This off-season

[slugger33]

This offseason, I think the Tigers should sign three main free agents: Adrian Beltre, Cliff Lee, and Carl Crawford.

Beltre - I could see him getting something like a 3 year, $33 million deal. Not bad for a great bat and defensive whiz at 3rd.

Lee - Maybe a 2 year, $34 million deal?

Crawford - 3 year, $36 million

thoughts?

[Captain Cold Nose]

This offseason, I think the Tigers should sign three main free agents: Adrian Beltre, Cliff Lee, and Carl Crawford.

Beltre - I could see him getting something like a 3 year, $33 million deal. Not bad for a great bat and defensive whiz at 3rd.

Lee - Maybe a 2 year, $34 million deal?

Crawford - 3 year, $36 million

thoughts?

A catcher who can hit his weight would be nice.

There is no way the Tigers get all three, not with the Yankees chasing Crawford and Lee. Crawford will get more than $12M and Lee probably will exceed your suggested price, as well. They won't just sign two or three year deals, either. And Beltre being so up and down during his career may not be such a wise investment, especially at that price.

[jbenchley]

The question is who are they going to dump?

My guesses are:

Inge - I think this is a definite after hearing about the Tigers recently putting him on the waiver wire

Willis - His contract is falling off which is great

Bonderman - May be retiring, although i think he will be back.

Zumaya - Do they take a the risk again to resign him, even though he pitched great when he was healthy this year.

Galarraga - I think we may end up parting ways with him

Damon - I think we are going to hang on to him

Laird - Gone

Avilla - I think we will end up keeping him as he actually does decent when they decide to give him consecutive starts

Scherzer - I think he stays, as he is young and there is only upside as he has proven he can be lights out when he has control of his stuff.

Peralta - I think he is gone along with Inge and we go after a legitimate heavy hitter to fill 3rd base, I don't think he fills the role at shortstop as i have heard his defense is not that good.

Santiago - I think we hang on to him and possibly platoon at shortstop with somebody else, his average is at .275 this year and he has proved to be a decent player offensively as well as defensively.

Guillen - I have mixed feelings about Carlos as he is injured way to often. Although when he is healthy, he plays very well. I think the Tigers could go either way on him.

I know i missed some and some may disagree, but this is my take.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Inge is almost as infuriating as Bobby Higginson was at times. Great, great glove but so inconsistent at the plate. Maybe it is time the Tigers tried something else.
If Beltre weren't so hot and cold I could endorse going after him, but he's going to demand big money like he did when he went to (and burned) Seattle. I'm not confident he could repeat what he's done this year in Boston.

I really hope Brendan Boesch rediscovers his stroke. Because if the younger guys do something and on a consistent basis, they won't need to chase those high-priced FAs.

[riverfrontier]

The Tigers have the best player in the league who hasn't smoked crack. His only vice was blowing the last series of last year on alcohol and Venezuelan good cheer. That's legal.

You know, I have made my points on here about this (current) hodgepodge Tigers team. The team is much the same, and I have not changed my outlook on the remainder of the season. But I will say, if the BBWAA or however the hell that acronym is spelled give an MVP award to Josh Hamilton over Miguel Cabrera, I will say that crackheads truly can make good. And that Albert Belle should retroactively be awarded the 1995 AL MVP award. He wasn't a crackhead. He was just a good baseball player who was robbed of his award because of his (figurative) rap sheet. Let's see if all these decrepit white men forgive Josh Hamilton.

Anyway, about the Tigers. I don't know what to do. Stop paying Johnny Damon 8 million dollars to be the worst left fielder in the league. Get a hitting coach that is trying to help players, and not just vying for a managerial job of his own. That would be Lloyd McClendon. Fire Jim Leyland for his mishandling of Brennan Boesch. Send Brennan Boesch to Toledo where he belongs. Call him up when he has a clue about the strike zone.

[Captain Cold Nose]

The Tigers have the best player in the league who hasn't smoked crack. His only vice was blowing the last series of last year on alcohol and Venezuelan good cheer. That's legal.

