Today’s starter: (see Below)

**Breaking News**

The Tigers have obtained 3B Wilson Betemit from the KC Royals for minor leaguers Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez.  The real issue isn’t who they traded;  it’s who is going to go to make room for him. What does this mean for Brandon Inge, Ryan Raburn, Don Kelly, Ramon Santiago? On 97.1 Dave Dombrowski said “We’ll make a decision when the player reports.”  Stay tuned.

Betemit is currently at .281 / .341 / .409 / .750, which is a huge upgrade over the Detroit combined 3B line:  .186 / .251 / .249 / .500.

***

The Tigers fell behind early last night, but didn’t quit and pulled out a convincing victory.  They did however give up The Ghost:  Casper Wells and Adam Wilk were optioned to Toledo to make room for today’s starter Duane Below, and Charlie Furbush, who has been pretty much commuting between Detroit and Toledo.

Casper had been looking forward to playing this series against his good buddy Scott Sizemore, but that went wrong almost immediately when Sizemore had to leave the game after taking a pitch off the jaw.  Then his night got worse.

The evening went well for the team overall though:  from Victor Martinez’ winning game of tag, to Cabrera’s why-are-you-pitching-to-me-with-first-open towering home run, to Guillen’s first home run of the year, altogether a pleasant night.

The Tigers send lefty Duane Below out to make his debut and try to keep Detroit in first place.  Below went 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA at Toledo, with 83 Ks in 115 innings, with opponents batting just .225 against him (which, coincidentally, is the Oakland team road batting avg). He’s known as a strike thrower who gets ahead in the count.

Brandon McCarthy will be pitching for the 4th time in his career at Comerica Park.  He gave up 3 runs in each of the other 3 starts.  I’m putting him down for 3 tonight.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Duane Below

Below, who makes his MLB debut tonight, is from tiny Britton, MI in Lenawee county. Britton was originally named Balch, until a guy named John Britton paid $500 to rename it after himself.  If Below has a successful career, perhaps he could afford to rename the town Below…it is, after all, at the very bottom of the state.

Today’s Lucky Lefty Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch LF
3. Magglio Ordonez RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Carlos Guillen 2B
7. Alex Avila C
8. Don Kelly 3B
9. Ramon Santiago SS

Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis have secured the final two spots in the Tigers rotation, and Nate Robertson secured a spot with the Marlins. The Tigers today traded Robertson and $9.6 million of his $10 million contract for Marlins left handed prospect Jay Voss. For my thoughts on the trade, well, just look back a couple days.

Robertson outpitched his two competitors not only this spring, but last year as well. The stats say that Robertson should be in the rotation. It has to be a tough pill for Robertson to swallow.*

But, it is important not to make too much of spring stats, or even last year’s stats due to the limited sample sizes in play. Scouting reports should play a role as well and the Tigers are encouraged by the stuff that Willis and Bonderman have shown this spring.

On Willis Dombrowski said:

He’s throwing strikes. His ball has had quality movement. He looks more confident on the mound.

And on Bonderman:

He’s come back. He’s continued to progress. His arm strength is average to a tick above. It looks like he’s sinking the ball well. His slider has been good. He continues to work on his change — he’s thrown some good ones. I don’t want to say he’s got exactly the same stuff, because he used to throw 96-97 m.p.h. But it’s solid, major league stuff. He’s aggressive. You can tell he feels confident.

I’d have more faith in the Willis report if we hadn’t heard this before, like before the extension was signed prior to the 2008 season.

It would be one thing if there was salary relief in play today, but the only difference between cutting Robertson and the trade is Jay Voss (no disrespect intended Mr. Voss). They could have just cut any of the three really.

Eddie Bonine, Alfredo Figaro, Phil Coke, and Zach Miner all just became more important with today’s transaction.

*This isn’t really analysis, but Robertson is one of the Tigers I’ve had a chance to talk with. I’ll gloss over the “he’s a good guy” part because it’s cliche (but it’s also true). But Robertson did appreciate being a Tiger. He identified the Tigers as his team. He knows about the history and the places that legends such as Ernie Harwell and Al Kaline hold in our hearts. In that regard it makes me sad he’s leaving. Yes it is a business and he’s getting paid handsomely, but he’s also a person.

Lynn Henning was ahead of the curve on the Curtis Granderson trade front. He started beating the drum for a Granderson trade in October. It’s  something that I never would have seen coming. So kudos to Henning and his crystal ball. But why in the aftermath of the trade has he become so completely anti-Granderson and such a staunch supporter of all things Tigers?

