Recovered from a serous knee injury that cost him the 2012 season, Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez–sliding into home against Atlanta–has been improving his timing and play as the weeks pass. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers were pretty much awarded the American League Central Division crown by acclamation in the pre-season and events such as those that took place Saturday show why. The Tigers pounded the living daylights out of the Astros, clubbing Houston 17-2 on 21 hits.

Granted it was the Astros, a Little League team in disguise, but this is the type of fence-busting, muscle-flexing power Detroit possesses and can call upon on any given day. The Tigers are the defending AL champs and there is no reason to believe they can’t take another run at the World Series this year.

Saturday presented vintage Miguel Cabrera for viewing. The third baseman who won the Triple Crown in 2012 had a better day than Orb did in the Kentucky Derby and probably has a better chance to win another Triple Crown this year than Orb does this spring.

Cabrera went four-for-four, including two home runs, scored three runs and drove in six. That lifted his batting average to .390 and left his on-base percentage at .467. This is one tough guy to get out.

Detroit was a formidable team last year, what with Prince Fielder following Cabrera in the batting order, but it is a better hitting team this year overall because Torii Hunter was added to the outfield and Victor Martinez is coming back from his injury-lost 2012. Also on Saturday Hunter stroked four hits, scored three runs and knocked in two, raising his average to .361. Martinez, who has been gradually working his way back into top form after a wicked knee injury, accumulated four RBIs on two hits himself.

Although he had rehabbed his way back by spring training, and has been an everyday player since the beginning of the season, Martinez started very slowly. Only in the last couple of weeks has he been belting the ball around with his old authority. If he maintains that type of form that Detroit lineup is going to be bursting with threats because Austin Jackson, Jhonny Peralta, and Omar Infante are also hitting well.

The Murderers Row look is going to petrify some opposing pitchers, but the flip side is that Detroit’s starting pitchers have been as reliable as any around. These are the numbers on the Tigers’ top four starters going into Sunday’s game: Anibal Sanchez, 3-2, 1.82 earned run average (plus a 17-strikeout game), Justin Verlander, 3-2, 1.83 ERA, Doug Fister, 4-0, 2.43, and Max Scherzer, 4-0, 3.43.

Detroit was pretty much undone by bullpen failings in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants last October, but the relievers have been solid. That includes Jose Valderde, who imploded in the playoffs, was let go by the team, re-signed to a minor-league contract, and then brought back to the big club again. When used as the closer since, he has performed.

So have Drew Smly, Al Alburquerque, and Joaquin Benoit. Not so Phil Coke, however. Coke was outstanding last fall, but has been shakier than an earthquake this spring. The Tigers need him to come around.

Not reclaiming the Central Division title would be a huge surprise for the Tigers. How they fare after that in the playoffs will in great part depend on the bullpen. The Tigers have the ingredients to blow away any team on a given day with their hitting prowess, but they won’t be playing the Astros in the post-season. The starting pitching seems primed to take care of business, too.

It just may well be that the only thing standing between the Tigers and their first World Series championship since 1984  is the wild-card question of how good the bullpen can be in the clutch when both the bright lines and the pressure are on.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez struck out 17 hitters in eight innings against the Atlanta Braves Friday night. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Striking out 17 batters in eight innings Friday night against the Atlanta Braves was an extraordinary showing by Detroit Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Not generally known as a strikeout whiz, Sanchez put up one eye-popping number there. And that was without throwing a complete game.

If Sanchez lived at any other time in the history of baseball, there’s no way he would have been lifted by manager Jim Leyland without a chance to pitch the ninth and hurl a complete game in the 10-0 victory. Although there were certainly no guarantees that Sanchez would strike out all three batters in the ninth to tie the Major League record it’s kind of annoying that he wasn’t given a shot at trying or just finishing out a five-hit shutout.

Not that Sanchez cared, either. Starters these days have no commitment to complete games so he was indifferent that he was taken out because of a pitch count of 121. With that lead it wasn’t as if he was going to blow the game.

