OT: Valverde or Joe Nathan
I'll take Danny Worth and his knuckleball. No, seriously.
Carlos freaking Santana
of that Black Magic Woman.
For the most part the bullpen is hot garbage, but they still somehow have the 3rd best record in the MLB. At least it sounds like they're trying to get help before the deadline.
If I'm Dave, I'm calling San Diego and Texas and giving them whatever they want for Benoit and Soria respectively... The fact that he hasn't done anything about it 94 games into the season really scares me.
Would it really be much worse if we had Joba or Albuquerque pitch the 9th?
Albuquerque? It very well could.
are made in New Mexico.
If it wasn't clear before, it should be now. We need to trade for a closer, and his name should be Joakim Soria.
But seriously 4 runs in a double header won't win you many games.
wouldn't have won any of the 3 games in this series so far. The offense will struggle at times, I'm used to that happening many, many times over a long season---yes, it's frustrating, but unavoidable. The pen , though, has been a huge weak link the entire season. Way too many blown leads and blown saves, even the saves they have gotten from Nathan have been shaky at best, Todd Jones was usually more reliable than Nathan has been so far.
But Valverde? F-NO!!!!!
Both Valverde and Nathan were/are out of shape. Seriously fat and out of shape.
Nathan is not as fat as Valverde...but something is wrong with the guy...he is 39 and huffin and puffin every outing like he is 50.
Joe Nathan is out of shape. He needs to either get on a conditioning program, or the Tigers should send him to a doctor. There could be something seriously wrong with the guy...he is a heart attack waiting to happen. Just look at him...its not right.
There's not a chance a closer costs you youre starting DH, let alone the best DH in the league. Soria can be had for probably two prospects in the Tigers top 5.
They'll want a boat load of young prospects. V Mart is too close to the end of his career to be considered.
that they'll need BOTH Soria and Benoit. Huston Street already got scooped up this weekend by the Angels, so it's time for the Tigers to get serious on the trade market ASAP. Nathan has had plenty of time to get his act together, at his age it was a big risk to sign him for 2 years anyway. Time will come for Dombrowski to eat that contract once the season ends; in the meantime, can't let the season go down the tubes.
But it's gonna cost the Tigers to get relief help, so who do they trade away? This idea might not be too popular with the masses, but why not consider trading Scherzer? He's as good as gone unless the Tigers are willing to pony up $175 million or more for a long-term contract, and with the return on Verlander's long, expensive contract not being at all good so far, I don't think the Tigers will go that route again. The biggest problem , IMO, with trying to deal Scherzer, would be that the teams holding the best available relievers are teams that don't need a front-of-the-order starter. DD would likely have to put together a 3-team deal to make it work.
Just a week and a half until trades become much, much tougher to pull off...
I don't mean to sound rude, but why trade your best starting pitcher when you know you're in, "win now" mode? Thats basically robbing Peter to pay Paul, especially considering how poor Verlander has been this year. Max isn't going to be back next year, so make your run with him now and get draft pick compensation for him when he leaves.
but what good does it do to not look at every available trade option right now? It's no secret that the Tigers farm system has been decimated by several trades Dombrowski has made seemingly annually each July. It's also pretty safe to assume that several other contending teams are also looking to shore up their bullpens, so any trade right now is likely to be pretty costly to the Tigers. The trade chips the Tigers will have to offer have to be more attractive than what other contenders are offering, and I don't think they have enough chips left down on the farm to win that kind of bidding war.
I'm not saying Max has to be the one that's traded, but I'd rather part with him than with Sanchez or Porcello right now. Verlander? Nobody is gonna want to take on that huge contract for a pitcher that's been as shaky as JV has been, so all we can do is hope that he finds something left in his tank once the Tigers reach the playoffs. And Drew Smyly? The Tigers may have no choice but to send him back to the bullpen if nothing else works out.
Realistically, the Tigers will likely have to part with a starting positional player. They seem to have (if Dirks is finally healthy) an extra outfielder. Other than that, who can they part with? Maybe Iglesias, if some team wants to take a chance on his brittle bones, so I would think his trade value is pretty low. Castellanos? Detroit would be screwed at third if they traded him, but he would have some value on the trade market.
There are plenty of options down on the farm, to be honest this is the best the Tigers farm has looked in some time. They have an 18 year old gem at SS in West Michigan, and some solid pitching prospects like Jake Thompson, and Jonathon Crawford.
We traded outfielder Danry Vasquez last year for the rental of Jose Veras and that type of trade is likely what Dombrowski is looking for right now.
Realistically we shouldn't have to deal from the 25 man roster to get bullpen help, the Angels didn't do it yesterday for Huston Street, and they are regarded to have the worst farm system in all of baseball.
than Veras was last season when they got him as a cheap "rental". It's going to take quite a bit more than a Danny Vasquez-level trading chip to land either of them.
Which is why I said probably 2 of the Tigers top 5 prospects. It will most likely be very similar to what the Angels parted with yesterday for Huston Street.
but think it'll cost more than that. The Angels were very wise in getting ahead of the curve with their trade. The fewer options there are available, the more costly it will get. DD needs to be the next one to swing a deal or the price of doing so might soon become too pricey for even Mike Illitch.
a team selling be interested in a starter--no matter how good--headed for free agency? And represented by Boras?
Well, if we were going to answer the question posed by the OP from the perspective of historical stats for both players, then in both - in an average year, that is - you're more or less getting the same closer. Granted, Valverde seems to have had a more protracted down period via the old eye test, but not really by most metrics - at least discounting his brief stints with the Tigers last year and the Mets this year. So, I suppose the answer that I have is this- by th numbers, it doesn't seem like it would matter much. That being said, you're talking about two guys who have established reputations as serviceable closers, but right now one isn't playing at the other is in a rather ill-timed funk. Still, I suppose you go with the person who is fresh and indeed, try to get someone like Soria to help out there.
Trading Scherzer would fix one problem in the bullpen and then possibly create another one with starting pitching. We need to only trade our prospects.
the worst move the Tigers made in the offseason may have been their decision to let Benoit slip away. He was a better closer last season than anyone else the Tigers have had over the last several seasons (yes, better than Valverde was in his one decent season, IMO), but the Tigers didn't want to pay him. Instead they brought in Nathan for 2 years at more $$$ and he's been a flop.
I wanted the Dombrowski to keep Benoit, but, unfortunately, he didn't ask me for my opinion.
However, I really think your understating his 2011 year. 49/49 in saves and a 2.24 ERA is a little better than decent.
Though, I agree that the Tigers should not of let Benoit get away in the offseason.
I think Dombroski is decent. He's had some good trades and some bad ones. Of course when you're being compared to Dumars, Holland, and Mayhew, you look outstanding.
I am guessing that you did not intend to list Holland here.
Most would want to be evaluated as his equal. Very few can claim better.
Trade for David Price and get more multirun leads for the closer!
porcello plus 2 of our top prospects might be enough. plus, price is cheap for next year too. hell, i would give up our top 2 prospects and porcello for price. win now.