On October 20th Henning wrote:

They will trade Curtis Granderson for two players. I cannot shake a personal belief that dealing Granderson is their only way out of heading into 2010 with zero chance to win the division.

While I disagree that keeping Granderson would have prevented them from winning the division, the accuracy is remarkable here. Henning would go on to say that the Tigers would use the trade to pick up a bullpen arm and a position prospect. He guessed on shortstop as the position, but pretty uncanny.

Henning continued the theme into November blogging about the possibility of a trade and this time saying it wasn’t about the finances, but that it was a means to get younger players in position to help the team.

As the winter meetings approached and other baseball executives were told that the Tigers were shopping Granderson, Henning picked up steam putting the odds at 80%. Other writers thought that the Tigers were asking for such a steep price for Granderson that he likely wouldn’t be on the move with Peter Gammons saying that the price was Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson. Only Henning and USA Today writer Bob Nightengale saw the burning desire for the Tigers to move Granderson.

They added young arms and now have arguably the best pitching, big leagues to the minors, of any organization in baseball.
- Lynn Henning

When the trade went down Henning penned a number of articles talking about how Dombrowski is building an enduring roster. He was cautioning fans to not judge the trade by 2010 and to get use to a payroll two-thirds of what the Tigers have maintained. Henning was effusive in his praise for the new Tigers and spoke of how the team will now be competitive for the next decade.

If Henning wants to sound like a member of the Tigers PR department, that’s fine. And if he’s celebrating conjuring up this trade that seemed farfetched in October but came to fruition in December, no problem. What I have issue with is the negative Granderson articles that he has come out with since the trade.

There was the section of a recent article called The Downside of Grand which listed  his salary figures for the remainder of the contract ($25.5 million). It also listed his batting average against left handers each of the last 4 years. The article also selectively listed his less poor September and October batting averages each of the last 2 years.

My rebuttal is that even in Granderson’s “down year” he was valued as a $15.3 million player and over the last 4 years he’s been worth $79.8 million with his lowest year coming in 2006 when he was valued a $14.6 million. He won’t make more than $10 million in any year during his contract unless a club option for $13 million is picked up in 2013. With regard to hitting lefties, he has a .894 career OPS against righties – who he faces in 76% of his plate appearances. As for late season fades, he has a .797 career OPS in September/October.

Selective stat picking isn’t a crime. I’ve done it here to make points as well, though I do try and present a complete picture as often as possible. I’m more troubled by articles like Granderson was beloved but on the decline.

Here Henning uses phrases like “fell from grace” and he spoke of “building tension in the clubhouse.” He essentially threw the Tigers offensive struggles all on the shoulders of Granderson.

Granderson, even as he hit 30 home runs, came to embody the Tigers’ sputtering, sprint-and-slip offense. The supposed ignition switch often became a drag on a batting order that seemed to deflate or inflate based on what Granderson was doing.

That an offense with Adam Everett, Gerald Laird, and Brandon Inge composing a third of the lineup and one that saw Clete Thomas batting third far too often deflated based on Granderson’s performance is ludicrous. Is Henning really blaming all the offense’s struggles on Granderson here? Is Granderson supposed to ignite Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Aubrey Huff, Marcus Thames and every other hitter?

But it gets better. Henning also blamed Granderson for doing too much for the community.

If it were just a matter of having an off season, the Tigers might have lived with it. But it goes deeper than that. Granderson has been spread too thin in Detroit. In that respect, his charm is also his curse.

snip

One must be careful about making criticisms here. But this feeling has been deep for a very long time, mostly because Granderson, for all his decency, on too many days appeared to be putting in more of a work shift than concentrating adequately on a game that must be played with consummate passion and attention.

That Granderson did fewer outside appearances in 2009 than he did in his quad-20 2007 season didn’t seem to deter Henning from questioning his commitment to the Tigers. Granderson’s work ethic has never before been questioned, and it shouldn’t be now either. Henning failed to note the extra work that Granderson would put in, such as making the trek to Toledo on several occasions to get in extra hitting work with Mud Hens coach Bull Durham.

It’s hard to argue with Granderson’s batting average last year (though a deeper dive would tell you it isn’t a reason to be concerned) or his struggles with left handed pitching. Those are facts and a matter of record. However, criticizing his commitment to baseball or his passion for the game is out of bounds – and to do it in the context of his giving back to the community  – is itself worthy of criticism.