Sitting in the stands watching a game like that unfold where you are not tallying the number of strikeouts, but only forming a general impression, it doesn’t take long to start thinking that everyone is striking out. A couple of guys each inning here and a couple of guys each inning there, and pretty soon it kind of dawns on you that a whole bunch of Ks are going into the scorebook.

When a starting pitcher is so dominant he is just punching out every batter it’s a treat for the fans. Sanchez,3-1 on the season, was money Friday night. The right-hander set a Tiger team record for strikeouts in a game, eclipsing Mickey Lolich by one. He also became a rare pitcher to strike out so many hitters in eight innings–Randy Johnson once struck out 18 in eight innings.

It is a nine-inning game, however, and the context of a full game is how records are usually viewed. Through the course of history there have been three 20-strikeout games in nine innings. Two were authored by Roger Clemens and one by Kerry Wood.

There should be an asterisk in there for an additional game, though. In 2001, while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Randy Johnson struck out 20 men in nine innings, but it wasn’t a complete game. The game went on for two more innings. Don’t know why that should matter, but apparently Major League baseball does, because it is listed separately.

In the group with 19 strikeouts you find Johnson (twice), Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, David Cone, Tom Seaver and two 1880s guys, Hugh Daily and Charlie Sweeney.

Ben Sheets, Clemens, Johnson, Ryan, Ramon Marinez, Bill Gullickson, Ron Guidry, Don Wilson, Sandy Koufax (twice), Bob Feller, and two 1880s guys, Henry Porter and Dupee Shaw, all struck out 18 in a nine-inning game.

That’s the list of all of the pitchers in baseball history who bettered Sanchez’s effort in a regular, nine-inning game. It’s a pretty short list and one thing to chew on is that a spectator attending the game at Comerica Park had a better chance of seeing a no-hitter than a pitcher fan 17 batters in eight innings.

It should be noted also that throughout history, when no one cared about pitch counts, but only how a guy was actually doing on the mound, that a certain number of times high strikeout totals were registered in extra innings.

The all-time, single-game Major League record for strikeouts in a game including extra innings was posted by the Washington Senators’ Tom Cheney in 1962 when he struck out 21 while pitching 16 innings.

Luis Tiant and Nolan Ryan (three times) struck out 19 in an extra-inning game.

Too late to squeeze out that one more inning from Sanchez, but he was looking pretty good Friday, both in the context of the sport’s history, and the company he joined, so it would have been special to see how many more Ks he might have picked off in the ninth.

It has been an eventual six months for Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jose Valverde, who had a miserable playoff season, ended his connection to the team, was re-signed to a minor-league contract, and returned to the Tiger lineup Wednesday night. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Well, this was unlikely. Jose Valverde, who became so contagious during the playoffs in October that no other member of the Detroit Tigers wanted to even sit near him in the bullpen or the dugout lest they catch something that would ruin their careers, was back in a game for the Detroit Tigers Wednesday night.

Valverde set down the Kansas City Royals 1-2-3 in the ninth inning of a Tiger victory. Good for him.

I’m happy for Valverde. The Tigers not only gave up on him temporarily in October, which was understandable the way he was throwing, but that they gave up on him for good rather than try to work with him to fix what went wrong seemed iffy strategy. For all its glamor professional sports can also be cruel.

As recently as 2011, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Dominican was just about the best reliever in the game with his virtually untouchable 49-save season. Then, before you know it, he was a leper.

Not a single team in Major League baseball even sneezed in Valverde’s direction during the off-season. No one said hello, never mind offered him a contract. Even that old softie Jim Leyland, the Tigers’ manager, was astonished–and a bit saddened–by what was happening to his ex-pitcher.

But Tiger management anointed inexperienced Bruce Rondon as the closer of the future and even though he had a rocky spring training he was the go-to man at the start of the season. I never actually thought this was Leyland’s idea, that it was more like him playing with the cards he was dealt.

