)
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Willie · Jan 16, 2015

[h]David Price gets record-setting $19.75 million from Tigers to avoid arbitration[/h]

David Price will get $19.75 million in his final season before free agency, avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with the Tigers that represents the highest one-year arbitration-based salary of all time.

Price, who was traded from Tampa Bay to Detroit on July 31, earned $14 million last season while throwing a league-leading 248 innings with a 3.26 ERA and league-high 271 strikeouts.

Price is 30 healthy starts away from getting $150 million or more (and maybe a lot more) on the open market as a free agent.
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Dombrowski: Tigers 'probably not' going to re-sign Max Scherzer

?I would say no, probably not,? Dombrowski said Thursday when if he thought he would re-sign Scherzer.

?We've been in a situation where we're pretty well set with our starting pitching. We've got five starters that we're comfortable [with]. I guess you never tell what happens, but we're not in any type of active pursuit of any other pitching right now."

Scherzer, who made $15.525 million in 2014, has won 10-plus games in five straight seasons. He was an All-Star the last two seasons.
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mlmeng16 · Jan 17, 2015

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...max-scherzer-scott-boras-drew-sharp/21905767/

Sharp: Waiting game may pay off for Scherzer with Tigers

Scott Boras isn't sweating. Of course, that's hardly breaking news for many of his critics who long have considered the baseball uber-agent reptilian.

Boras isn't fretting that his marquee free-agent client this winter, Max Scherzer, still doesn't have a fat, new contract with the calendar entering the second half of January. If anything, this was Boras' strategy all along. Wait it out. For as long as it takes. Because it won't be long until those suitors who have been patiently awaiting the hope of driving down Boras' asking price for Scherzer will develop itchy signing fingers.

The Tigers are still one of those teams.

Doesn't matter what president and general manager Dave Dombrowski says at the moment. It doesn't matter how much confidence Dombrowski publicly conveys in his currently reconstructed rotation. Nothing has changed since the acquisitions of David Price last summer and back-end rotation pieces Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon. The Tigers' best chances of finally winning that elusive World Series for 85-year-old owner Mike Ilitch are with Scherzer at the top of that rotation.

Dombrowski knows that. Ilitch knows that. And, more important, Boras knows that.

Dombrowski told the New York Post on Thursday "probably not" when asked about the Tigers keeping Scherzer.

But don't forget that Dombrowski also publicly shot down the speculation of an impending Rick Porcello-for-Yoenis Cespedes deal with Boston following the Greene deal, vehemently saying he had no idea where reporters came up with such erroneous information.

And then just days later, Porcello's gone and Cespedes is in Detroit.

Dombrowski's penchant for blowing smoke means the odds of Scherzer returning to the Tigers change every week. It might have been 10% after the Tigers' busy winter meetings last month. But the longer this goes, the better the chances, because it's crazy counting out Ilitch as long as he is still signing the checks.

There were whispers Friday that perhaps the Tigers are talking with the second-best available free-agent pitcher, James Shields. But was that simply another easily deniable Dombrowski smoke screen? Make Boras think the Tigers have other, more relatively affordable options?

The Tigers panicked after they lost Victor Martinez for the 2012 season after he blew out his knee following a freakish workout accident. Dombrowski called Ilitch and told him the only impactful offensive free agent still available in the middle of January was Boras' Prince Fielder. Ilitch gave Dombrowski the green light to pursue the first baseman although it cost more than $200 million.

The Tigers admitted their mistake last winter, cutting their losses and trading Fielder as well as $30 million to Texas for second baseman Ian Kinsler.

But Boras played it right with Prince three years ago. He's playing it right with Scherzer. Boras is staring eyeball-to-eyeball against some of the biggest spenders in the game. Give it time. Somebody will flinch and pay reasonably close to Boras' asking price of nearly $200 million. It might be the Yankees or the Dodgers. Nobody is talking much about the Los Angeles Angels. They'll spend, and their spring-training facility is only minutes away from Scherzer's Arizona home.

But the Tigers can't suddenly turn fiscally gun shy if they're certain Scherzer is the difference between a World Series championship and just another playoff appearance.

Anything less than an American League pennant and 2015 is another failed season. Nobody is patting the Tigers on the back right now, and there are no worthwhile trophies awarded for being in the hunt for four straight years. Do you think New England will celebrate a fourth straight trip to the AFC championship if they lose to Indianapolis on Sunday?

That might sound ruthless, but it's real. There is only one goal that matters for a team that has won four straight division championships. There's expectation. And there's hope. The former is reserved for those teams unafraid to aim high, fully understanding the extreme consequences for reaching short and falling hard.
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I agree with Scherzer being not only someone that can help get you there (playoffs) but can also help win a World Series Championship.

mlmeng16 · Jan 17, 2015

Will, I am only going to post "pro-Tigers" Max Scherzer articles until Max signs. Hopefully that will be with the Tigers.