In too many people’s rush to look at all the things Granderson can’t do (mediocre arm, strikes out too much, can’t hit lefties) they have forgotten the things that he can do. He hits for power, works the count, takes walks, runs the bases, and plays above average defense and he does it all for a contract that is a relative bargain. Maybe that’s why Brian Cashman wanted him so much.

The Curtis Granderson trade hasn’t set well with me from the outset. I’ve taken some time to mull everything over and look at it a number of ways. I think I’ve moved past the emotional component. I’ve taken a look back at the new Tigers and the return is OK. But therein lies the problem. The return was just OK in my view. An OK return isn’t enough to trade a player that didn’t have to be traded. It just doesn’t add up.

I know I’m not alone in this. Other Tigers bloggers who I respect for their thoughtful and analytic approach are still struggling with it as well. Like them, it is with the chronology of the deal that doesn’t make sense.

Joel Sherman first reported that the Tigers told the Diamondbacks that Max Scherzer wasn’t enough for Edwin Jackson which is how Daniel Schlereth came to be in the deal which is how the Yankees came into the deal.

I understand trying to maximize the trade value for Jackson, but wouldn’t a straight Scherzer for Jackson trade have accomplished the Tigers mission. They would have realized a net savings of $3-$4 million for 2010 while netting an additional 3 years of club control while not taking a step back on the field. Why not make that trade, forego Schlereth and keep Granderson on the team?

Perhaps Dombrowski shares the Diamondbacks concern that Scherzer can’t stay in the rotation because of violent delivery. If that’s the case the trade looks much less appealing right at the outset.

Or maybe the financial situation is much more dire than I project it to be? That is certainly a possibility, but the difference between Jackson and Granderson on the payroll in 2010 is $5 million. It isn’t an insignificant number but giving up Granderson doesn’t seem like the best option to save $5 million. Gerald Laird and Bobby Seay will combine to make more than that in 2010. Not to mention the fact that the payroll crunch is over after 2010.

I’m just not buying it.

I understand the Tigers limited resources this year, both in terms of budgets and in attractive assets and that some difficult moves may need to be made. If the Tigers had been bowled over with an offer I would get behind it. That wasn’t the case though. Reports are that the Tigers compromised their demands to let the deal happen. It was almost as if the team HAD to trade Granderson.

What if Dombrowski asked for Scherleth just to force the Yankees into the deal to unload Granderson? The Yankees would probably put together the best package due to the presence of Austin Jackson and the ability for the team to sell it to fans that Jackson could step right in next year.

The question still becomes why? Why would Granderson have to be unloaded and quickly? There has never been even a hint of any sort of character issue and Zach Miner spoke about how the club would miss his leadership. Not to mention the fact the club seems content with Miguel Cabrera’s transgressions the final weekend of the season.

It’s all speculation at this point, but with so little making sense right now that’s what we’re left with.What I do know is that for the first time since the 2002 I’m not looking forward to the coming baseball season with hopeful anticipation.

The last day of a very active winter meetings for Tigers fans is upon us. A look at what took place yesterday and what may take place today follows.

• With all the medical records eventually checking out the trade became complete and the 3 GM’s had their press conference while Leyland fretted about the lack of a leadoff hitter and a lineup that is very right handed.
• The new Tigers met with the media and provided their thoughts on coming to Detroit. Phil Coke is prepared to start or relieve and Daniel Schlereth’s fiancée is from Michigan and the new in-laws were already Tigers fans.Meanwhile old Tiger Curtis Granderson talked about how hard it is to leave Detroit.
• Dusty Ryan and Freddy Dolsi were DFA’d to make room on the big league roster.
• Brandon Lyon signed a 3 year deal with the Astros leaving the Tigers to pursue Fernando Rodney or Kevin Gregg as closer options. J.J. Putz was also linked to the Tigers but he may end up with the White Sox instead.
• The Tigers are reportedly one of five teams interested in Scott Podsednik.
• The Rule 5 draft is this morning. The Tigers roster is full at 40 meaning they can’t participate, but they could still lose players.

This should be old hat by now, but here are all the ways to keep up with the Winter Meetings at DTW.

UPDATE 7:30 PM: Freddy Dolsi and Dusty Ryan were designated for assignment. I’m surprised by both moves with other seemingly expendable players on the 40 man roster…Jason Beck spoke with Gerald Laird and got his take…Beck also spoke with Dombrowski and Phil Coke’s role has been left open…Danny Knobler sees the Tigers as potentially big spenders after this season.