It didn’t take long for it to become obvious the Rondon commitment was a mistake. Rondon was sent to the minors. Meanwhile, the Tigers signed Valverde to a minor-league deal. It only took about three weeks for the Tigers to realize that they had no closer at all on the big-league club. Phil Coke, the set-up man, was handling the job by default, getting battered and losing games as the closer, so that was no solution.

Teams that plan to win pennants, which the Tigers certainly do, must have a reliable closer. History has shown us that you can’t get away with a hole in the lineup in that position come October. A few days ago, admitting a certain kind of defeat, the Tigers brought up both Valverde and Rondon from the minors and sent them to the bullpen together.

The general feeling after October was that Valverde, who was a free agent, would never grace the mound for Detroit again.While he had a body of good, and sometimes great, work on his resume for the Tigers, it was felt that had all been squandered by his playoff meltdown. I thought that was a hasty judgment, but if the Tigers lost faith and believed that their fans would rip Valverde apart, then so be it.

Even if you think that was the right course, Detroit’s major mistake was not adequately replacing Valverde. The American League representative in the World Series needed to trade for or buy a well-regarded closer on the open market for them to be taken seriously in this year’s pennant race. They didn’t do that and hence the April mess they found themselves in.

There would be tremendous irony if Valverde regains his form and becomes a top closer again, helping Detroit to another pennant. Now that he has another chance it’s up to Valverde. He’s gone from dead man walking in this business to potential savior. Yes, baseball, like the world at large, works in mysterious ways.

Relief prospect Bruce Rondon will join the Tigers bullpen but won’t be closing games out, at least initially. (Image Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Having entered the season as the popular favorite in the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers find themselves in the middle of the pack just a few weeks into the season and have taken some steps towards strengthening their bullpen with a pair of moves on Tuesday. Former closer Jose Valverde and future closer Bruce Rondon have both been added to the team’s active roster in separate moves.

Rondon’s addition was the team’s first move of the day, following an announcement that Octavio Dotel would need to head to the DL thanks to inflammation in his right elbow. Rondon was recalled to take his place after a dominant start to his season at Triple-A. In seven appearances for the Toledo Mudhens Rondon has thrown 7.2 IP, allowing just five hits (all singles) and a pair of walks while striking out nine (10.6 K/9). Initially it’s expected that Rondon will be worked into the late-inning mix, but he likely will not be asked to close games right out of the gate. He was viewed as the team’s likely closer entering Spring Training, but struggles with his command and composure ultimately led the team to start him back in the minor leagues to begin the season.

Valverde’s return is a different situation. The team’s former closer spent most of the offseason waiting on the open market for a call that never came. It has seemed clear throughout the winter that a return to Detroit was out of the question, given the right-hander’s struggles and collapse during the playoffs, but as he remained available and the team continued along without a bona-fide closer on the roster, suddenly the idea of a reunion wasn’t such an odd one. Valverde initially re-joined the Tigers on April 4th, signing a minor league deal that carried an opt-out clause if he wasn’t on the Major League roster by early May. The deal did not carry any provisions covering when/if he were to be recalled. Early Tuesday evening the team announced a new one year deal with Valverde, in conjunction with an announcement that he’ll be joining the team in Detroit by Wednesday. Valverde is expected to step right into the closer’s role. Brayan Villarreal was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Valverde.

Between Valverde, Joaquin Benoit, and Phil Coke the Tigers will have three players on their active roster with closing experience (though Benoit and Coke have both struggled in the role thus far this season). Add in Rondon and Al Alburquerque and that’s the making of a fairly strong bullpen (at least on paper). If the Tigers are going to compete again this season – and fare better in the postseason than they did in last year’s World Series – they’ll need consistent production from the group throughout the year.

Jose Valverde seemed destined to leave the Tigers organization this winter, but ended up returning on a minor league deal this morning. (Image Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

One of the last remaining free agents has finally signed a contract and landed with a new team, only in this case that new team is actually the same one he’d spent the past three seasons with. Former Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde has signed a minor league deal to return to the organization, after a reunion seemed almost assuredly like it was not going to happen, according to 1500 ESPN’s Patrick Reusse.