Willie · Jan 17, 2015

I appreciate what you do, ML and anything you got in the way of Tigers news is always welcome. Dombrowski seems like he paints a picture that says no way when it comes to Max resigning. I just think he's playing hardball back at Boras. It is really strange that no one is jumping all over Max... and I agree with you, he's not only a get you to the playoffs kind of pitcher, but a win the WS player too.

They might just be baiting him to resign for a shade over what the original 6/144 offer was. I would be happy if that work's out.

This whole situation is really odd. I would have thought Max would be signed by somebody by now.

cutter9394 · Jan 18, 2015

If I dont get some baseball soon Im checking myself into the Betty Ford clinic

Willie · Jan 18, 2015

cutter9394 said:

If I dont get some baseball soon Im checking myself into the Betty Ford clinic
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I'm not the most patient person myself, but right now, all there is is this drama about Scherzer and now the Shields talk is heating up.

I miss the game too...

At least when things get going this Spring, it wont be the same Tigers out there. It's a different looking team and should be exciting to watch.

Hockey and football are my fix right now.

Willie · Jan 19, 2015

[h]Report: Max Scherzer agrees to seven-year deal with Washington Nationals[/h]

Max Scherzer is headed back to the National League.

Multiple reports broke right around midnight Sunday night that Scherzer has agreed to a seven-year deal with the Washington Nationals.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com appears to be the first to have reported the news. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post said in a Tweet that the deal was reported by one official to be "complicated" and would likely not be announced officially anytime soon.

Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports.com later reported that the agreement is worth more than $180 million.

Scherzer went 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.197 WHIP in five seasons with the Detroit Tigers after pitching his first two seasons for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scherzer, who has 1,321 strikeouts in 1,239 1/3 career innings, won the American League Cy Young Award in 2013 after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA for the Tigers.

The Tigers offered Scherzer a six-year contract extension worth $144 million prior to the start of the 2014 season, but Scherzer rejected that offer.

The Tigers traded for David Price at the trade deadline in part to make a run at the World Series in 2014 but also to protect themselves in case Scherzer signed elsewhere. Since the season ended, general manager Dave Dombrowski has said repeatedly that the Tigers were not in active pursuit of Scherzer. He said the same thing Sunday evening after news first broke that Scherzer was closing in on a seven-year contract.

The Tigers currently have a rotation of Price, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene. A report last week said the Tigers and free-agent right-hander James Shields had been in contact, but it's not clear which side initiated that contact or whether the Tigers have any real interest in adding a high-priced free agent at this point.

The Tigers will receive a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds of the 2015 draft based on the fact that they made a qualifying offer to Scherzer following the season. (mlive)
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So Long, Max... and good luck.

mlmeng16 · Jan 19, 2015

Will said:

[h]Report: Max Scherzer agrees to seven-year deal with Washington Nationals[/h]

Max Scherzer is headed back to the National League.

Multiple reports broke right around midnight Sunday night that Scherzer has agreed to a seven-year deal with the Washington Nationals.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com appears to be the first to have reported the news. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post said in a Tweet that the deal was reported by one official to be "complicated" and would likely not be announced officially anytime soon.

Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports.com later reported that the agreement is worth more than $180 million.

Scherzer went 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.197 WHIP in five seasons with the Detroit Tigers after pitching his first two seasons for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scherzer, who has 1,321 strikeouts in 1,239 1/3 career innings, won the American League Cy Young Award in 2013 after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA for the Tigers.

The Tigers offered Scherzer a six-year contract extension worth $144 million prior to the start of the 2014 season, but Scherzer rejected that offer.

The Tigers traded for David Price at the trade deadline in part to make a run at the World Series in 2014 but also to protect themselves in case Scherzer signed elsewhere. Since the season ended, general manager Dave Dombrowski has said repeatedly that the Tigers were not in active pursuit of Scherzer. He said the same thing Sunday evening after news first broke that Scherzer was closing in on a seven-year contract.

The Tigers currently have a rotation of Price, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene. A report last week said the Tigers and free-agent right-hander James Shields had been in contact, but it's not clear which side initiated that contact or whether the Tigers have any real interest in adding a high-priced free agent at this point.

The Tigers will receive a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds of the 2015 draft based on the fact that they made a qualifying offer to Scherzer following the season. (mlive)
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So Long, Max... and good luck.
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Maybe Max missed Doug Fister so much that he decided to go to the National League (especially for big $$$). Seriously, I have to say the Tigers were very smart to lock up David Price.

And the stating rotation will look different this season.