UPDATE: 4:50 PM: The press conference just ended Dave Dombrowski fielded most of the questions. Here are the notes:

• Dombrowski: team needed to make adjustments. Wanted to get a young starter and a young centerfielder to start. Team is trying to stay competitive and set themselves up for the future.
• On Schlereth: He was a player the team considered drafting in 2008. For the Diamondbacks to include him, they were going to need a second arm which brought in the Yankees.
• On Austin Jackson: they are counting on Jackson to make the big league club. They have been scouting him for a while. “Jim Leyland breaks in young players as well as anybody.”
• Cashman on Granderson: After speaking about how hard it was to give up the young players that they did he went on to say he’s a premiere player and an exceptional character guy. He can step in right away as an established player which was important with potential departure of Damon and Matsui
• Dombrowski on trading Granderson and his popularity: It’s difficult and he told Granderson it was one of the more difficult calls he’s made in his career. Granderson has meant a lot to the franchise, the city, and the state but it is a business decision. He’s a unique individual. Hope is that they have acquired more players that the fans will learn to love.

UPDATE: 4:08 PM: Now pretty much every writer says its official and the presser comes at 4:30. Also John Lowe has a story on Leyland’s media session this afternoon and his concerns about the youth of the team and the right handedness of the lineup.

UPDATE 3:35 PM: Joel Sherman just tweeted that the trade is official. Expect press releases and a news conference very shortly.

UPDATE: 2:10 It sounds as if Jim Leyland is holding court with some reporters at the moment. Kevin ‘Duk Kaduk of Big League Stew (@bigleaguestew) has been tweeting the notes. Leyland is frustrated to be talking about players he used to have and is worried his lineup is too right handed. Sounds like a familiar refrain.

It looks like there will be plenty of news, notes, and opinion on the trade that will come out today – along with a formal announcement and quotes galore. I’ll use this post to try and capture some of the more salient information.

As of 11:15 AM what’s being reported is:

• The Tigers plan on Austin Jackson being the starting centerfielder in 2010
• The Tigers as of now are planning on Max Scherzer being in the rotation
• Joel Sherman has details on how the trade came together. It sounds as if at one point there was a straight Edwin Jackson for Scherzer trade on the table but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers.
• There are whispers about Granderson having a depth perception issue. I view this as mostly ridiculous but Grandy did talk about having trouble picking up the ball at Comerica Park.
• For what it’s worth Scherzer is a Scott Boras client
• Baseball America released their Top 10 prospect list for the Diamondbacks and Daniel Schlereth ranks 5th.

As Tigers fans let us just hope that today is relatively boring. The Tigers will remain active and the roster will continue to change but hopefully we’re done with franchise-type players leaving. In the meantime here’s a recap of what happened yesterday – including some late notes – as well as a look at what may happen today.

• There was a pretty big trade that went down. Baseball America compiled scouting reports on the Tigers return and Baseball Prospectus talked with Arizona manager A.J. Hinch
• Despite the Tigers adding a few bullpen arms, they are still looking for a veteran closer. Some names linked to the Tigers are Kevin Gregg and J.J. Putz. Also don’t rule out a return of Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney. Tim Kurkjian reported on Baseball Tonight that he spoke with a Tigers source that said the team would be comfortable with either option.
• The Tigers have to free up a couple of roster spots when the trade is official announced (which could come today if the medical reports are signed off on). I’d look for Bobby Seay to be either traded or non-tendered.
• The Tigers signed Robinzon Diaz to a minor league contract giving them some additional depth if Alex Avila isn’t ready yet.
• Jon Morosi tweeted late last night that there has been some interest in Carlos Guillen.

After some extensive reflection I’ve come to the conclusion that this deal will never really sit well with me. By never I don’t actually mean for eternity, but at least until the fruits of the trade bear some sort of championship or something. That isn’t a reflection on the players the Tigers received, more on the circumstances and the players they let go. Still, there are ends to tie up and dots to connect and other miscellany in need of blogging.

Roster Moves

The Tigers are plus 2 on their 40 man roster once this deal is made official. Jon Morosi tweeted that the Tigers have let it be known that Bobby Seay, Dusty Ryan, and Jeff Larish are on the trade block.

I can see trying to get something for players who aren’t in the plans, and it’s clear that Ryan isn’t a Jim Leyland favorite (and they signed Robinzon Diaz to a minor league deal today), but why hold space on the roster for Dontrelle Willis or Don Kelly?