Valverde will report to the team’s Spring Training complex in Lakeland initially. Plans beyond that remain unclear, but Tom Gage of the Detroit News reports that Valverde’s deal contains an out clause, allowing him to become a free agent if he’s not on the team’s MLB roster by May 5th.

Over the past three seasons with Detroit, Valverde has been mostly reliable working out of the back of the team’s bullpen. He’s appeared in 206 games for the team over that stretch, saving 110 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.199 WHIP. His 2011 season, in particular, was a standout campaign. He led the league with 75 appearances, going a perfect 49-for-49 in save opportunities. He’d make the All Star team and finish in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting. Valverde’s peripheral stats during his Tigers career aren’t overly impressive – 7.9 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 – but he’s generally been able to get the job done anyways when called upon.

That is until this past postseason, of course. Valverde imploded. He’d allow 9 earned runs in just 2.2 IP. By the time the team reached the World Series he’d been replaced as the team’s closer and his departure from Detroit appeared all but certain.

The Tigers appear to going with a bullpen by committee this season, having spent most of the offseason fighting off questions surrounding the team’s perceived plan to use Bruce Rondon in the closer’s role. Rondon needs more minor league seasoning before taking on such a role, so the opportunities are mostly going to be shared between Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit initially. Should Valverde throw well in the minor leagues and should the team’s MLB bullpen falter, a return prior to the opt out date could be a real possibility.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg was in superb form overpowering the Miami Marlins on opening day. Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

One baseball tradition is to roll out your ace to start the season. Opening day is the one day all season when pretty much every team’s top guy is on the same schedule. It’s all about putting your best foot forward, showing off your best thrower, setting a tone for the season, providing a little perk for the No. 1 starter.

It is also an old adage that in the very beginning of the Major League baseball season that the pitchers are ahead of the hitters. Well, Monday, they were so far ahead of the hitters that those poor guys swinging needed a telescope to spot the pitchers who were making them look like fools. It was practically the dead ball era all over again.

The highlight reel was almost all about swings and misses. If it wasn’t already windy in some of the eastern parks where spring has just failed to settle in, one might say that the number of batters stirring the air created localized windchill factors.

Detroit’s Justin Verlander pitched five innings while allowing three hits in the Tigers’ 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis, where it was 35 degrees with a 17 mph wind. Stephen Strasburg led the Washington Nationals to a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins while allowing just three hits. He was helped along by buddy Bryce Harper‘s two solo home runs. Chris Sale pitched 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball as the White Sox beat the Royals 1-0. Boston’s Jon Lester looked positively pedestrian because he gave up two runs in five innings with seven strikeouts, though the Sox beat the Yankees, 8-2. Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija struck out nine and gave up two hits in a 3-1 victory over the Pirates.

Best of them all was the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw pitched a complete game, something many solid starters aren’t allowed to do even under a hot July sun, while blanking the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, 4-0, on four hits. Kershaw tossed just 94 pitches and he even hit a home run for the first time in a game that counted since high school, pretty much proving that there was no logic whatsoever to who could swing a bat this day.

On such a chilly day Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he would have been crazy to let Verlander pitch longer. But that just meant he had to go to his bullpen early. The bullpen is the biggest question for the 2012 American League pennant winners and the team has not committed to a single closer. The Tigers let Jose Valverde go after his sad showing in the playoffs and anointed successor Bruce Randon failed in spring training. It was interesting to note that when it came to finishing off the game Leyland chose Phil Coke to do it–the same man he relied on at the end last year.

Not only did the Red Sox pound arch-rival New York (Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, one of the only players in the majors not to appear feeble at the plate), but the Yankees’ mix-and-match lineup was filled with so many strange names it was flat out fascinating. It was like the waiver-wire special. With several regulars injured the Yankees really had to get creative to field participants fans heard of.