2014 Detroit Tigers Starting Rotation at beginning of season
Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello, Drew Smyly

2015 Detroit Tigers Starting Rotation at beginning of season (Projected)
Justin Verlander, David Price, Anibal Sanchez, Kyle Lobstein, Shane Greene/Alfredo Simon

mlmeng16 · Jan 19, 2015

http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fa...deal-with-max-scherzer-for-210m-half-deferred

Nationals deal with Max Scherzer for $210M, half deferred

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer's seven-year deal with the Nationals is worth $210 million, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. However, half of the money is deferred.

Scherzer will receive $105 million from 2015-21 and another $105 million from 2022-28.

The Nationals offer ended up being $66 million more than the seven-year offer the Tigers made to Scherzer last spring. The deferrals make the value less than $210 million, but there is no income tax for non-residents in Washington D.C., according to Heyman.

Scherzer is headed back to the NL after spending the last five seasons pitching in the AL for the Tigers. The two-time All-Star is 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA in seven MLB seasons. Scherzer, who won the AL Cy Young in 2013, is set to join a Nationals rotation that features Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez.
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An interesting contract. I wonder what happens if Max Scherzer fails to perform as expected? Not that I believe that will happen, but just wondering.

Willie · Jan 19, 2015

An interesting contract. I wonder what happens if Max Scherzer fails to perform as expected?
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The Nationals would be screwed, lol. For that kind of cash their must be some outs provided. Im not sure tho, It's a complicated contract and way over my head. I would think if Max' arm fell off they wouldnt have to pay the whole thing, only some of it must be gauranteed.

Willie · Jan 19, 2015

Longtime Detroit Tigers utility player Don Kelly signs minor-league deal with Miami Marlins.

Detroit Tigers reach agreement with J.D. Martinez; Al Alburquerque remains unsigned.

Miguel Cabrera out of walking boot; status for start of spring training yet to be determined.

mlmeng16 · Jan 22, 2015

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24982337/video-nationals-introduce-new-ace-max-scherzer

VIDEO: Nationals introduce new ace Max Scherzer

What was reported late Sunday night by our own Jon Heyman is now official: the Nationals have signed right-hander Max Scherzer to a seven-year contract. The team announced the signing in a press release on Wednesday morning before holding an introductory press conference.

Scherzer was given uniform No. 31 -- No. 37, his old number with the Tigers, currently belongs to Stephen Strasburg -- and said all the right things. He went to the Nats because he wants to win and win a lot, he said. Scherzer did also admit the money was hard to turn down though.

"It was jaw-dropping. You can't even fathom it," said Scherzer when asked about his react to the $210 million offer. "You work so hard to put yourself in this position. For me -- like I said, it's all about winning, I don't play this game for money -- but at the same time, when you have an offer like that, it just makes you go 'wow.' I'm very fortunate to be in this position. Very fortunate that they were willing to commit that type of dollar amount to me."

Here's video of the entire press conference:

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo originally drafted Scherzer when he was the Diamondbacks' scouting director back in 2006. Nats manager Matt Williams also managed Scherzer in Double-A years ago, so the staff knows him and he knows the staff.

Washington now has six starters for five rotation spots and it remains to be seen how things will shake out. Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister have all been mentioned as trade candidates, and I'm sure there have been discussions about Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark as well.
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That picture of Max in a Nationals jersey just doesn't look right to this Tigers' fan.

Willie · Jan 22, 2015

Tramm is back with the Tigers...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI ? Alan Trammell is glad to be back with the Detroit Tigers after a 10-year absence, and he hopes his stay is a long one.

?The old English D, that?s the way it should be,? Trammell said of being back with the organization.

The veteran shortstop, who spent his entire 20-year playing career with the Tigers, is back with the organization as special assistant to general manager Dave Dombrowski.

Trammell, in attendance at the West Michigan Whitecaps Winter Banquet on Wednesday, will assist in on-field duties at both the major league and minor league levels, be involved in all personnel meetings, travel throughout the minor league system and participate in community relations.

?I don?t look at myself as a front office guy; I?m going to be a jack-of-all trades,? said Trammell, who was named to the position Nov. 3. ?I will be in uniform (for spring training) but, in transition, I won?t be on the field per say, but I?m OK with that. I always just want to be a team guy.

?My name is synonymous with the Tigers, as it should be and this is home for me. The way it ended for Kirk (Gibson) and I in Arizona (when they were fired) is not what how you want it, but that?s part of the deal.?

Trammell, 56, who was bench coach for Gibson for four seasons with the Diamondbacks, said he was contacted after the season by Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. The two previously played and coached together, and were former neighbors in Del Mar, Calif. Trammell considers him a close friend.

?At the end of the conversation, he asked me if I would consider it,? Trammell said. ?He knew I was looking for something ? I had my name out there for a few positions ? and I started thinking about it. He said he had talked to Dave (Dombrowski) about it; I talked to my wife about it and it became really a no brainer.?