Lefty-palooza

In the last 2 days the Tigers have picked up 3 left handed bullpen arms. The Tigers dropped Clay Rapada but they still have Fu-Te Ni and Seay on the roster. Now Thomas is kind of a question mark but the Tigers expect him to help at the big league level. Daniel Schlereth may need more seasoning in the minors and it remains to be seen if the Tigers will use Phil Coke in the rotation or the pen.

But more and more signs point to Seay being non-tendered. Seay would likely make about $2 million so that could potentially be another opportunity to save $1.5 million.

Payroll

Given today’s moves, and even allowing for a return by Seay, I have estimated the Tigers payroll to be about $115 million heading into 2010. In 2011 that committed money drops to $49 million with Magglio Ordonez’s option and $34 million without. Of course that only accounts for 3 players so the Tigers would have some holes to fill.

Unfortunately I do believe that today’s move will have a negative impact on attendance before the season even begins. People are pissed and I’ve heard many say they are cancelling their season tickets. It wouldn’t surprise me to see outrage and empty checking accounts combine to knock down the season ticket base by 3000 which is roughly a quarter of a million tickets. It gets worse if the Tigers record sinks and let’s face it, this team isn’t as good as last year.

Silver Linings

Despite being bummed out that Granderson is gone, the reviews of the trade from around the country have been mostly favorable. Keith Law, Dave Cameron, and Rob Neyer have all said that the Tigers did well. Danny Knobler talked to several executives that thought the Tigers got a real nice collection of players. Mike Rogers put some estimates on performance and salary and things seem to work out well in that regard as well.

I’ll just reiterate now that when I speak ill of this trade, it isn’t the players the Tigers got back. I think the Tigers got a decent package. I just never wanted to part with Granderson in the first place.

The legacy

Dave Dombrowski has made a number of bold moves in his career. He traded Randy Johnson for Mark Langston. He turned some blockbusters as the Marlins GM and the Miguel Cabrera trade was epic. But if this trade doesn’t work out (and we won’t know if it works out for a couple years), this will be his legacy in the Detroit due to Granderson’s popularity. It takes guts to make a move like that.

As unpleasant as giving up Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson is, the Tigers did manage to net themselves a handful of players who will be able to help in 2010. For the most part these aren’t prospects where fans need to hope that they pan out. The Tigers added a starting pitcher, 2 bullpen arms, and hopefully a centerfielder for the near future.

Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer is headliner of the group and he will take over Edwin Jackson’s spot in the rotation. Scherzer is a year younger than Jackson, but with only a year and a half of service time he won’t reach free agency until the 2015 season. The righty was Arizona’s top pick in the 2006 draft.

In 2009 Scherzer fanned better than a batter an inning and his 3.87 FIP was impressive. He’s a fastball (94ish), slider (84ish), change-up pitcher (85ish). Even if ‘09 was a breakout year for Jackson, Scherzer’s year was better.

Plus Scherzer is sabermetrically inclined so that should be fun.

Scherzer image credit: tunnelarmr on Flickr

Austin Jackson

If Scherzer was the centerpiece in exchange for Edwin Jackson, then Austin Jackson was the key piece coming over for Granderson. The Tigers new centerfielder hit 300/354/404 as a 22 year old at AAA. Jackson rates very well amongst many prospect watchers:

• MLB.com ranked him as the 27th best prospect in baseball going into 2009.
• Baseball America ranked him as the Yankees best prospect, best athlete, and best defensive outfielder going into 2009.
• Kevin Goldstein ranked him a 5 star prospect and second in the Yankees system heading into 2009

In terms of development it sounds like Jackson has room to add power, which he’ll need to do as he isn’t a pure burner. He’d probably rank in the top 3 now in terms of Tigers prospects.

Daniel Schlereth

In addition to grabbing the Diamondbacks 2006 top draft pick, they also got their 1st rounder from 2008 in Daniel Schlereth. Schlereth has a 93-94mph fastball and a 79mph curveball and the lefty will be pitching exclusively out of the pen. He’ll strike out a lot of guys, but he’ll also walk way too many. He appeared in 21 games and pitched 18.1 innings in 2009.

Kevin Goldstein rated him as a 4 star prospect after the 2008 season. Baseball America releases their Diamondback’s Top 10 on Wednesday, but Schlereth rated as the 3rd best prospect in their system last year.

Phil Coke

Phil Coke is another lefty bullpen arm (that’s 3 that the Tigers have picked up in 2 days). To clarify though, Coke pitched out of the Yankees bullpen last year but has been primarily a starter in the minors. With the deal not done in the most official of senses Dombrowski hasn’t commented on what role he sees for for Coke in 2010.