It wasn’t as if the Yankees awkwardly started numerous rookies that no one heard of, but that they started players who all came from somewhere else recently. Among those who wore pinstripes for the opener were Travis Hafner (pinch hitter), Jason Nix, Vernon Wells, Kevin Youkilis, Ben Francisco, and Lyle Overbay (pinch hitter).

If all of those guys were in their prime, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. But they’re not and that group was out there instead of injured Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixiera.

Meanwhile, over in Cincinnati, the Reds, one of the National League favorites, played against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, one of the American League favorites, in the first inter-league opener in baseball history. The game lasted 13 innings and nobody could hit there either (Albert Pujols, 0-4, Josh Hamilton, 0-4, Jay Bruce 0-5, Joey Votto, 0-4). The Reds mustered just three safeties to the Angels’ six. It took the Angels seven pitchers to win it, 3-1. It took the Reds five pitchers to lose it, including Johnny Cueto, who was superb through seven, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out nine. In fact, the Reds struck out Angels players 17 times.

“We just did a great job of mixing and matching,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of juggling pitchers until Mark Lowe got the win. “You couldn’t ask for more (from the bullpen). The scenarios were developing pitch by pitch. We were running out of players, but this is a series (opening week) when no teams wants to extend their starters.”

Opening day a lot of those starting pitchers did the job as well as they do in mid-season.

The Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander is just about the best pitcher in baseball and gives his team a head start in locking down the American League Central Division.Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Detroit Tigers were picked apart in the World Series by the San Francisco Giants in 2012 and their closer situation is iffy, they should be strong enough to take command of the American League Central Division early and hold it all summer long.

Fireballing Justin Verlander on the mound and triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera at bat give the Tigers two major components in putting a winner on the field at Comerica Park.  They’ve also got slugger Prince Fielder manning first base and Victor Martinez coming back from a year sidelined with a knee injury and they added outfielder Torii Hunter. The starting rotation is solid and Phil Coke is Mr. Reliability in the bullpen however he is used. Bruce Rondon was supposed to be the closer, but the Tigers sent him to the minors Thursday, leaving a rather large hole in the bullpen.

Having a dependable closer is generally a must cornerstone for choosing a team to finish first, but the Tigers have all the other ingredients dominate the division. If they have to go to closer-by-committee, though that weakens their position, it might mean the difference between advancing in the playoffs and not.

The fact that Rick Porcello claimed the fifth starter spot over Doug Smyly is a sign of strength on the mound. Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Anibel Sanchez make for an otherwise sturdy rotation and Verlander may be the finest pitcher in the game. His numbers weren’t quite as gaudy last year as they were in 2011, but he was just about as effective–his teammates didn’t perform as well for him as they had the year before.

Generally speaking the Tigers are so much more talented across the board than the other four teams in the AL Central that it would be hard to see them losing the division crown. If anyone has an outside shot at the Tigers–and it really is a longshot–it’s the Cleveland Indians. The Indians worked harder than anyone else in baseball to upgrade without adding a superstar. They brought in a new manager in Terry Francona and played the free-agent market aggressively. The Indians were big spenders without being complete break-the-bank spenders.

Nick Swisher was a big-ticket item and they may have overspent for his services. But the Indians also brought in Michael Bourn, a National League All-Star, Drew Stubbs, an ace fielder, and Mark Reynolds, among others. The Indians are sick of losing and they don’t even have too many fans lef alive who remember their last World Series triumph in 1948.

Doormats for so long, there is something to be said for the Kansas City Royals, too. They have cast their lot with homegrown talent and much of its is coming of age. At the least the days of 100-l0ss seasons are in the rearview mirror. It might be a lot to ask for a winning record, but the Royals could eke out a .500-plus mark by a game or two.

Forget the hopes of the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. Not very long ago they were both division challengers or winners, but in 2013 they will be in a dogfight for the basement.