You know, I have made my points on here about this (current) hodgepodge Tigers team. The team is much the same, and I have not changed my outlook on the remainder of the season. But I will say, if the BBWAA or however the hell that acronym is spelled give an MVP award to Josh Hamilton over Miguel Cabrera, I will say that crackheads truly can make good. And that Albert Belle should retroactively be awarded the 1995 AL MVP award. He wasn't a crackhead. He was just a good baseball player who was robbed of his award because of his (figurative) rap sheet. Let's see if all these decrepit white men forgive Josh Hamilton.

Anyway, about the Tigers. I don't know what to do. Stop paying Johnny Damon 8 million dollars to be the worst left fielder in the league. Get a hitting coach that is trying to help players, and not just vying for a managerial job of his own. That would be Lloyd McClendon. Fire Jim Leyland for his mishandling of Brennan Boesch. Send Brennan Boesch to Toledo where he belongs. Call him up when he has a clue about the strike zone.

Enough on the "white men" commentary. Please. Any further such postings won't be for long on this site.

[DClutch]

I'm confident they will sign Crawford. Have been for a long time. Hes everything we have always needed - left handed bat with speed.

They have a ton of money to play with. I dont think they will sign a starter though. Their rotation with Verlander, Porcello, Scherzer, Galarraga is sure to be a strong spot so they need to spend on what they need - offense.

I'm sure Peralta will be back. He is a proven hitter. Hes always good for about 20 homers and a .260 average. He plays a decent SS and 3rd base. The rap was that he was a liability in the field but this year hes been rock solid at short. With his bat, and our weak lineup, you can afford to take a hit defensiely.

For that reason, I think he will come back. Beltre is defenitely an option. If he hops on board, I expect Peralta to be our SS.

Also Magglio may return. You could split time between him and possibly Boesch at RF/DH.

They will need a setup man or two also.

Hopefully they bring in Ramon Hernandez. Good defensive catcher with a respectable bat. Him and Avila would be a nice duo.

I dont know why you think Galarraga wont be back? Hes got an ERA under 4 and has been very good of late. He's super cheap, I bet he will be our 4th starter next year. No chance the Tigers let him go. They had trade offers for him last year but decided to hold on. They like him.

Bonderman is as good as gone. The Tigers skipped over him in a start already, they will probably do more of the same. Hes a great guy, but his ERA is well over 5. He just doesnt have it. You can get better production from Andy Oliver. I liked Bonderman but he could never put it all together.

Guillen will more than likely be our opening day 2nd basemen. Hes still a good hitter and a great veteran presence. If he gets hurt, which is likely, you have Raburn to take the 2nd base job and also Will Rhymes has been playing this year.

I'm sure there is a chance we bring Inge back. But there is no chance Inge comes back if Peralta doesnt. If we can really improve our offense at other positions, I'd be glad to have Inge at third. He'd come really cheap. But say we only land Crawford and need more offensive punch, I say we have to take a shot at Beltre.

Management has implied they are going to spend this money in the offseason. The Tigers already have a great core. They should win the Central next year if they make the moves I think they will.

If I was the GM, the opening day lineup would look like this:

Jackson
Crawford
Ordonez
Cabrera
Peralta
Guillen
Inge
Boesch
Hernandez/Avila

[DClutch]

There is no way the Tigers get all three, not with the Yankees chasing Crawford and Lee. .

I dont agree. The Yankees have a great outfield. Young, also. New York is going to busy enough trying to bring back Jeter and Rivera. Jeter is going to want more money than the Yankees will give him. They will have their hands tied this offseason. With the way Swisher and Gardner have been playing while flanking Granderson, it makes no sense to go after him.

Also, I think the Tigers can outbid New York anyway without destroying the payroll. Not many teams (almost none) can offer what Detroit can. Money wise, team wise. We have a great fanbase, great core of players, lots of money. A respected manager, people always said great things about the organization.

I think the Tigers have to be the frontrunners for those reasons. Crawford doesnt like Tampa. He hates the turf and you know he doesnt like having 10,000 fans at a game during a pennant race. Hes not coming back.

So how many teams have the need for him and the financial means to get him? There just isnt many.

