Here's the latest from the home of the American League champion Tigers….
- The Twins might not receive much more than a No. 4 starter in exchange for Josh Willingham, an AL executive tells Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio. "There's no doubt Josh has a very good contract, but I really doubt a team would trade a viable starting pitcher for a guy with a strong bat but who is limited defensively," the executive said. "It's a lot easier to find a left-field or DH-type than to trade a good starting pitcher for one and then have to backfill the rotation spot." The 33-year-old Willingham is owed $14MM through 2014 and posted an .890 OPS last season, but another AL executive says Denard Span is a better trade chip for Minnesota.
- The Orioles have asked the Twins and Royals about Willingham and designated hitter Billy Butler, reports MLB.com's Paul Hagen. Both the Twins and Royals are desperate for pitching and while the O's have some good young arms, I don't think Baltimore has the pitching depth to spare in either the majors or minors.
- The Tigers want to keep backup catcher Gerald Laird but he will probably leave for a team that will give him more playing time, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- The Tigers are generally active early in the offseason, though FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) thinks this won't be the case this winter as the club's plans were pushed back by their World Series appearance.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sees Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as a good trade target for the Cardinals, and he suggests a few young Cards prospects who could go to Cleveland in exchange for the All-Star.
Lance Lynn alone or Matt Adams and one of their bullpen arms for Asdrubal sounds good to me.
Would have to be Lynn and Adams.
more like Blair or Siegrist or Whitting and Adams
Tigers should consider bidding on Willingham, not that we should ‘need’ him with V Mart coming back BUT…way cheaper than Hamilton and prettygreat consistent numbers.
If the Tigers are going to trade for a corner OF, I’d rather check in with Choo
willingham would fit right into the 6 slot in the batting order. i think he’s got two years left on his deal? and it wouldnt take castellanos or garcia to get him. Flip a couple minor leaguers and either Boesch/Dirks, n we got a deal.
As nice as his bat would play in the order the Tigers have a definite need for defense as well as offense. They cannot continue to look at just the bats and not the gloves. We all become enamored with the offensive side of the game, however, if a team continues to put a slow pitch softball team out there it has both short term and long term ramifications upon the pitching staff. I for one would pass on Willingham and hope to find a lesser offensive player for one who can at least field his position at a major league average.
Terry Ryan is too savvy to accept junk for Willingham. The Twins are loaded with Boesch/Dirks-types. Offer a decent package that includes pitching, and maybe you’re in business.
Idk what we would give them in return but I know my A’s need Asdrubal Cabrera
We would love Parker for Asdrubal….
Well I do know that Billy won’t trade any of our pitching luckily. We are looking to trade Seth Smith with a prospect I’m guessing.
A’s and Cards fans, remember that Cabrera is no Ozzie Smith in the field. And he isn’t coming for cheap.
Defense isn’t our #1 priority anymore…catcher and shortstop were the two lagging positions in our lineup this season. If we add Cabrera’s bat and stay healthy, we can definitely win the AL West again.
I would think the Yankees would at least be willing to give up Nova for willingham assuming they can bring back Pettitte/Kuroda. That would definetely necessitate a move to center for Gardner though.
Willingham to the Pirates for Jeff Karstens or Locke?
If thats what the Twins are getting offered, Willingham will be with the Twins next year.
I guess the Orioles are listening to my ideas ….Butler would be perfect fit in Baltimore. They’ve got plenty of pitching depth to swing this deal.
Hahaha! Well Good Luck!
Oh BTW who exactly is going to teach/improve Billy Butler at 1st base.
The same one that taught Chris Davis?
Billy Butler should not be allowed anywhere near a fielders glove.
He’s not going to win you a Gold Glove….that’s for sure…..but I’ll take the slight down-tick in defense for his bat.
He’s much better offensively than Reynolds, younger, and locked up for 2 more years.
The other “good problem” we have is starting pitching depth. We’ve got 10-11 starting pitchers and only 5 spots. I think it’s time to trade 2 for a good bat (power and average)…..whether it’s Butler or someone else.
if a team as poor as the royals has never really trusted him with a glove a contendending team DEFINITELY is not going to
Actually the Royals have very good defense, 4 GG nominees this year and even better next year without Betancourt. Billy never needed to use a glove, but while he has no range, he isn’t ham-handed either.
Butler is still young, proven; isn’t that bad in the field, and his bat is first-rate. But the O’s would really need to pony up lots of GOOD pitching for this Royals fans favorite. Even Dayton Moore knows this.
The Orioles have depth….they don’t have any front-line starters, but they do have about 9 or 10 guys who can take the ball. Figure that Jason Hammel, WY Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman would be your top 4 to start the season. Gausman and Dylan Bundy figure to have a 2013 impact as well.
That leaves Matusz, Arrietta, Hunter, Britton, Steve Johnson available for trade.
I’m not sure any of those bring back Butler or Willingham, of course, but the Orioles do have depth! In the right deal, you could trade Tillman or Chen, I guess, but they’re pretty valuable: cost-controlled young arms.
I’d consider a deal headlined by Bundy & Arrieta if I was the Twins…although I think they’d rather deal Morneau cause Willingham has a swing built for TF
Gee for Willingham
Would love for Butler to play in Philly. Too bad he doesn’t play outfield or 3rd base 🙁
Its strange how we percieve players. Compare Denard Spans numbers vs Michael Bourns. Very close. Very similar. in 2012, Span had better splits vs LHP. Bourn’s range in CF is unmatched. Bourn steals more bases (and gets caught more). Span hits alot of doubles.
Bourn is looking at getting 13-15 mil per on a long term deal. Span is younger and if he was a free agent…..we would be saying its crazy to pay him 15 mil per. I agree that Span could bring in more than Willingham. I guess it depends on the needs of the team trading for him.