With Todd Jones demoted, and Joel Zumaya's glass arm hurting again, the need for another relief pitcher has increased significantly over the past 48 hours.  The non-waiver trade deadline is three days away, so a lot of rumors floating around right now.  But some of them don't warrant a post on their own.

So that's why we do this thing.  Here's what's out there, besides the George Sherrill rumblings:

   Who is Jack Taschner?  He's a reliever for the San Francisco Giants, and according to Jason Beck, the Tigers had a scout watching him this weekend.  

Taschner is a 30-year-old left-hander, and this season, he's compiled a 2-1 record and 3.03 ERA, with 27 strikeouts (and 16 walks) in 35 2/3 innings.

   Other left-handers that were mentioned in the same sentence with the Tigers over the weekend: Pittsburgh's John Grabow and Seattle's Arthur Rhodes. 

Grabow is 5-3 with a 3.25 ERA, and 44 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings this season.  And when Rhodes hasn't slept on his pitching arm wrong, he's 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA, and 25 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. 

   One right-handed reliever that the Tigers might be interested in is the Mariners' Sean Green.  In 55 1/3 innings this season, he has a 2-3 record with a 2.91 ERA, and has thrown 49 strikeouts.

   The Freep's Jon Paul Morosi is trying to connect dots between the Tigers and Blue Jays, looking at Detroit's surplus of outfielders and Toronto's lack of depth at the position.  The Jays have both relief pitchers and shortstops to spare.

  No need to worry about Detroit picking up Jack Wilson to play shortstop this year.  (Although Morosi just couldn't resist throwing it out there again.) According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Tigers haven't asked the Pirates about Wilson since last winter.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

   Here's one that doesn't make much sense.  Apparently, the Tigers are one of the teams that have called Texas about Milton Bradley.  They want to add another outfielder?  Has T.R. Sullivan talked to Morosi about this?

This season, Bradley is batting .312/.439/.584, with 19 home runs and 58 RBIs in 369 plate appearances.  It's easy to say now, of course, but Bradley was available in the off-season when Detroit opted for Jacque Jones as the solution to their left field problems.  How'd that one work out?

Hopefully, the Tigers one of the 20 teams interested in taking a catcher off the Rangers' hands.

When Eddie Bonine was sent down to Double-A Erie immediately after Wednesday's game, you had to wonder if it might be a while before we saw that young man in a Tigers uniform again.  The demotion seemed a bit harsh, but it was revealed that Bonine was sent to Erie so he could maintain his pitching schedule while the Tigers and Mud Hens were on their respective All-Star breaks.  And it doesn't appear that Bonine has been exiled from Detroit's starting rotation, either. 

In Jon Paul Morosi's article explaining how the Tigers are unlikely to be involved in a big trade from now until the July 31 deadline, Jim Leyland said he expected Bonine to get the call when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up on July 21. 

"I think Bonine will probably be the starter," Leyland said.  "Is it 100%?  No.  But is it likely?  I would say yes."

As far as Morosi knows, the Tigers haven't talked to anyone about dealing for a starting pitcher.  Even teams who have made it known they have pitching to spare, such as the San Diego Padres, haven't received a call from Detroit.  Morosi goes on to speculate that the Tigers would be more likely to try for some relief pitching, and mentions the Pittsburgh Pirates as a potential trade partner.  Though really, he's just trying to connect the dots, based on previous interest in John Grabow and Damaso Marte. 

So what's the bigger story here?  The return of Eddie Bonine or the possibility of no deals at the trade deadline?  And if the Tigers do start to light up the phone lines, what would you prefer them to pursue?