The Tigers made room on the 40-man roster for Jose Mesa by non-tendering Alexis Gomez.

What that means for Gomez is a choice between signing a minor-league contract or seeking employment on the free-agent market. As Jason Beck reported, he had this choice to make earlier in the season and chose to stay with the organization. Obviously, it paid off for him when he became an American League Championship Series hero.

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I didn’t want to report this ESPN.com report until it was a confirmed signing. Mostly because I was trying to deny it as best I could.

Anyway, Detroit signed 40-year-old reliever Jose Mesa for $2.5 million for one season.

(AP): “He brings a veteran presence and a wealth of experience in a variety of roles to help strengthen our bullpen,” Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said.

What is the reaction across Tigers nation? Confusion mainly. I don’t like the deal. I don’t see the point in paying $2.5M for an older guy who is not as good as the younger, cheaper guys we already have. It doesn’t make much sense. Unless there is a trade in the makings. I’ll reserve judgement until all facts are known, but gut-reaction was basically what the heck?!

Bilfer agrees, although he uses more words. All the people in his comments agree too, and there’s some trade speculation to read.

So does Daily Fungo Mike have no idea what is up with this.

Lee at Tiger Tales says we could see some improvement from Mesa but he calls it a surprise move.

Update: MLB.com Tigers beat writer Jason Beck weighs in with a head scratching, as well.

Comments closed due to spam. 

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Actually, per Jason Beck, the Brewers drafted Ed Campusano for the Tigers in exchange for cash. All the same rules apply to the pick as if Detroit made it itself.

Campusano is a lefty reliever formerly of the Cubs organization who’ll be trying to make the Tigers bullpen. A then 23-year-old, he pitched in A and AA with an ERA less than 2 at both stops, a high strikeouts per nine (12.70 in AA) and low walks per nine (2.38). He gave up two home runs in about 52 innings of work.

Sounds like a pretty cheap way to go about plugging that LOOGY situation. If he doesn’t work out, it was a very cheap investment to see.

Update 2: Beck’s story.

Update 1: Yankees took former Toledo DH Josh Phelps. Looks like Big Stein likes the Tigers’ minor league system. He was most recently in Baltimore’s organization after signing in November, so that was a short stay. The Tigers lost Cristhian Martinez, a Tommy-John slowed starting pitcher in the low minors, to the Florida Marlins in the minor league portion of the draft.

Update 3: More Rule 5 Coverage from Baseball America, hat-tip to Baseball Prospectus’ blog, Unfiltered.

Update 4: Yes I know the updates aren’t in the right order, that’s just where I chose to put em!

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Sean Casey is still a Detroit Tigers first baseman. I guess that’s something of a surprise given all the trade-talk revolving around the need for a power-hitting first baseman lately. He signed a one-year deal worth around $4M.

Lee of Tiger Tales isn’t a big fan. Bilfer of DTW doesn’t seem to be either. Posters in Bilfer’s comments seem mixed. Brian at Tigerblog is pro the deal. In other words, feedback is quite mixed as best I can tell.

My personal feeling is this isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but I don’t exactly think it’s that big a problem either. I thought Casey did a nice job while in Detroit. He almost carried the team for large swaths of his three months or so, including in the World Series. A fairly memorable number of would-be hits seemed to be stolen from him during September. He’s a contact guy, which sometimes causes problems, but he was actually among Tigers leaders for RBI % and had 30 RBIs in 184 at-bats.

The problem with Casey is he portends to be more of a patient batter, but when he joined the Tiger lineup, he just seemed to fall into the swing-now-ask-questions-later concept of the rest of the team. Small sample size, but his pitches per plate appearance went down. His walks per plate appearance dropped by half. His strikeout-to-walk went from about 1:1 to 2:1. We hope that’s not the Sean Casey that plays in 2007. His OBP was way down from his .368 career to under .300. I don’t think that will continue, but that’s a gut that says he’ll return closer to form.

In the end, with the Sheffield signing, first base being a huge producer wasn’t a huge requirement. This is still a team with a huge run differential due to strong pitching, and it returns all the best pieces of the pitching puzzle with another — or first — year of experience. It was just a team that needed a few more runs, a bit more patience. And I think it’s got that. The concern is that with so many older players, there’s some breakdown risk. So I’m going to say this was a good move because it allows for future flexibility and keeps Jeremy Bonderman in a Tigers uniform. It’s not a real strong or aggressive move, but I don’t have any problem with it.