I feel a bit bad for White Sox second-year manager and veteran slugger Paul Konerko. I just don’t see much help for Paulie on the roster. Designated hitter Adam Dunn could hit 40 home runs with 100 RBIs and still bat under .200. That would be something to see. Also possible rescuers of Konerko’s lonely success might be some members of the starting rotation. At one time or another Chris Sale, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd and John Danks have all done well. But they almost all no longer seem to have good years at the same time or all stay healthy at the same time. Danks is on the 15-day disabled list now.

Joe Mauer may be king of the Twin Cities, but his royal court is substandard.

This is how I see the American League Central playing out this season: 1) Detroit Tigers; 2) Cleveland Indians; 3) Kansas City Royals; 4) Chicago White Sox; 5) Minnesota Twins.

(Image Credit: 1965 Topps via foulbunt.blogspot.com via Google Images)

Somehow it was inevitable that Virgil Trucks‘ nickname would be “Fire.” Fire Trucks could throw a wicked fastball and that made the combination obvious. And he must not have minded because when he wrote his biography the name on the cover included “Fire.”

Trucks was 95 years old when he died the other day. He won 177 games during his 17-year pitching career between 1941 and 1958, all spent in the American League. But he is best remembered for throwing two no-hitters in one season for the Detroit Tigers in 1952. That is not a unique feat, but a rare one, also accomplished by Nolan Ryan, Allie Reynolds, Johnny Vander Meer, and Roy Halladay. Halladay’s achievement in 2010 included a post-season no-hitter.

As always, baseball shows itself to be a quirky game and the year Trucks hurled two no-hitters the Tigers were awful at 54-100 and except for those two beauties it was the worst season of his career. The same pitcher who twice won 19 games, and also won 16, and 14 three times, went 5-19 that year. And his earned run average of 3.97 wasn’t that bad. Go figure.

Apparently, Trucks did. “We were last in runs scored and near the bottom in fielding, a deadly combination for you if you’re a pitcher,” Trucks said in his book “Throwing Heat-The Life And Times of Virgil “Fire” Trucks. “1952 was about as mixed a year for me as any pitcher could have had,” Trucks wrote. “I feel like I pitched as well as I did the year before when I won 13 ball games.”

Actually, Trucks did win 20 games in one season, but that season was split between two teams. He began the 1953 campaign with the St. Louis Browns and after 12 appearances he was 5-4. Then he got traded again to the Chicago White Sox and went 15-6 with the Sox. So just a year after suffering with the 5-19 record, Trucks went 20-10.

In 1945, Trucks won a game in the World Series that the Tigers captured from the Chicago Cubs. It was his sole Series pitching effort.

Trucks wore another uniform, that of the United States Army, during World War II, and estimated that he surely would have won more than 200 career games if it hadn’t missed two seasons of baseball while serving his country. Bob Feller, the Indians great, who was a Trucks contemporary, played golf with him in retirement, and he said Trucks was a tough guy on the mound. “He never tired out,” said Feller, who died in 2010. “He was like a workhorse.”

Although the bulk of the right-hander’s career was spent with the Tigers, Trucks also played for the White Sox, Browns, New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics, too. One of his 19-victory seasons was for the White Sox in 1954. The White Sox won a surprising 94 games that year, yet didn’t come anywhere near capturing the AL pennant. The Cleveland Indians won 111 games and the Yankees won 103. Trucks was 19-12 with a 2.79 ERA.

“Going to the White Sox was like going to the Yankees after where I’d been,” Trucks said.

Les Moss, a catcher who played with Trucks in Chicago, and was his roommate for a while, called him “a real great guy” and said when Trucks was at his best on the mound, “on given day he could be virtually unhittable.”

While Trucks did not have the same sustained success as they did, in the 2000s he said that the current-day pitchers who most reminded him of how he pitched were Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. Trucks, who played 12 of his 17 years in the big leagues with Detroit, also said he was sorry to see old Tiger Stadium be torn down in favor of a new park.

“They invited all the ex-Tigers who were living,” Trucks noted of saying goodbye to the structure. “It was a sad day for all involved because of all the great memories that had taken place in that old building.”