Baseball America rated Coke as the Yankees 8th best prospect heading into 2009, but at 27 there probably isn’t much room for him to improve at this point.

I have some time I figure to take a look at what the Tigers have surrendered and what the Tigers are getting. Will look not just at the numbers, but at the finances and other potential ramifications. That is done better with a clear head. But first….first there is the grieving.

In 2002 the Tigers drafted a kid out of Chicago in the 3rd round. A hard worker this guy was. He didn’t have the one stand out tool, but he managed to do everything pretty well. For that reason he was always overlooked a little bit on various prospect lists.

After working his way through the Tigers system, improving at every stop he got a September call-up. Due to a variety of roster machinations and injuries he got a chance to show his stuff in 2005. I was there when he got that first 2005 start and I remember sitting with my buddy Russ who was asking about the new guy. I explained he could hit pretty good and he could run pretty good and he was a solid defender. After watching him stroke a triple Russ turned to me and said, “I’ll say he can run pretty good.”

In 2006 Curtis Granderson was the Tigers starting centerfielder on Opening Day in Kansas City. I remember interviews where he talked about his feeling when he was out there for the National Anthem and how he felt he had really made it at that point.

He became a key part of the magical 2006 team that made baseball relevant again in Detroit. For many of you reading this you wouldn’t even be on this site were it not for his contributions. He had a big series against he Yankees in the playoffs, but I mostly remember him for hitting a game-tying homer in the 9th inning against the Reds that year. As the season wore on though he became a regular target for quotes on Fox Sports coverage because he was so well spoken, humble, and affable.

When Tigers fan Brian Bluhm was killed in the Virginia Tech tragic shootings, Granderson who was informed that Bluhm was a big fan of his, made him his his number 1 fan on Myspace. What kind of high profiile athlete does that?

Of course 2007 saw the breakout season. The incredible quad 20 with the gold glove caliber defense in centerfield, including a dramatic wall catch that robbed Wily Mo Pena of a home run and secured a sweep of the Red Sox heading into the All Star break. A star was certainly born and further cemented when he joined TBS coverage for the Post Season and became a true ambassador for the sport of baseball.

The Tigers, the city of Detroit, and the state of Michigan had a favorite son. A guy who’s off the field heroics were at the same All Star level that his on field heroics were. And yet it was a guy who was incredibly accessible, even taking the time to answer a few questions for this humble blogger. People adored Granderson, and rightly so.

There was the work ethic and the personality, and the fact he could actually play the game as well. The city of Detroit for all its struggles has been blessed with a series of stars to be proud of. After Al Kaline, and Alan Trammell, and Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom, and, Joe Dumars. Guys who spent their whole career representing the city of Detroit. Granderson was going to be the next one. The one to carry the torch. Granderson was from Chicago but he became one of ours. It wasn’t any one thing, not the Grand Kids Foundation or the way he took a walk off away from Grady Sizemore or the way he conducted himself in interviews. It was all of those things in one special package.

For those who are upset about the trade, I can’t blame you. There is a baseball reason for what went down. But right now it’s okay to grieve. Granderson was a remarkable player and a source of pride for everyone who flipped on that English D cap in the morning. This is the kind of trade that rips the soul out of a fan. The good news is that for those who have their Granderson jersey and called Granderson THEIR Tiger you don’t need to keep that jersey in the closet. It’s an instant classic.

The Tigers today announced the signing of southpaw Brad Thomas, and that they traded Clay Rapada to the the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. Furthermore, they outrighted Zach Simons.

Thomas pitched the last two years in Korea and Dave Dombrowski said in a statement he expects Thomas to contribute out of the bullpen at the big league level. Judging by this video it looks like Thomas has a fastball that sits 90-91mph and a breaking pitch that registers about 80mph.

Checking NPB Tracker it looks like Thomas was drawing interest from the Hansin Tigers. The Tigers have recently increased their presence in the pacific rim and last year it netted them  Fu-Te Ni from Taiwan. Ni made the leap the to the big leagues and led the league in stranding runners out of the bullpen.

Rapada was acquired as the PTBNL in the deal that sent Craig Monroe to the Cubs. He never really found a place with the club and I was a little surprised to see him kept on the 40 man roster.

