Trade Watch: Crickets Are Chirping

The Detroit Tigers blogosphere is on threat level orange, waiting (hoping) for news of a trade that will bring some help for the bullpen.  

As of right now, however, the only rumbling that seems to be generating any heat is the Jack Wilson chatter.

In this morning's Detroit Free Press, Jon Paul Morosi wrote that it wouldn't be a surprise if the Tigers and Pirates hooked up on a trade involving Wilson.  If Wilson ends up coming to Detroit, I think it'd be disappointing if one of Pittsburgh's relievers (Damaso Marte, Salomon Torres) wasn't included in the deal.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also has something on a possible deal, but it's more to acknowledge that there have been some discussions between the two teams, and that the Pirates shouldn't expect much value in return unless a reliever is paired up with Wilson.

One problem with trading for Torres could be the grievance that he filed with the Pirates over the terms of the contract he signed last year.  Torres is asserting that the team led him to believe it would invest in one of his academies in the Dominican Republic, thus convincing him to sign a below-market contract.  If Torres' grievance was approved, that contract would be voided, and he'd immediately become a free agent.  If a team were to pay him the $1.5 million he believes he's owed, however, Torres would likely cancel the grievance.  (via The Fanhouse)