The busy day at the blog may never end. Here are a few more rumor updates:
Jon Heyman reports -- confirmed by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi -- the Tigers are interested in starting pitcher Aaron Harang of the San Diego Padres. The Indians, too, are said to be interested in the former Reds righthander.
In his first season with the Padres Harang sports a 3.19 ERA for the season -- 2.92 at spacious PetCo Park and 3.81 away from it. He has 6.19 strikeouts per nine innings, or a rate of 16.9%.
For the more predictive stats, his FIP is 3.65, or 3.92 if his home run rate is adjusted to league average. However, ZiPS projects a 4.42 ERA for the rest of the season. Before pitching in San Diego, Harang's ERA had not been below 4.21 in the previous three seasons. He missed a portion of the 2010 season due to back spasms.
Harang has been effective in his two starts since returning from the disabled list with a foot injury. He has not allowed a run in the 13 innings since the July 9 return against the Dodgers. In that game, he had a no-hitter through six innings before being replaced by the bullpen. On July 14, he shut down the Giants for seven innings.
Harang would be owed the remainder of his $3.5 million contract. Harang has a mutual option for $5 million for 2012 with a $500K buyout.
I'm not sure what the Padres would ask in return. In June, Heyman wrote the Padres may not give him up easily due to his bounceback year and team-friendly contract.
I kind of like this idea. There is always a risk in bringing a National League pitcher to the American League, but it seems like most of the names the Tigers are linked to pitch in the NL. But Harang might be a nice compromise that brings a good player -- not a great one -- at a decent price without compromising the future.
In any case, I have no doubt the Tigers will eventually find their starting pitcher.
Also we have an update on Derek Lowe. It sounds like the deal was down to cash. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported on Twitter the Tigers needed Atlanta to pick up about 75% of Lowe's remaining salary -- totaling about $21 million through 2012. That wouldn't fit well for the Braves, who appear to be trying to clear out Lowe's salary to make a move at Carlos Beltran.
Speaking of Beltran, Heyman reported Beltran would likely accept a trade to Detroit in order to play with a contender.