I dont want to get ahead of my self, but the though of him and Jackson in the same outfield is exciting. I dont think a ball would ever drop between them.

[riverfrontier]

Captain, I actually didn't see your reprimand until today. I'll let you know, being a white man myself, I have nothing against them. Anyway, that acerbic post was most likely the six pack talking. I'll try harder to rein in the nasty, and uncork the happy.


That being said, I'll opine. I think a guy like Carl Crawford will be looking at his up-coming contract as his ultimate payday, and will be asking for much more than the Tigers are willing to spend. I see him going to New York or LA. I know he's a left fielder, but the Yankees will court him anyway, and the Dodgers, who actually need a left fielder, unless they're sold on Scott Podsednik, have shown that they will throw dumb money at filling outfield positions. Crawford, to me, is much more of an NL type outfielder anyway.

If Magglio comes back, great. But he's not a 15 million dollar outfielder anymore, and I hope he realizes this. If he doesn't come back, I guess Brennan Boesch inherits his position, and it's hard to tell with guys as raw as he is.

Austin Jackson will be in centerfield, and as a lead-off hitter with little power, it'd be nice to see him cut down on his strikeouts.

I don't know who will play left field. Ryan Raburn? Don Kelly? Carl Crawford?(!)

I'd like to see Jhonny Peralta play shortstop, and Carlos Guillen play second base, but I agree that Guillen might not last a season at that position. Will Rhymes, though he is playing well now, is a question mark, as was Scott Sizemore, so I don't know what an alternative would be.

Brandon Inge. Nothing that I can say about him that I haven't said before.

The same goes for Gerald Laird.

As to the starting pitching, keep Verlander, Scherzer and Porcello. If there is a chance to trade up on any of the others, by all means do so.

In the bullpen, as long as you have Phil Coke and Jose Valverde (who seems to be over whatever hex or curse was affecting him after the all-star break), with a chance of Zumaya, it's good to go. Perry/Bonine/Thomas etc. can be swapped in and out, depending on who's getting guys out.

As for signing a guy like Cliff Lee, his free agent profile seems to be taking a dive. He has an ERA over eight for his last five starts.

[quagmire]

I dont agree. The Yankees have a great outfield. Young, also. New York is going to busy enough trying to bring back Jeter and Rivera. Jeter is going to want more money than the Yankees will give him. They will have their hands tied this offseason. With the way Swisher and Gardner have been playing while flanking Granderson, it makes no sense to go after him.

I disagree. I don't see Rivera or Jeter go beyond November in contract talks. The Yankees know it would be a PR disaster to let them go so they will be signed back up rather quickly.

Also, what is Granderson's contract? While he has been better lately, I don't think the Yankees are quite happy with him. They may ditch him this off season for Crawford. Speed and a reliable bat. The Yankees also need at least 2 new starters. I think the Yankees will be pushing for Lee hard to replace Andy( as he is most likely retiring this season). They also need to replace Vazquez and have to deal with AJ Burnett.

[riverfrontier]

I don't know how many years that Granderson has left on his contract, but I'd say the Yankees, who can afford anybody at any time, would be looking elsewhere for centerfield. Curtis Granderson is a great defensive centerfielder with 20-homer power, but he strikes out far too much to be a Yankee. Not that I have any love for the Yankees, I just respect their plate discipline. And yes, by saying that, I am implying that this is a problem for the Tigers.

[DClutch]

I disagree. I don't see Rivera or Jeter go beyond November in contract talks. The Yankees know it would be a PR disaster to let them go so they will be signed back up rather quickly.

Also, what is Granderson's contract? While he has been better lately, I don't think the Yankees are quite happy with him. They may ditch him this off season for Crawford. Speed and a reliable bat. The Yankees also need at least 2 new starters. I think the Yankees will be pushing for Lee hard to replace Andy( as he is most likely retiring this season). They also need to replace Vazquez and have to deal with AJ Burnett.

I think Granderson still has atleast 2 years and 20 million left. Something along there. They are happy with him, hes playing great. All those things you listed make it harder and harder for them to focus on Crawford.