2:22pm: Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN tweets that the Tigers are also considering Juan Pierre. The thought would be to add a table-setter type and then let Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young drive in the extra runs rather than trying to add a middle-of-the-order hitter.
1:07pm: The Tigers are pursuing Johnny Damon, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Morosi adds that at this point, he's a stronger possibility for the club than Derrek Lee.
Detroit lost designated hitter Victor Martinez for the 2012 season last week when the switch-hitter tore his ACL during his offseason workouts, leaving a hole in their lineup. Though Damon turned 38 this offseason, he still posted respectable offensive numbers last season, batting .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers and 19 steals in 647 plate appearances for the Rays, most of which came as a DH.
A signing would make for a reunion between the two sides, as Damon spent the 2010 season as Detroit's primary DH, though he did make 36 outfield appearances that year. His outfield time was even more sparse in Tampa, with only 16 appearances to his credit.
Since becoming a full-time player in 1996, Damon has never played in fewer than 141 games in a season; he's averaged 655 plate appearances per season and played for six different teams in that time.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
cheaper not better options
No surpirse there. I can’t see Jimmy Leyland being stuck with a Vlad or a Matsui who is only good for DH duty at this point.
Damon is only good for DH duty at this point.
Damon was only good for DH duty on his first tour of duty with the Tigers. It didn’t stop Jim before, and I doubt it will stop him now. We’ve given Carlos Guillen enough time in the field to show defense isn’t our number one priority.
How about Jim sticking Avila at third for game, so he could squeeze in as many bats in an NL lineup as possible.
In fairness, Avila was a third baseman before he was drafted.
That shouldn’t be convincing enough for a manager to allow him to start there. He never once played that position professionally prior to his one start, and it showed when he played there in Colorado.
Touche. I had actually forgot that little trial by Jim.
So is Delmon Young. If that.
Not with Delmon Young on the roster …
I’m not for signing Damon at all, but he’s not as bad in LF as Delmon.
No, Damn it No!
who haven’t the Tigers considered? That might be the better question
Damon is in my mensch hall of fame. Fine DH still and good clubhouse presence like what Martinez was. Hopefully they get him.
Damon is just a much tougher out than any of the others. He may not hit 25 HR’s but he will make problems for opposing pitchers as they pitch around Miggy.
The alternatives are to trade for Bobby Abreu or Carlos Lee. Each is an unknown quantity in the clubhouse, but Damon fits in fine.
Maybe his salary would be at least partially covered by insurance on VMart’s contract.
Do it, I say.
Bobby Abreu is an unknown quantity in the clubhouse?
I’ll give ya Alfonso Soriano and $40 million dollars for a slightly rusted 1992 forest green Buick LeSabre with leather seats and a moonroof. Please make sure the radio is functional – I don’t wanna get ripped off.
There’s gotta be one or two of those lying around in Detroit, right?
I’d rather they just go after Yeonis Cepedes to play left and just let Delmon Young DH for the year.
Agreed, we already have a dh. I’m nervous about Cespedes, but it doesn’t make sense to get a dh when we need an of or 2b.
Again Juan Pierre makes more sense. He play the field (all 3 spots) and bat leadoff (which we need) also has speed.
Wrong – no speed anymore (watched him all of last year)- awful ofer – let the kids play – Why have a farm system.
.331 or lower OBP in 5 of his last 6 years, no power (zero), and a noodle arm. Tigers can do better.
I hope he doesn’t throw a hissy fit when you don’t resign him next year
tigers considering purchase of a 5$ footlong, management considers it a risky move.
Please God get Pierre
You clearly are a fan of the enemy.
Speed…check. Contact hitter…check. Plate discipline…check. Lead off man…check. Cheap…check. Younger than Damon…check. Not a fan of the enemy, just using logic and common sense.
Statistics would have to differ. He actually had a WAR of -0.4 last year.
Speed…declining. Contact hitter…check. Plate discipline…not so much. Lead off man…. better in the nine-hole. Younger than Damon … so are lots of guys.
Really? Juan Pierre? This isn’t good for Tigers fans… Although it wouldn’t be bad if the Tigers get Damon then sign Oswalt.
Why is everybody so down on this guy? Juan Pierre did an *alright* (not great or very good) job starting for Chicago. Yeah he isn’t a lead-off hitter, but all-around he is a decent player. I would absolutely have no problem having this guy on my bench as a fourth outfielder. The guy is ideal for pinch running, hitting lefties and some outfield substitutions late in the game. Detroit could use him in many number of ways.
Except he wouldn’t be on your bench as a 4th OF, he would be in the everyday line-up as the DH. I agree that the Pierre hating seems a bit out of place though. It’s not like there are any thumping DHs left on the market.
Damon and Pierre both bring about the same thing in terms of table setting. Pierre likely gets more OF time than Damon, but Damon is better in the clutch and brings some real veteran leadership. Damon PROBABLY comes cheaper too.
Unless the Tigers go the trade route, Damon and Pierre are probably the 2 best options available. If the Tigers want to get a bit more creative, Pudge would be a fair possibility as well. But there are more question marks going that route than going with Damon.
Personally, I would swap Boesch and Pierre. DH Boesch and give Pierre the field.
Boesch has a great arm. I’d rather Pierre in LF and Delmon DH.
Fair enough, that’s the better route then. I wasn’t aware of Boesch’s arm.
Letting Young DH would certainly be an option. It’s also why Pierre is likely to cost more than Damon too though. It’s not that Pierre will cost a bundle, but the incentive for the Tigers to go out and spend simply isn’t there yet. There’s always waiting a bit and seeing what can be worked out once the season is going.