GM Dave Dombrowski said he’s done tinkering with the lineup. We’ll see. He’s probably telling the truth.

Walker inked by Orioles

Jamie Walker is obviously a guy Tigers fans like. He’s a class character. He gave some good seasons and quality innings and had an ERA to reflect it. The Orioles are paying him $12M for 3 years. Good for him. I don’t think it causes any problems for Detroit’s pitching staff though, someone else can be plugged in, in my mind, Wil Ledezma.

Detroit still might keep an eye open for a reliever through a trade or free agency, but that crop isn’t real great.

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The Freep and SI are reporting Gary Sheffield is now a Detroit Tiger.

Freep: The Tigers announced today they had acquired outfielder Gary Sheffield from the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitchers Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.

In addition Sheffield signed a 2-year contract extension.

First thoughts on this, subject to change with reflection: this is a good trade. I was not high on Whelan. I was very intrigued by Sanchez, and Sanchez had a heck of a season last year, but I was concerned about his injured elbow and his having just one very successful minor league season.

Sheffield brings a heck of a bat. He averages over 30 homers and 100 RBIs per season for his entire career. His OBP the past three years in New York was .355 (2006), .379 and .393. He’s gonna fill up the middle of the lineup very nicely. Obviously he was injured in 2006 but I don’t believe it to be the lingering effects injury.

“We have been able to add one of the biggest bats in baseball,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “I have a great relationship with Gary Sheffield and I have the utmost respect for him. I’m happy to add a bat of this magnitude and that he’ll be a Tiger.”

Also see Bilfer’s Detroit Tigers Weblog for quotes and stats on the minor leaguers.

AP has contract details: 13M per season for 2008 and 2009. So there’s your worrisome point should you wish one. 2008 and 2009 have a lot of locked up money in old men.

Day 2: Still like it. Very excited for Spring Training to start, not just because winter has started in the north country.

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Chris Carpenter gave up two runs, but his team trailed 2-0 when he left the game after six innings. St. Louis did make those runs up in the ninth inning, but it was a case of too little, too late. The Mets forced Game 7 with a 4-2 victory at Shea Stadium. The difference maker came in the seventh inning. After Cards reliever Braden Looper got the first two batters out, he gave up three straight singles, capped by Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca’s two-run single.

The thing I’ve noticed about the Mets is they have a nicely constructed, I would almost say ideal in the top half, lineup. Jose Reyes is a nice leadoff batter with some pop and great speed. He’s been a fun one to watch all year. Lo Duca is a nice contact hitter at the No. 2 slot. He can be dangerous with runners on. And Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright give them some nice pop in the heart of the order. About the only criticism you can lay on them is they’re less successful against left-handed pitching, but not greatly so. They still get on base, but their power is mostly muzzled. They’re no Yankees, but it’s a nice top of the lineup.

That leads me to this point that has popped up all over the news today. 2006 first-round drafte pick Andrew Miller is in Detroit, preparing for the World Series. Will he make the roster or is this a smoke screen by Jim Leyland? Hard to say. But Miller is a lefty who pitches lefties really well, and would probably take the place of Zach Miner, who hasn’t seen work in the postseason, or possibly Jason Grilli, who walked the bases loaded on 12 pitches in the fourth game of the ALCS. Danny Knobler says Miner, I’m apt to agree. If Miller can find the strike zone, he can really be a dangerous pitcher for short amounts of time. Otherwise I’d expect Wil Ledezma will fill that role nicely. His stuff isn’t as good, but he’s consistent in the relief role. It would be exciting to see Miller make the World Series roster, but only if he can actually throw strikes. The articles say his mechanics were being worked on in Florida since the regular season ended. I don’t think this is a terribly risky endeavor.

If the Cards win, the speculation is probably all for naught. But I think most observers would have to say Game 6, with Carpenter on the mound against NY’s John Maine, was the best chance for St. Louis to advance to the World Series. Of course, observers would probably admit things never work like you’d expect, so for all we know, St. Louis is a Game 7 lock. Game 3 winner Jeff Suppan — who also homered — takes the mound for St. Louis. The game is is set for 8 p.m. tonight and should be well worth the viewing. Truly, either team could win this one. No matter who comes out on top, conventional wisdom (and past results) shows that the NLCS going to seven games is a nice advantage for the well rested (and hopefully not rusty) Tigers.

