Tigers signings and transactions

[Cowtipper]

Instead of just starting a new thread for each new move I want to post about, I thought I'd make this thread.

First news for today:

Detroit Signed Pitcher Jon Huber to a Minor League Contract

http://tsn.ca/mlb/transactions/

Tigers optioned 2B/OF Ryan Raburn, LHP Clay Rapada and C Dane Sardinha to Triple-A Toledo; reassigned RHP Scott Williamson to minor league camp.
With his name involved in trade talks, Raburn still has a chance of opening the season in the majors. Rapada's demotion is the real surprise here. He was penciled in at the start of camp, and he had a 1.64 ERA and a 10/1 K/BB ratio in 11 innings. However, the surprising decision to put Nate Robertson in the pen left him without a spot. The Tigers figure to have one of the game's worst rotations and will definitely need innings from their relievers, so they figured Eddie Bonine would make more sense than a second specialist to go along with Bobby Seay.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/pla...=258077&spln=1

[r@cosun]

I highly doubt the Tigers will have one of the league's worst rotations. Verlander is top-notch, Galarraga seems to still have his mojo from last year, and Edwin Jackson will be a work-horse like Nasty Nate was in '06. Porcello is the future ace here, and although his innings will be limited (as well as his time with the big club) he'll give us a few quality starts. Miner is at least as good as Rogers was, and is certainly a better starter than long-reliever. If Bonderman comes back strong we have a chance to have not only a decent rotation, but possibly a strong one.

Then there will always be a surprise from our farm system, someone we have no clue about right now that will turn our heads and force DD's hand to use him. The long cold off-season takes its toll on people, but the rotation situation isn't as dire as commonly thought to be. We'll be fine. Now the 'pen is another can of worms.

[tigers527]

Go tigers, they will compete this season....less than 2 games +/- in late september.

[Cowtipper]

DETROIT -- Marcus Thames' Tigers tenure is likely over. The team removed him from the 40-man roster Friday, the first step towards making the slugging outfielder a free agent.

The move was part of the Tigers' maneuverings to prepare their 40-man roster. Catcher Matt Treanor also was taken off the roster and will become a free agent. The moves free up spots for reliever Joel Zumaya and infielder Jeff Larish, both of whom were reinstated from the 60-day disabled list as required.

Infield prospect Michael Hollimon also was taken off the DL, but he was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo.

Thames was eligible for arbitration and was thus expected to be non-tendered this offseason. From that standpoint, Friday's move makes him a free agent sooner than he would've been had the Tigers waited until the December deadline to offer a contract. Nonetheless, it likely ends a career that included several big home runs and torrid stretches in the Tigers lineup, though never culminating in the everyday role he would've liked.

The Tigers signed Thames as a Minor League free agent after the 2003 season. He was a former highly-touted prospect with the Yankees, with whom he made his Major League debut by homering off Randy Johnson in his first big league at-bat. He hit 10 home runs in 184 plate appearances in Detroit in 2004, then stuck with the Tigers for good with a 26-homer season in 2006.

From there, he became known for torrid stretches at the plate. He tied a franchise record in 2008 by homering in five straight games, matching a mark shared by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, Rudy York, Vic Wertz and Willie Horton. He had a 10-game stretch during that time in which all eight of his hits were home runs, the longest such streak by a Major League player since Mark McGwire's 11 straight home runs in 2001.

Thames seemed set to get a bump in playing time this season once the Tigers released Gary Sheffield at the end of Spring Training. A season-opening slump at the plate and a painful oblique injury in April, however, started him on a year that didn't work out the way he or the Tigers would've liked.

Thames' 13 home runs, 36 RBIs, 258 at-bats and .453 slugging percentage marked his lowest totals since 2005. He batted .252 for the year.

The 32-year-old Thames, as well as the 33-year-old Treanor, will become free agents once they formally notify the Tigers that they will not be accepting outright assignments to the Minor Leagues. They'll immediately be free to sign with any Major League club.

Treanor signed with the Tigers last December to serve as a No. 2 catcher behind Gerald Laird, but played in just four games before undergoing season-ending hip surgery. He's on track to be ready for next season, but the Tigers appear set behind the plate for next year with Laird and top catching prospect Alex Avila.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Tigers reinstated right-handed pitcher Joel Zumaya and infielder Jeff Larish from the 60-day disabled list, among several roster moves announced by the club on Friday.

http://www.seattlepi.com/scorecard/m...ticleID=267244

[Cowtipper]

The Tigers continued with their off-season housekeeping Friday by completing their 40-man roster, which brings aboard four newcomers.

Scott Sizemore, who is tentatively set to start at second base for the Tigers in 2010, was added from the Triple-A Toledo roster, as was shortstop Audy Ciriaco. Ryan Strieby and Brennan Boesch, a pair of corner outfielders, had their contracts purchased from Double-A Erie.

The players are automatically invited to spring training with the big-league team and are protected from potential exposure to the Rule 5 draft.

Sizemore, 24, fractured his ankle last month during an Arizona Fall League game but is expected to be ready for spring training. He was the Tigers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2009 after batting .308 with 17 home runs and 66 RBIs in 130 games at both Erie and Toledo.

Boesch, 24, batted .275 in 131 games at Erie and led the league with 28 home runs. He had 93 RBIs. In a Baseball America poll of Eastern League managers, he was voted as having the most power of any player in the league.

Ciriaco, 22, played most of the season at Class-A Lakeland before being promoted to Toledo. He batted .262 in 121 games and in Baseball America's poll was ranked as having the league's best infield arm.

Strieby is a 24-year-old former first baseman who was moved to left field last season because of Miguel Cabrera's presumed long-term presence at first for the Tigers. He was off to a terrific start at Erie before fracturing a hamate bone in his wrist. He still hit. 303 with 19 home runs and 58 RBIs in 86 games.

Sizemore was even hotter during the first days of the Arizona Fall League. He was batting .368 in six games with three home runs and nine RBIs before injuring his left ankle when a baserunner slid into him during a double-play break-up at second base.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091...-40-man-roster