Perhaps they can lure Craig Monroe out of retirement…
I’d rather Pierre on the White Sox.
I’d rather Pierre on the White Sox.
I’m not sure you said a single thing in that post I agree with.
Just go get Damon, he will not cost you that much and will give you some more speed on the bases. Yes I know he is not fast, but he will probably still be the 3rd fastest person on the tigers. They are slow.
Honestly I think he’d be the 2nd fastest guy on the team …
I just went and checked their SB totals for curiosity’s sake, and they only had ONE player with more than 5 steals … shocking.
I’d even rather have Wilson Betemit back than either of these two. The mere thought of Pierre on the Tigers causes severe heavage.
But even as a DH, Betemit is better.
Betemit 2011 .285 .343 .452 .795
Damon 2011 .261 .326 .418 .744
Betemit 3 years .284 .354 .467 .821
Damon 3 years .271 .348 .436 .784
More importantly, Betemit could put Inge or Kelly out of the lineup, is even better batting just left, and isn’t 38 years old.
Betemit batting left, 3 years: .292 .363 .486 .849
That would still leave us with a problem. I say we should bring back Betemit to play third and trade for a left fielder. Perhaps Franklin Gutierrez? I really don’t see why his name hasn’t been thrown around more. He could land the M’s a couple of decent prospects. I don’t know how he fits in with the re-building plan either. On top of that, you could maybe get someone like Brendan Ryan involved. He would give us a guy up the middle who is a great fielder and perhaps would be a better platoon partner than Santiago at second.
Santiago isn’t the problem at second. Raburn is simply not an infielder. By far the worst fielding 2B in the league. Delmon to DH, Raburn to LF with Dirks, get Santiago a LH hitting platoon partner. They have it backwards hitting Santiago vs RHP’s. Actually, Delmon’s money could have been better spent elsewhere. And sign Oswalt!
I’d still rather try to get Gutierrez, though. I don’t think it would take much more than a couple of B prospects. He would make the team a lot better on defense, too. Delmon to DH, Raburn on the bench, Santiago at second unless we can get someone better, and sign Oswalt.
There are two Raburns. One is a great hitter. The other doesn’t belong on the field. Two Boeschs as well, but I’d hope his issues in the second half last year were related to leg and thumb injuries. Not sure of that, but he’s a legit middle of the order bat when he’s on his game.
What I worry about though, is which Raburn we get. We have question marks at second, third, DH, and a spot in the rotation. While Gutierrez is coming off of an injury, if you put him out there and he is healthy, he can be the best defensive outfielder in the game, if he gets hurt again, you can put in Raburn. But I would rather go into the season with Delmon at DH, Gutierrez in left, Santiago at second, and Oswalt on the mound. If Santiago struggles, then we can look at the market at the deadline.
pierre will be perfect at comerica park. left hander with some speed. And the right center field gap. this is made for him to have some triples.
Johnny Damon and Juan Pierre? Problem?
There are enough of these players out there that you could get two and let the better man win out. Nothing wrong with depth…
Not gonna lie, I’d have rather them gotten Wily Mo Pena than the options I am seeing bandied around. This sucks.
If we sign Pierre or Damon that would most likely rule out any chance of Cespedes, so if u do go with that option we would have saved a lot of money so then
the tigers should go out and sign oswalt, Jackson, or trade for garza
There’s no way they’re going to replace Victor, so either of these works for me, as I imagine both can be gotten for not too high a cost and the team has enough run producers with a 3-7 of: boesch, cabby, avila, delmon, peralta
Getting a top of the order, obp bat allows them to move jackson down in the order and take the pressure off, and possibly shift delmon to dh for better defense… both addition by subtraction with more rbi opportunities ahead of cabby. all around, the best way to fill the void left by victor.
Though I like Abreu as well…
Please don’t sign Damon … Honestly, I’d rather have Pierre.
But I’d much prefer either Cespedes or Ibanez.
Please don’t sign Damon … Honestly, I’d rather have Pierre.
But I’d much prefer either Cespedes or Ibanez.
The past two years Ibanez’s home/road splits leave a bit to be desired. Then you take him out of Philly and into Comerica. What do you expect him to do? Ibanez is a big pass for me.
Wasn’t the purpose of signing V-Mart was that he was an upgrade on offense, implying that Damon would be a downgrade? Not quite good enough isn’t going to get us to the playoffs. And we might have better results than Damon from some of the younger players. That Leyland doesn’t like using.
Pierre…..lol
Damon looks like he’s still got a little bit left in the tank. If Detroit is looking for a DH to replace the injured Victor Martinez, why not sign Damon? He seems like a more reliable DH than Juan Pierre would. I doubt he will cost much either, so Detroit should definitely consider making a offer
Why not sign Magglio Ordonez?
He’s affordable
He’s a fan favorite
He would spend less time on the DL if he was the everyday DH
He’s an excellent contact hitter
He’s still got decent power
He can play OF 1-2 days a week if necessary
Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?
With Damon you get durability and a mix of 10-15 HR power, speed, and a good batting eye. He was my call for the Tigers vacancy and im not suprised. They gotta like his upside. Guys like Vlad and Ordonez “might” go out and surprise them but Damon is a far safer bet to get the at-bats you need from him.
Houston is dying to unload Carlos Lee. He could put up decent numbers hitting behind Cabby.
He is, at the very least, better than Damon or Pierre.