Detroit Tigers Links: Brayan Pena will not be a first baseman & will Al Alburquerque make the 25-man roster?

Tigers news that we didn't cover yesterday:

/crickets

Other Tigers stuff:

Al Alburquerque is Going to Make the Detroit Tigers' 25-man Roster
Motor City Bengals, Matt Snyder
Normally I'd just nod in agreement, but Jim Leyland's recent comments about Alburquerque leave me a bit skeptical. Being in the doghouse is no way to begin a season.

Detroit Tigers are not grooming backup catcher Brayan Pena to be backup first baseman
MLive, James Schmehl
More proof that Matt Tuiasosopo has defied the odds and made the Opening Day roster.

Tigers ticket prices out of the park
The Detroit News, Karl Henkel

"Even with the increase — season tickets also went up $2 or $3 per seat, per game — the Tigers still will be in the middle of the road, in relation to the rest of Major League Baseball."

Around the AL Central:

Ex-Tiger Ryan Raburn makes Indians' major-league roster
Detroit Free Press
Good news: the Tigers only have seven games against the Indians during the second half, when Raburn will actually be hitting.

Release and Catch: Indians release Dice-K, to sign him again
Let's Go Tribe
Only the Cleveland Indians would sign Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn this offseason, then pull something like this to save $100,000.

Semi-related thoughts on Eric Hosmer
Royals Review, Connor Moylan
Hosmer could quickly turn into the Rick Porcello of the Royals organization -- a top prospect that the fanbase turns against because he hasn't reached his potential -- if he doesn't put together a big season in 2013.

White Sox Outsider 2013 now available in EPUB format
South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
The price is a bit steep if you're not a White Sox fan, but in case you wanted to support a fellow SB Nation writer -- and an excellent one at that -- the link to buy is over at South Side Sox.

Minnesota's Fifth Starter: Christian Ponder, Your Cat, Sofia Vergara Among the Candidates
Twinkie Town
I don't know why I didn't link this when I first read it, but this post is absolutely a must-read.

Elsewhere in baseball:

Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers, and a scary omen
Baseball Nation, Grant Brisbee
All hail The Brisbee yet another excellent story.

Today in Rationalizing: The Lohse signing isn't good, but it's no Suppan
Brew Crew Ball
I'm kind of surprised at how much Brewers fans don't like this signing. They are making Yankees fans seem cheery about the Vernon Wells deal.

Mike Trout, Bryce Harper on track to be great
ESPN, Jerry Crasnick

"It's not easy being a budding superstar these days, with wall-to-wall expectations borne of so much media coverage and the pressure to produce for everybody's fantasy league team. But Trout and Harper do it in a way that impresses fans, scouts, front-office people, opposing managers, teammates, beat writers and veteran players who are conditioned to be skeptical about the Next Big Thing."