Detroit Tigers News: Was Dario Agrazal a ‘Julio Teheran-type’ signing?

In this weekend edition of Detroit Tigers News, we take a closer look at the Dario Agrazal signing, as well as Toledo Mud Hens’ newest skipper, Tom Price, potential non-tender fits, prospect Isaac Paredes, and a little Tigers history to wrap things up nicely.

Is Agrazal a ‘Teheran-type’ acquisition?

This past Monday, the Tigers acquired Dario Agrazal from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. While this move hardly made waves in the media, it could signal the direction the front office is heading in going into the 2020 season.

One scout compared Agrazal to Julio Teheran, according to Emily Waldon of The Athletic.

This FanGraphs article goes into depth on the comparison between the two players, with a focus on the two things the pair of pitcher share in common: their sinker pitch and the above-average results they get from the offering. It includes GIFs of the pitch types as well as pitch maps and numbers — everything one needs to evaluate the comparison. The conclusion was that Agrazal is exactly the type of pitcher the Tigers should be looking for at this juncture, if he can put up another solid year and continue moving forward with his development.

More on Tom Price

The biggest Tigers news this week has been the hiring of Tom Price to manage the Toledo Mud Hens, and there have been several subsequent stories published on the new Triple-A skipper. Most of the narrative focuses on his long history in the sport, as well as his extensive minor league coaching experience. Jim Leyland, now a special assistant to the team, had the following to say about Price.

“I think it’ll be a great fit. He’s a real sharp baseball guy, a good guy. He’s all business. He’s got a good personality, but all business. I think it’s a good fit for us.”

This article from The Athletic notes that the former Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach has the experience the Tigers are looking for — basically a hybrid of gruff and grumpy old man and a kind interior necessary for managing in the minors. Dave Littlefield, Detroit’s VP of player development, had the following to say about his newest hire.

“When the search for a Triple A manager began, we prioritized finding someone with experience in developing high-level talent and creating a winning culture. It was clear from the beginning that Tom Prince fit that mold perfectly, and we’re thrilled to have him lead our staff in Toledo.”

The Toledo Blade also put together a piece on Price, which includes more quotes and background on the long-time catcher-turned-coach who now mans the helm at the highest level of the Tigers’ development system. While his roots with the Pirates’ organization is a bit disconcerting to many, it appears that Price just might be the man for the job.

Potential non-tender fits

MLB.com has published its 10 potential non-tender fits for the Tigers, some of whom are quite intriguing names. Among those mentioned who play on the dirt are C.J. Cron, Yolmer Sánchez, Maikel Franco, Cheslor Cuthbert, José Peraza and Kevin Plawecki, while pitchers Kevin Gausman, Ryan Buchter and Trevor Hildenberger were also suggested.

Most, if not all of these players would represent some form of upgrade at their respective positions over what the Tigers fielded this past season, and it would be encouraging to see the team take a chance on at least one of these names.

Parading Isaac

Isaac Paredes is unquestionably the best bat in the Tigers development system right now. Joe Rampe over at Tigers Minor League Report penned up an article on why Tigers fans should be thankful for the promising prospect. By comparing his minor league numbers with those of Nolan Arenado, Rafael Devers, Manny Machado and Eugenio Suarez, he tries to project what Paredes’ ceiling is in the big leagues. It is a well-thought article that connects a few interesting dots.

Top 10 Tigers games of the past decade

It has been a while since the Tigers were a perennial playoff team, so it is easy to forget that for the first half of the decade, this was an exciting team to watch. So it should come as no surprise that only one out of the ten listed games were from after 2013, which was the Matthew Boyd near-no-hitter in 2017. Otherwise, the article takes the reader on a trip down memory lane, led off by the greatest travesty of the past decade: the Armando Galarraga imperfect perfect game.

A word from Lynn Henning

Baseball is awesome