As it is the season for rumors and speculation, and as there is really nothing else I could write this week that anyone would want to read any more than this, I give in. Give the people what they want!

ESPN's Buster Olney provided SPECULATION (his all caps) that the Tigers could use some of the insurance money on Victor Martinez to sign Price Fielder to a one-year deal.

Interesting SPECULATION from a club VP: If Fielder takes 1-yr deal, DET would be great fit. Could use insurance $ from Victor to sign him.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 24, 2012

Martinez makes $13 m; if DET recoups 75 pct. through insurance,a 1-yr. deal with Prince costs $16m or so, in effect. Again:Just speculation.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 24, 2012

A big 1-yr. deal for Prince allows him to hit market next fall, when LAD, NYM might be in better position to bid. Again: SPECULATION

I'll be honest, I don't think there's a snowball's chance in Hades of this actually happening. I doubt Olney believes it will happen, either.

And you can be pretty certain that CBS Sports' Jon Heyman doesn't believe it either. It can't be a coincidence he soon tweeted:

fielder expected to get AT LEAST 7 yr contract, and perhaps 8. #prince

Most of the chatter on Fielder the past few days has centered on Washington or Baltimore. I've outlined several reasons why Fielder is unlikely to play in Detroit. 1) Someone will give him a multi-year deal eventually. 2) Daddy issues. 3) He'd have to DH as Miguel Cabrera will not be moving back to third base.

But it's fun to dream about Fielder, isn't it? I'd love to be wrong.

Are the Miami Marlins really bad a negotiating? Or are they trying to throw some cover out there in case they don't get Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes whenever he becomes a free agent?

Today (well, yesterday) we have yet another story about the Marlins saying they'll do whatever it takes to get Cespedes. Well, spend whatever it takes, anyway.

Kyle Munzenrieder of the Miami New-Times wrote:

Several reports indicate that the Marlins are committed to outbidding anyone who stands in their way of landing recently defected Cuban star Yoennis Cespedes once the MLB declares him a free agent. It makes sense. Not only would Cespedes be the cherry atop the Marlin's new talent sundae, but the slugging center fielder's backstory would also peak interest among locals.

However, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal noted that the Cubs and Tigers are among the teams most interested in Cespedes. On Twitter he reported:

Sources: #Tigers, #Marlins, #Cubs most active on Cespedes. All three tracking him closely in DR. Still no word on when he will be FA.

To me, it makes sense that the Marlins would want to nab the Cuban outfielder as a bit of good marketing in southern Florida. He might be a better return of investment in a region with so many of his fellow countrymen, allowing the Marlins to bid more. Of course, if they don't win his services in the end, they've got a pretty good cover story now, don't they? "Hey, we tried. We wanted to outbid everybody, but he chose to play somewhere else. What more did you want us to do?"

In any case, I think ruling the Tigers out would just be a kneejerk reaction.

To round out our Cespedes update, why not look at some actual numbers? You'll recall he had a poor start in the Dominican Republic's winter league.

Javier Maymi noted on the SweetSpot blog:

Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes lived up to the hype last week in the Dominican League as it was his game-winning RBI double that allowed Aguilas Cibaenas to a win over the favored Licey Tigres and earn a berth in the finals against Escogido Leones.

Since his surprising announcement that he would join Aguilas, Cespedes had struggled, but he came on in the final two games by getting three hits, including a home run, and the series-clinching double.

(By the way, Andy Dirks played for Escogido and has a .313 batting average, as far as I can tell.)

Although some already have began the rending of garments, we still continue to move forward in our tracking of Yoenis Cespedes as the Detroit Tigers (presumably) continue their vigil until the Cuban outfielder becomes a free agent.

There is actually very little real news that has occurred since our last update. So we'll start with that news, and proceed to the rumors portion of our day.

The news is, we still don't know when Cespedes will be granted free agency. Initially, that was thought to come in the latter half of the winter meetings, or during the Christmas/New Years holiday, or maybe January 15. But we really don't know. As Lynn Henning puts it, government red tape and politics are getting in the way.

So while that is sorting itself out, Cespedes will be playing baseball in the Dominican Republic's winter league. ESPN Deportes reports:

Cespedes (was) scheduled to make his professional debut Thursday against Gigantes del Cibao, said Luichy Sanchez, who works in Aguilas' front office. Cespedes initially will serve as Aguilas' designated hitter, a source close to the player said.

For the record, Cespedes went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi has no idea why Cespedes is taking such a risk.

Continue reading this post »

Its been awhile since we heard anything on the Matt Garza front. But we've got a little more smoke blowing out of the Chicago media.

David Kaplan of CSN Chicago wrote today:

Excellent baseball sources have confirmed for me tonight that the Cubs are down the road in discussions with the Detroit Tigers to send Matt Garza to the Motor City in exchange for a package of prospects.

