OT: Should the Tigers make any moves before the trade deadline?

Submitted by Moleskyn on

I just read an article this morning over on ESPN by Dave Schoenfield, and he thinks Detroit is the front-runner to land Ryan Dempster before the trade deadline. Needless to say, that got me thinking. Obviously, Detroit is far from being out of it. Chicago and Cleveland are both coming back down to earth, and we're slowly starting to get more healthy. Plus, it's June and we're only 5 games out. So, we certainly will not be sellers at the deadline.

We have some pretty apparent holes on the team, and they just might be holes that could be fixed through a trade. Namely: inconsistent starting pitching, weak infield defense, total lack of production from whoever has played second, and lack of consistent hitters outside of Cabrera and Fielder. Having Jackson back is a huge boost, and I'm looking forward to when Dirks gets healthy and we have Jackson and him hitting in front of Cabrera and Fielder.

That said, what do you think of Dempster? Who would we have to give up to get him? Would he be worth the price? Is there someone else out there who you think would be a better addition to the team (at any position)?

Personally, I like the idea of Dempster, depending on who we give up for him. I wouldn't give up Turner for him, but I would give up Porcello. I just don't think Porcello will see success in Detroit with the kind of infield defense we have right now. It hurts me to say that, since I've followed him closely since he was in the minors, but it's true. Dempster is less of a groundball pitcher, gets more Ks, and would obviously benefit from pitching in a bigger park. I don't think he's as good as his numbers appear right now, but he's been a pretty consistent pitcher over the last 4 years or so: 200+ IP, FIP in the mid-high 3s, and about 8 Ks/9IP. I think he would fit well in our rotation, especially as a replacement for Porcello. Do you think the Cubs would take that straight up, though? To you Cubs fans, what do you think of that?

denardogasm

June 12th, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^

It seems like I've been hearing about this ace Turner for years now and how we can't afford to give him up in a trade but I have never actually seen why. Shouldnt he be at least playing by now if he's that good. Eventually the kid has to play. He's reminding me of Freddy Adu a little bit at this point. He must be 35 by now.

JeepinBen

June 12th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^

He's been really good recently too. I'm a Cubs fan and having watched him pitch a lot I'd say he's a solid 2nd or 3rd starter for sure. The defense behind him has cost him this year, as has a huge lack of run support.

In terms of what the Cubs will want/take, 1 word. Plastics.

Er... Prospects. The Cubs are in full "Win in 2015 or 2016" mode right now. We've got 2.5 pieces that are in the bigs right now that will be around for the future: Castro, Garza (the half) and Samarjza (sp? who cares, to hell with ND). We need help everywhere else and Theo is doing it in the minors. We just landed the Cuban, Soler, and he's got some guys in AAA that he likes, if you have any blue chip minor leaguers, we'd take them.

bacon1431

June 12th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^

I don't think you're getting any blue-chip guys for Dempster. He's 35 and pitching out of his league right now. Probably get solid prospects, but you're not getting anyone on the level of Turner and Castellanos (our top 2 prospects)

JeepinBen

June 12th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^

I'm not familiar with your prospects specifically, but it's going to be a seller's market. Dempster has full no-trade rights - there've been rumors that he'd move the the white sox so as not to move his family if they become buyers.

Yeah, Demp is 35, but c'mon, with all the teams that need solid SP and all the teams in contention the Cubs should get something for him. The big question is if the Cubs can package a bad contract along with him. Does anyone want a 35 year old with no knees who has more homeruns since May 15th than anybody? C'mon! You'll get Dempster too!!

 

bacon1431

June 12th, 2012 at 1:45 PM ^

I never said they wouldn't get anything for him. But I don't think you'll get any blue chippers for him (ie top 50 prospects). And if you do, joke's on the team that does it. Tigers have two blue chip prospects - Turner and Castellanos - and I wouldn't give up one of those guys to get Dempster unless I'm getting a solid prospect along with Dempster in return. And regarding Soriano - chances are you're going to have to eat that contract no matter what. Either you keep him, or trade him and still pay a majority of his salary.

JeepinBen

June 12th, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^

But I still think it's a seller's market, and we'll see what Theo can do.

Watching Soriano play the outfield has been horrible his whole time in Chicago. First he was a miserable fielder, as he's gotten older his knees have just disintegrated. He seems to know how to play the outfield more now, but he just can't move, especially to his right. Any ball hit in the corner, watching him try to run after it is just painful. That said, he's really, really hot right now. I think an AL team that needs an injection of power at DH could take a little of that cash off our hands. I know we'll have to eat some/most of the deal, but I think he could help somebody.

bacon1431

June 12th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^

They should make a deal......at the right price.

Adding a SP and a 2B that is not an automatic out 9 times out of 10 would be a ideal. BP seems to have come around.