Simons was acquired in exchange for Jason Grilli. He put together a solid second half in 2008 leading to a spot on the 40 man roster. He followed that up with a solid season at Erie with 8.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 leading to a 2.82 ERA in 51 innings. He only allowed 1 homer at Erie.

Analysis

I like the addition of Thomas as a low risk move. I don’t have huge expectations from a 32 year old pitcher with 23 innings of big league experience, but he’ll make the league minimum and if he doesn’t work, he doesn’t work.

Trading Rapada isn’t much of a surprise. His numbers at Toledo were quite good actually, but for some reason Leyland didn’t trust him.

I’m surprised to see Simons outrighted though. He had a solid season and the Tigers are reportedly shopping for bullpen help. I think that there is about to be another move where the Tigers acquire more players than they’re giving up (like a Jackson trade) or they’re planning to shop in the Rule 5 store on Thursday.

The Tigers have acquired Aubrey Huff from the Orioles for Brett Jacobson.  Joel Zumaya has been moved to the 60 day DL. “Huff is a quality major league hitter, who adds a lefthanded bat to our lineup and brings versatility to our club with his ability to play numerous positions,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. He has batted .324 (34×105) with runners in scoring position this season. An announcement on the move for the 25 man roster likely won’t come until tomorrow when he reports.

Conference Call Notes:

• DD: Huff adds left handed middle of the bat type hitter to the team. They’ve worked on getting a bat for awhile
• DD: Huff can play first, third (spell Brandon), DH, and left field. Hasn’t played left since 2006. Huff is happy to play any position and play in a pennant race.
• Huff will be a free agent after this year (currently Type A)
• DD: Brandon Inge isn’t going on the DL
• DD: no correlation between Jacobson move and possible Turner/Oliver signings
• DD: not sure how much Guillen can play in the field but would like to have both bats in the lineup against right handed pitching
• DD: Huff passed through waivers – he wasn’t claimed by Detroit
• DD: Tigers are taking on the remainder of Huff’s salary
• DD: Magglio is not the corresponding roster move

More to come…

Analysis

While Aubrey Huff is having an off year, it’s hard not to like this move. Mike Rogers has done the math already and it works out well for the Tigers with Huff likely adding a fraction of a win over the last 7 weeks of the season.  It’s not an earth shattering amount, but he can fit this team well for the stretch run and the price was certainly acceptable. Brett Jacobson was the 4th round pick last year and stands a decent chance of playing in the bigs by next year or the year after. But he was one of he bevy of relivers the Tigers took last year and he isn’t Perry/Satterwhite/Weinhardt.

Huff is a couple years removed from playing 3rd base, and while Dombrowski didn’t have specifics on his playing situation (that’s up to Leyland), I’d venture a guess that he gets about 4 starts a week and that one of those come at third. The others will likely come in the outfield meaning less time for Clete Thomas (presuming he doesn’t draw the short straw), Marcus Thames, and…perhaps Magglio Ordonez.

Since the beginning of August Leyland has gone away from the platoon arrangement, and instead has been trying to rotate at-bats through his different options. Clete wasn’t holding up his end of the platoon anyways and this move may help in the Ordonez-not-vesting scenario. Look at how these PA’s breakdown:

• Guillen -60
• Thomas – 54
• Ordonez – 46
• Thames – 38
• Raburn – 29

Guillen will still DH against all righties, but there is room to spread a lot of those at-bats around. And I really think Thomas sticks because I think they prefer Thomas’ glove in the outfield in late innings at the very least.

Expecting Huff to produce isn’t a pipe dream given his track record. Lee notes he is a streak hitter, I didn’t know this about him but I’ll trust Lee’s info because I trust Lee.

Mostly though I like this move because there is so little risk involved. Huff is a pending free agent. I doubt he gets an arbitration offer if he is a Type A because chances are high he’d accept because I don’t know that he’d get a more favorable deal on the open market where the receiving team would have to cough up a first round pick. If he slips to Type B there’s a good chance the Tigers net themselves a sandwich pick.

Links and such

• Huff is on Twitter @aubreyhuff

The Tigers bolstered their rotation today by acquiring Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners. The Tigers give up Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

I’ll have more on this later (I’m at the zoo with the family and I want to keep Mrs Billfer happy) but I love this move for the Tigers (and the Mariners). I like Robles a lot but a good prospect isn’t a bad price to pay to upgrade a spot in the rotation.

If memory serves Washburn is a type B meaning the Tigers should net a draft pick as well.

UPDATE: This stuff is new since the initial “walking through the zoo updating the site” post.