In case you, like me, wondered what the heck "down the road" means, he clarified on Twitter:

When I say "down the road" on trade talks with the Tigers for Garza I mean that talks have progressed far beyond the initial stages.

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus added:

Heard Tigers are open to talking Jacob Turner, but far more reticent when it comes to 3B Nick Castellanos.

Continue reading this post »

Baseball news -- at least as it relates to the Detroit Tigers -- seems to be pretty slow this week, and I'm not sure how much we can expect it to pick up with Christmas and New Years quickly approaching on the calendar. But there are a couple of players to keep watch on.

The first is Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, MLB teams had until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to place a bid with his team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, in order to gain the right to negotiate with Darvish. The Tigers were not thought to be in this chase, beyond pipe dreams and dreaming from some fans. The Fighters have a few more days to think about the bid -- reports say that they'll accept it -- but it is apparently from the Toronto Blue Jays.

George A King III of the NY Post wrote today:

Having made a posting bid above $40 million and possibly close to $50 million, the Blue Jays are the favorites to land the negotiating rights to Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish.

There is a belief the Cubs also made a large bid on the right-hander but a number hasn't been attached to their bid.

The Yankees made a bid Wednesday night, but it's not expected to top what the Blue Jays submitted. The Rangers are also believed to have bid.

Continue reading this post »

Midnight tonight marks the MLB deadline for non-tendering a player. In human language, that means deciding not to offer a contract to a player under team control.

Despite the pleas from some Tigers fans, this deadline means very little as it relates to current Tigers. GM Dave Dombrowski told told MLB Network Radio in November that he will bring Delmon Young back in 2012. (Unless he finds a trading partner, etc.)

We're not going to non-tender Delmon Young. I mean, that's just not going to happen."

But that doesn't mean the non-tender deadline can't still be fun for the Tigers. There might be other players worth keeping an eye on, too.

MLB Trade Rumors has a list of non-tender candidates. Many of these will probably be offered a contract, but the rest will become free agents. Don't expect to be wowed, but there are some possibilities anyway.

In the infield, you've got possible names like 2B Skip Schumaker or SS Ryan Theriot. I'm not sure either would be a big upgrade. I don't think there's going to be a lot of gem hunting there.

Among pitchers, it's more interesting. Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny might make a decent fifth starter. He has kept an ERA around 4 the past two years while keeping up a pretty decent strikeout rate. The Nationals are still making up their mind, wrote the Washington Post today.

Marlins SP Chris Volstad may not have a future in Miami. However, a Sun-Sentinel writer today wrote that he'd be shocked if Volstad wasn't offered a contract. He might be seen as a trade chip for a team willing to bet on a change of scenery for the Marlins' former No. 1 prospect. Fish Stripes calls him a decent fifth-starter if you ignore all the prior prospect hype.

Joe Saunders of the Diamondbacks, too, is another candidate, but it sounds like they're trying to keep him under contract for a possible trade. So I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

So in the end, we're probably not talking about the most exciting crop of players becoming free agents. Are any on your shopping list?

Update: Danny Knobler reports the first year is for $3 million. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Update: Jon Heyman confirmed Rosenthal's report today (via Twitter)

octavio dotel is in agreement on deal for 1 yr and option with #tigers

(second tweet)

dotel deal with #tigers gives them very strong pen. adds to benoit, valverde, etc.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the Tigers are very close to a deal with reliever Octavio Dotel.

Source: Only question remaining with Dotel and #Tigers is term. One year with vesting option most likely outcome. #MLB

MLB.com's Jason Beck confirms that the Tigers are putting the finishing touches on a contract with Dotel.

DALLAS -- The Tigers found the man they wanted to shore up the middle of their bullpen, and Octavio Dotel found another new home. They found a match, and the two sides spent Wednesday evening putting together a one-year contract.

The deal was not finalized as of late Wednesday evening, but a baseball source characterized it as close. It's expected to include an option for the 2013 season, a compromise between the multiyear contract Dotel was seeking and the one-year deal the Tigers preferred.

This is the latest information available as of 2 a.m. EST.

In case you're wondering, the Tigers do still have one roster spot open to make a selection in Thursday's Rule 5 draft, should they choose to do so.

For our excitement today, we have this bit of information from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal:

Source: #Tigers front-runner for Dotel. NL club also involved. #MLB

Dotel had a 3.50 ERA (3.34 xFIP) in 2011, pitching 54 innings.

The 38-year-old right-hander has a 3.74 ERA for his career with a 3.69 xFIP. He also moves around more than Edwin Jackson, as he's been with six teams in the past three seasons.

Bill James Online (via Fangraphs) projects a 3.50 ERA in 2012 with 10.95 strikeouts per nine innings.

Dotel would shore up the middle relief for the Tigers, so there is that. But I'm not a big fan of overpaying for middle relievers, either. So we'll have to see how this goes.