Soon to be a free agent, lefthander Jarrod Washburn said he "would be surprised" if the Tigers offered him a contract, according to John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press.
"The Tigers have not given me any indication that they would like me back. I haven't heard from them other than to talk about my knee, so I would be surprised if they offer me a contract."
Washburn says that his surgically repaired left knee feels good, and that he "already has regained all of his range of motion in the knee." That injury may be the cause of his poor performance after being acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline, when he put up a 7.33 ERA after the trade compared to 2.64 before.
On Monday we learned that Washburn originally planned to retire after this season, but his improved performance changed those plans. He also indicated that the Mariners are "definitely toward the top of my list." Washburn does not project to qualify as a Type-A or Type-B free agent, so there's no reason for Detroit to him arbitration after he made $10.35MM in 2009.