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Jim Leyland announced a few of his playoff roster decisions, per Danny Knobler.

Not on due to Arizona Fall League: Brent Clevlen, Jordan Tata.
Not on, not traveling, due to ineligibily, no real connection to 2006 Tigers, etc: Matt Stairs, Mike Rabelo, Chad Durbin, Kevin Hooper.

Also not on but traveling with the team: Mike Maroth.

—

new: Jon Paul Morosi wrote a good story at the Freep.

“I’m sure I broke a heart,” Leyland said. “Truthfully, I feel terrible about it. He’s been here. He’s a big part of what we’ve done. Had he not had the injury, we would not be having this discussion. But that’s not my fault, either. That’s just the way it is.”

Maroth looked sad when they showed him during the game. It’s really too bad he wasn’t able to come back from the injury. The story doesn’t always end happy, unfortunately. I’m glad he’s with the team. It’s just too bad he couldn’t contribute on the field.

—

Likely on, per beat writers: Chris Shelton.

Jim Leyland is taking 11 pitchers and 14 position players. A recap

Starters (4): Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Nate Robertson, Kenny Rogers
Middle/late relief (4): Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, Todd Jones, Jamie Walker
Other (choose 3 of 4): Andrew Miller, Zach Miner, Jason Grilli, Wil Ledezma

So you can pretty much guess Andrew Miller won’t make it.

Position players, sure things (10): Craig Monroe, Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco, Sean Casey, Pudge Rodriguez, Vance Wilson.

Position players, likely backups (4): Chris Shelton, Neifi Perez, Omar Infante, Alexis Gomez

Some people might want Ramon Santiago over Neifi Perez as a late-inning replacement. Not me. Clevlen might have been nice in the outfield rather than carrying three infielders, or even Gomez, but apparently the organization would rather he develop. That’s fine. He’s young, he needs the opportunity to play, although I sure do like his defense.

This roster can change after each round, if required.

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Man that was a bad headline. Attempting to fix their poor batting, Detroit claimed 1B/DH Matt Stairs from the Texas Rangers this afternoon. He just departed Detroit Wednesday after beting a home run.

Stairs is batting .248 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs and 43 RBIs this season with the Rangers and the Kansas City Royals.

He doesn’t exactly look like a solution either, with the sub .300 OBP and sub .400 slugging with the Rangers. He was posting .359 OBP and .429 with the Royals earlier this year, and his career numbers are closer to that. Which is more likely to occur? Who knows.

Update: Per newspaper reports, Stairs, who cost $20k and will be ineligible for the postseason, will probably be starting at DH quite a bit. Thames was hitting under the Mendoza line since starting in place of Dmitri Young, so this in all likelyhood is a step up.

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After a loss Wednesday in which Dmitri Young went 0-fer-yet-again, the reporters dug around and what they found was a player who was disruptive to the winning chemistry the Tigers had built up in the months during his rehab. Awhile back, Terry Foster posted a letter from his “insider” who said a lot of the players did not want Young back with the team. This was received in the blogosphere with two distinct thoughts: 1) It might not even be true. If it is true, 2) No one should be airing that laundry anyway. I agreed on both points. It seems Foster and his source were proven right in the end. I still agree with the second point. But I want to try to tie up some knots and get back to the pennant run.

Tom Gage and Jason Beck have articles (thus far that I can find) on the matter and both tell the same story, albeit likely with the same sources, and a story is only as strong as its sources. But I believe this are both seasoned reporters who had to feel very confident about what they were going to report.

To put it bluntly,” said a source within the organization, “he was a growing cancer, someone who cared too much about himself, and not enough about the team.

“I thought this was going to happen. You could see it building. People will say all the right things, but the truth is he won’t be missed by many of us.”

That source just sorta sounds like Terry Foster’s, whoever that might be. I have my speculation but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The past is done, and I’m going to leave it there. Furthermore, the articles all confirm there was no showdown Thursday. No big bang. It was jus time for DY to move on. More Gage:

No one spoke on the record, but they were more than ready to, off the record.

“We were getting concerned again about his weight,” one source said.

“He wasn’t mixing as he once did,” another said. “He seemed more withdrawn.”

“He was a puzzle,” a third said. “There was more than one side to him. They weren’t all team sides.”

