Should the Tigers sign any more players?
posted in 2007-08 offseason, free agents |The Freep asked the question: Should the Tigers sign any of the big-name free agents left?
I suppose John Lowe and Jon Paul Morosi cringed at that, since not only was it phrased awkward, but it was a fancy headline on a short AP piece that made you go “wait, why didn’t the Tigers beat writers answer that themselves?”
The article focused mainly on Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, making the obvious answer “No.”
But it did remind me of a recent posting at Baseball Musings about how many veteran free agents are out there. As of Feb. 3, that number was 90. I think it’s a few less now. The full article ran at the Boston Herald.
More than a few agents these days grumble, always anonymously, that teams are flirting dangerously close to collusion. With revenues creeping above the $6 billion mark, agents point to the slow-moving free agent market as proof something is askew. Some agents are still trying to get over the shock and chagrin of the Theo Epstein and Larry Beinfest-inspired idea at last November’s GM meetings to have clubs openly announce who is available for trade while detailing some of their offseason quests.
A more sober analysis calls for an honest appraisal of who remains unsigned. Some very useful veterans are still on the market, but it is no stretch to understand why teams would rather take a flier on upside than gamble on declining skills.
So I thought I’d look into it. Just who is out there? A little digging gives us a detailed list at Cot’s Baseball Contracts of both position players and pitchers. I believe it’s up-to-date. (And a hugely valuable resource). And ESPN.com has a list of free agents for 2007-08, both signed and unsigned. I expanded the question to “Should the Tigers sign anyone at all now?” My working assumption is “No.”
Kris Benson (uhm, no), Roger Clemens (whoa whoa whoa NO) and Bartolo Colon are at the top of the starting pitching list. Former Twin (traded to Cincy) Kyle Lohse is even out there. And then there’s that Jeff Weaver guy.
But I guess what really interests us is relief pitching, right? That’s our biggest fear right now. Shawn Chacon? No. And wait, wasn’t his name batted around during the trade watch last July? Hmm, can Colon relieve if he’s healthy? I’m still sticking to no. Aaron Sele? Yuck. Starting to see why there’s so many free agents still out there, even if we have heard of their names. But hey, if Todd Jones goes down, Bob Wickman (the Pride of Green Bay?) is still available to close!
So OK, I’m coming up with nothing. My working assumption was right: there’s no reason to really look into the leftover free agent market until there’s reason to look into the leftover free agent market.
Anyone out there on those lists that interests you?
Update: Joe of River Avenue Blues blogged at MLB Trade Rumors he would not be surprised if Weaver ended up a Tiger again. I would be somewhat surprised if that occurred, myself.
Sphere It
I know Joe was just speculating, but no way Weaver ends up with the Tigers. Not only isn’t it a fit from a baseball standpoint, but Dombrowski (allegedly) broomed him out of town because of his personality and off-field demeanor.
Byung-Hyun Kim is more of a possibility, only in that he can pitch in the bullpen. But would he really be any better option than what the Tigers already have on the roster? If the Tigers are going to upgrade their bullpen, they’re going to UPGRADE THEIR BULLPEN. Kim isn’t an upgrade.
I think the Tigers are content to see if any of these young guys from the past year or two — Bazardo, Cruceta pop into my head — can step into the role first.
I’d be against bring in the Aaron Sele’s of the world. You can almost always have some minor leaguer come up and do what guys like that do.