He will head to spring training in Lakeland, Fla. with the position players on Feb. 24 and ?help out wherever Brad needs me to be,? he said. Trammell also expects to work with infield coach Omar Visquel.
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Willie · Jan 22, 2015

That picture of Max in a Nationals jersey just doesn't look right to this Tigers' fan.
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Kinda makes it easier for me to forget about him, lol.

mlmeng16 · Jan 25, 2015

http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fa...-see-1b-time-if-cabrera-isnt-ready-for-opener

Tigers GM: Avila could see 1B time if Cabrera isn't ready for opener

Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that if Miguel Cabrera is unable to play when the season opens, the team will look to Alex Avila as a possible short-term replacement at first base, per MLB.com.

"If he's not ready by opening day, it's gonna be very, very close. We'll know more Feb. 15," Dombrowski said.

Cabrera underwent right ankle surgery to remove bone spurs and to repair a stress fracture in a bone at the top of his foot on Oct. 22. He was cleared to remove his walking boot earlier in January and is expected to be reexamined on Feb. 15, right before Detroit's first full-squad workouts.
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I wonder if Victor Martinez is strictly playing DH?

FortheLulz · Jan 25, 2015

what exactly is a special assistant, i wonder? is that a nice name for a gofer?

i heard on WWJ on friday that VMart would also be playing some first base.

Willie · Jan 31, 2015

FortheLulz said:

what exactly is a special assistant, i wonder? is that a nice name for a gofer?

i heard on WWJ on friday that VMart would also be playing some first base.
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Now I'm hearing reports/rumors Vmart will handle some catching to start the season.

What a guy. I think he's going to DH, play first and catch - all at the same time.

Willie · Feb 2, 2015

Remember this guy? He passed away today. If I get details I'll post them, or if any of you do, put em up.

This is sad: Dave Bergman, a member of the 1984 Detroit Tigers team, has passed away at age 61. He had been suffering from cancer.

Bergman had a 17-year career. He was originally drafted by the Yankees in the second round in 1974. He only had 24 plate appearances for New York before being sent to Houston in a multi-player trade following the 1977 season. He played parts of four seasons in Houston and then went to San Francisco along with Jeffrey Leonard in a 1981 trade. In March of 1984 he was part of a large trade that resulted in him ? and, more famously, Willie Hernandez ? arriving in Detroit from San Francisco and Philadelphia, respectively.

That was a key trade for the Tigers, and not just because they acquired the 1984 MVP Award winner in Hernandez. Bergman was a key part of the World Series champions, playing in 120 games ? the second most he?d ever play in a season ? and hitting .273/.351/.417 while handling the larger portion of the Tigers? first base platoon (Darrell Evans played far more DH that year). Bergman would go on to play in the bigs through the 1992 season, all with Detroit. For his career he finished with a line of .258/.348/.367 in 3,114 plate appearances. And as the video embedded in this story in the Free Press shows, Bergman was also pretty adept at the hidden ball trick.

After he retired he remained in the Detroit area and was active in youth baseball. (Craig Calcaterra, HBT)
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Willie · Feb 5, 2015

--- [h]BREAKING[/h] ---

DETROIT -- For the second time in four years, Victor Martinez has suffered a major knee injury during offseason workouts. This one doesn't appear to be as severe, but it'll put at least the start of his season in question.

The Tigers announced Thursday that Martinez has torn the medial meniscus in his left knee. Martinez tore the cartilage last week during workouts in Florida and underwent an MRI and exam on Wednesday in Lakeland, Fla., where the extent of the injury became clear.
Noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery next Tuesday at his clinic in Pensacola, Fla. The Tigers aren't giving a timetable until then.

Martinez was doing baseball activity when he suffered the injury, team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Dombrowski said he found out about the injury Tuesday afternoon, shortly after his appearance at the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association luncheon.
Team doctors examined Martinez on Wednesday and got mixed news. While the knee ligaments were fine, the meniscus was torn.

"It's a lot different," Dombrowski said. "This one is cartilage."

That didn't make the news any easier on Martinez.

"I talked to him before he actually got the MRI," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "He was concerned, and he sounded down initially. Then I talked to him after the MRI, and obviously he was upset.

"He was audibly shaken. I can't say visibly shaken because I didn't see him."
Past timetables in baseball have been six to eight weeks, but recoveries have varied widely. Josh Willingham missed fewer than six weeks for the Twins with a similar injury two years ago, but Phillies slugger Ryan Howard missed the second half of the 2013 season after suffering a similar injury in July of that year. Joey Votto had minor surgery for a torn medial meniscus in 2012 and missed about six weeks.

One difference with Martinez is that he's older, turning 36 in December. He also has more of an injury history with his knees, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee three years ago. (MLB.com)
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This is really a serious set back for the Tigers and has the potential to change a whole lotta stuff. Sure hope he is a quick healer and I wish him the best.

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