Mauricio Robles pitches for the Lakeland Flying Tigers cr- Roger DeWitt

Washburn sports a very sexy 2.64 ERA. It’s likely an unsustainable ERA due to a low strike out rate. But his FIP is still a very solid 3.75. This is a run below where Washburn has been since the 2002 season (when his numbers were very much like they are this year.

A couple things are working in Washburn’s favor. He has added a new pitch and he’s had tremendous outfield defense behind him. In Detroit he should be able to bring his new pitch, but the outfield defense won’t be as good. Granderson and Thomas are no reason to worry, but Ordonez/Thames/Raburn wouldn’t play in the Mariners outfield.

French’s FIP is nearly identical and is 3.87. French was a fringe prospect until he was pushed to AAA this year and saw his strikeout rate jump and his walk rate drop and he elevated his prospect status. A favorable debut at the MLB level is certainly encouraging.

So here we have 2 pitchers who are both pitching much better than anyone expected going into the season, and their numbers are similar now. The Tigers are banking that Washburn is a better bet to sustain his success throughout the season than French is. It’s not a bad bet.

Of course if French performs as well or better than Washburn (as some expect) we’ll look back at this trade with disgust because then the Tigers will have parted with a lefty 20 year old fanning better than a batter an inning at high A ball. Because Robles is the cost of “upgrading” to whatever level of performance that Washburn will bring over French.

Back in December 2008 the Tigers completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that sent Matt Joyce to the Rays for Edwin Jackson. I wasn’t a fan of the trade, and those who read the post titled “Tigers set to send talented outfielder to Tampa for guy who throws hard” may have picked up on my displeasure. This is where I say I’m wrong.

Jackson has pitched better than I ever would have anticipated. He was credited with a breakout year in 2008 when he notched 14 wins, but wins and losses don’t really measure breakouts. His walk rate certainly improved, but he struck out fewer than 6 batters per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio was well under 2. Based on his career he looked to be a number 4 starter coming into 2009. That combined with Joyce’s potential, and other issues like contract status and years of service caused me to pan the deal.

But something has changed. Jackson has become a strike throwing machine. After Friday night’s effort he is walking fewer than 2 batters every 9 innings. His K rate is back North of 7 per 9 and he’s keeping the ball in the ballpark. He is benefitting from a low BABIP, but even if that number regresses his peripherals indicate he’s still an above average pitcher.

Whether it is Jackson figuring out how to maximize his stuff, or the tutelage of Rick Knapp, things are working. First pitch strikes are up. Swings and misses are up. Opposing hitters are chasing more pitches out of the zone. These are all good indicators.

We’re only 8 starts into the season and so small sample size balloons are still popping all over, but what is encouraging is that Jackson has never had a string of starts like these 8. And as a young player real improvement is certainly possibility.

As for Matt Joyce, his numbers don’t matter a whole lot at this point. With less than a year of service time he has plenty of time to still be a valuable player. But if Jackson can maintain anything near this pace throughout the season, the cost becomes much less relevant. I’m happy to be wrong so far and I’ll be thrilled to be this wrong at the end of the season as well.

The Tigers have sent James Skelton (or actually they just let the Diamondbacks keep him after the Rule 5 pick cleared waivers) to Arizona for Brooks Brown. I’ve written about Skelton in the past, so we’ll focus on Brown for a moment.

Brown started at AA for the Diamondbacks last year and had a 4.18 ERA with 112 K’s in 144 innings pitched. He’ll be assigned to Erie to start the year. The right hander is 24 years old. Brown didn’t make the BA top 10 for Arizona, but his name did come up in the chat and Will Lingo had this to say:

Will Lingo: That is a pretty good analysis. Brown took a 3.63 ERA into the final month last season, but he was pretty bad from there on out and in the AFL. His stuff also hasn’t been quite as good as it was in college, so some people think he should just take his sinker-slider combo to the bullpen. But his big frame and durability still suggest he could provide more value as a starter. He’ll get another shot in the Triple-A rotation, but I think if he gets to the big leagues it will be as a reliever.

Sickels had him as the 15th best prospect in the organization but noted a loss of velocity and command.

He does keep the ball in the park with only 14 homers allowed in over 300 minor league innings.

As for Skelton, he was a lefty slap hitting catcher with good speed and very good on base skills. He was also tiny and there were doubts that his skill set would translate well at higher levels. And that may have been evidenced as he struggled this spring. But…it is also an intriguing skill set and one I’m surprised to see the Tigers give up on.