Beck adds to the puzzle:

Though the final straw Wednesday, if there was any, wasn’t clear, a team source indicated that Young had become a distraction in the clubhouse soon after he returned from the disabled list in July. There was support for Young in his effort to overcome alcoholism and depression, but his state of mind and dealing with his issues were preoccupying him by others’ observations, putting much of his focus on himself, rather than the team.

Just to shut the books on the Young story, Drew Sharp wrote a column stating it wasn’t worth the bother to keep Young. On this, I agree. Marcus Thames leads the Tigers in home runs, while losing his spot in the lineup for the better part of a month. If he can help Detroit make the rest of September look like July, mmm mmm mmm will he make the rest of the season much easier to take.

And with that, I close the book on the Dmitri Young story.

In the final act, he was cut.

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Thursday update:

Bilfer of the Detroit Tigers Weblog reported first Dmitri Young has been unconditionally released.

(Hat tip Jeff in DTW’s comments): Tom Gage adds this on the Detroit News Web site:

In a surprise move Wednesday, The Tigers released designated hitter Dimitri Young after losing to the Seattle Mariners, 5-4, in 10 innings.

Young, who batted third in the loss but was pinch-hit for in a bunting situation by Kevin Hooper in the eighth inning, was batting .250 in 48 games but had slumped lately after initially coming back strong from personal problems earlier this season.

General manager Dave Dombrowski said the move was strictly performance-related. “He’s been struggling,” he said. “We just felt it was best for the ballclub.”

UPDATES:

Tom Gage weighs in on his blog:

Don’t know why it happened, no one is saying - but do you really hit a guy third that you’re going to release after the game? This one is very strange, indeed.

Jason Beck wonders the same thing in his story at MLB.com.

Added Leyland: “We just didn’t think the performance was up to snuff. Period.”

Nevertheless, the sudden nature of the move suggested that the Tigers came to the decision in a hurry, for performance or whatever reasons.

… The Tigers could have made a move before the game. They had to create space on the 40-man roster to activate pitcher Mike Maroth from the 60-day disabled list, which they did by designating for assignment the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Spurling, who had spent most of the season at Triple-A Toledo save for two brief stints with Detroit. Further, the Tigers chose to unconditionally release Young, rather than designate him for assignment.

It add up strange to me, too. Why does a guy about to get released if he has a bad day get fitted into the No. 3 slot? Why the sudden announcement after the game? I understand that the team was about to leave for Minnesota, so it’s not like they’d fly him up there. But it just seems if the decision was made already, why would he start?

My opinion was never hidden. I felt Dmitri Young should never have re-joined the team. He seemd to prove me wrong, and I was glad for that. But DY seemed to contribute less and less as August went on. I hope Marcus Thames sees near daily play at DH and plays up to the Tigers’ confidence in him… unless they have other ideas up their sleeve. Honestly, I don’t know any more.

But I do know Dmitri gave his best to the Tigers for several sad years. He lifted us up in 2004 or 2005 when he said “we’re not kittens anymore.” He was a good character and a bright spot. It was too bad this season was such a bad one for him. He’ll be missed. It’s just too bad it had to come to this point.

Also, thanks to Ken in my comments.

MORE:

Danny Knobler weighs in both on the air (recorded at the Cut-off Man) and in his stories today.

On the air:

They didn’t come to the ballpark yesterday expecting to release him. I was told by many people, including Jim Leyland that there was no confrontation between he and Young. No one could point to one incident.

In the papers:

[C]lub sources suggested that Young had become more trouble than he was worth, that other players were complaining and that he was an unnecessary distraction for a team trying to hold onto first place with 22 games left in the season.

… In the 45 games since Young returned, the Tigers went 21-24. While it’s hard to believe that his return was the biggest factor in their struggles, but team officials seemed to wonder if it was one factor.

I always take Terry Foster’s bloggings with a grain of salt, whether because I don’t believe him or I don’t believe his source. So I present this to you with with that preface. Take it as 100% accurate at your own risk, but there’s probably something real in there or I wouldn’t link to it.

He was not accepted by teammates. Most of the smiles and hugs were public relations spin to convince the public all was ok. Tigers manager Dave Dombrowski got ride of Young because he was not producing at the plate. But he also got rid of him because of growing resentment in that clubhouse.

And here’s Michael Rosenberg’s column in the Freep. 

I don’t know who will bat third tonight, but I assume it’s the guy they are most likely to release.

RUN MARCUS!!

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