Yinka Double Dare

June 12th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^

Maybe consider one-stop shopping with Dempster and Darwin Barney, who is good defensively, dirt cheap salary-wise (not arb eligible for another year or two even), and not totally useless with the bat and seems to have improved this year over last.  At 26 should be entering his prime over the next year or two.  Of course, that means you'd have to give the Cubs a reason to trade him and the combo of the two might cost a better prospect than the Tigers are willing to give up. 

Michigan_Mike

June 12th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^

I really like the idea of going for Dempster abd I think we could get him for either Crosby or Porcello because the Cubs are looking for youth. Moreso I think we need to put together an offer for Greinke. Hes going to be a free agent and the Brewers want something for him. We could give up Castellanos and two of our three young pitchers Crosby, Porcello, or Turner for him. Will that be enough...well who knows. We should at least try.

coldnjl

June 12th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^

I doubt the Tigers are in position to add Greinke or another hefty contract now. For them to be active at teh trade deadline, I would like them to put together a 10 or 15 game run where they win 3/4 or even 2/3 of their game before we go all out for this season. 

Michigan_Mike

June 12th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^

You really don't think Illitch would drop the coin for him? I think he would if we could get him. Ever since the NHL salary cap he has been dumping money into the Tigers. Hes getting up there and wants a World Series ring before he passes. I think he would invest the money for a guy like Greinke.

Obviously we wouldn't trade for him without the money to sign him long term. If that is the case we would be better off with Dempster.

WMUgoblue

June 12th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^

The Tigs currently sit at a payroll of 132mil if they add a guy like Greinke long term that would put the payroll up into Yankee, and Red Sox territory and I don't think it's realistic to assume Iliitch would do that.



I have reservations about trading Turner, he's cost controlled for quite some time. We have 3 pitchers eligible for arbitration (Max, Fister, and Porcello) so one of those guys is gone either before or during the winter meetings via trade. In Turner we have a cheap young asset that could help us.



We will truly see if Dombrowski earned that extension last year.

WMUgoblue

June 12th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^

If we get Dempster I'd like to see how much more we'd have to give up for Darwin Barney. I don't mind giving up Turner but I wouldn't deal Castellanos at this point.

ThadMattasagoblin

June 12th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

They should add a SP.  The batting will get better once Martinez comes back, but we need a pitcher.  That would leave us with Verlander, Fister, Dempster (if we trade for him), Porcello, and Scherzer. 

mdaddio110

June 12th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

I happened to watch Jacob Turner pitch against the Durham Bulls Saturday night and really didn't come away impressed. He only gave up 1 ER, however only 2 K's and gave up a lot of solid contact to a dreadful Bulls lineup. I think his ceiling is more SP 3-4 rather than 1-2.

Moleskyn

June 12th, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^

Eh, if you knew nothing about Justin Verlander, and just happened to see his start against Boston where he gave up 5 earned runs in 6 IP, would you deduce that he was nothing more than a below-average pitcher? You can't just look at one game in isolation and make a judgment about a player. Admittedly, Turner hasn't been very sharp in AAA this year, but he's coming off an injury, and as others have said, he's only 21. Give him some time. I'll take the word of professional talent evaluators who say he's a top-20 prospect overall, compared to your evaluation from one game.

robbyt003

June 12th, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^

Dempster or Garza and a decent 2nd  baseman are a must.  Just imagine...... Verlander, fister, than Garza or Dempster... that's a pretty solid 1-2-3.  Porcello and Scherzer, yet inconsistent, are pretty solid 4-5s.  

coldnjl

June 12th, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^

where will this decent second basemen  come from? Their are really no available players that are true answers. Honestly, the tigers could probably get a guy the quality of will Rhymes (although not him of course-Rays) but that might be it

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

June 12th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^

Yeah, I was trying to rephrase that.....he's an upgrade but I don't think he's enough of one.  And the thing is, I don't think we need anything more than a year or two rental player.  Keep in mind Getz is a .250 career hitter with no power, so he's not a long-term solution.  He's the classic good-field-no-hit player.

BraveWolverine730

June 12th, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^

This might be a cop-out answer, but the answer definitely has to be yes for the right price. One issue I think we'll start seeing soon though is that there will be less sellers at the trade deadline with the extra wild-card.  A team like the Cubs might be willing to sell, but with more teams looking to make a run, it's going to drive the price up for a guy like Garza or Dempster. If you can get one of those guys without giving up your top two prospects I think you do it, otherwise I think you look at acquiring a 2B and hoping Porcello and Scherzer somehow sharpen up.

not TOM BRADY

June 12th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

The Tigers need to get Chris Getz to play at 2nd. He could hit in the 2-hole. Solid Left handed bat with good speed. And he wouldnt garner too many prospects. This team could also use another bullpen arm. 

Moleskyn

June 12th, 2012 at 1:30 PM ^

I was just about to say that our bullpen seems to be rounding into form... and news is out now that Octavio Dotel is headed to the 15-day DL, and they've recalled Luke Putkonen to take his place. I just hope he's less of a tire fire than he was earlier this year.