Trucks, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1917, was living Alabama when he died. Up until near the end of his life Trucks said he still got at least one letter a day from baseball fans asking for autographs and he said it was great to be remembered.

If Porcello can be had for a reliever, there are 29 GMs who need to pick up the phone right now. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest shock to the system was to see that Detroit actually offered to deal Porcello to the Padres in exchange for a premium reliever, in this case Huston Street or Luke Gregerson. I get that Detroit’s very biggest area of weakness is most certainly its questionable bullpen, but the price of relief pitching should never reach such heights when it’s so volatile and unpredictable. Then again, maybe a lot of that has to do with just how undervalued Porcello’s skill set and Major League accomplishments are at this point in time.

Porcello won’t even turn 25 until December of this year, and by that time he will have already completed five full seasons at the highest level of professional baseball. That’s almost unheard of, and that sort of experience at such a young age is typically only associated with superstars. Porcello didn’t develop into a superstar, but he has shown that he happened to come out of the gate as a highly polished starter with some positive attributes. While he isn’t an ace, he’s about as good of a back-end starter as you’re likely to find, and unlike many back-end starters, he isn’t just filler. There is still room for improvement here.

Porcello has proven himself durable. While he hasn’t ever logged 200 innings, he’s made between 27 and 31 starts in every season of his young career. He’s also quite gifted when it comes to throwing strikes, as his career walk rate is a mere 2.3 per nine innings. Porcello has also been worth between 2.0 and 2.9 WAR in every season on his resume, and both his FIP and xFIP actually sunk below 4.00 in 2012 as his strikeout rate improved ever so slightly. These are all positive attributes, and when concerning a pitcher only 24 years of age, they point toward potentially greater things down the road.

On top of the minor statistical improvements, Porcello flashed a fastball that averaged nearly two MPH more than it did in 2011 last season. His pitches are bound to get sharper as he gets older, and his ground ball approach would definitely play better for a team whose infield didn’t consist of slow, awkward sluggers who clearly lie about their weigh on their ESPN player profiles.

But let’s say Porcello never gets better and this is what he is. Even if that happens to be the case (which I don’t believe it is), he carries far more value than just about any reliever could ever provide in limited innings. Porcello takes the mound every fifth day, turns in solid but unspectacular work, and doesn’t kill himself with free passes. He’s the sort of pitcher that might wind up the recipient of an expensive three-year deal by a club desperate for pitching, so why should he only warrant a reliever in return? And that’s not even what other teams are offering, that’s what Detroit is asking! Baseball has come a long way in understanding what’s valuable and what’s not so valuable, but there’s still plenty of road left to be traveled.

If Brian’s writing strikes your fancy, read his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @vaughanbasepct.

Rick Porcello continues to draw interest on the trade market but there are no certainties that the Tigers will move him before the season begins. (Image Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Rick Porcello has remained one of the most common names discussed this Spring as a possible trade target and it would seem that multiple teams continue to show an interest in acquiring the right-hander from the Detroit Tigers, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLBTR. At least five teams – the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals – have all been linked to the 24 year old in some fashion recently but questions remain about whether the Tigers will indeed move him.

Detroit’s hesitation is somewhat understandable, particularly given the high value placed on starting pitching depth. The team reportedly will not move Porcello unless they receive a “strong return”. He’s currently slated to be the team’s 5th starter, with Drew Smyly either taking a role in the bullpen or returning to Triple-A to start. Smyly would be the first option to replace Porcello in the rotation should the team end up making a move.

Based on the team’s current and most pressing needs, it seems only natural that the Tigers will focus on bullpen help (i.e. someone who could potentially close) and a right-handed hitting outfielder in any potential deal.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggest that talks have not progressed far between the Rangers and Tigers, but names have been exchanged between the two sides. Specifically, the Tigers have interest in a pair of Rangers prospects – shortstop Leury Garcia and right-hander Nick Tepesch. Detroit wants a third player in a deal, according to Rosenthal, but the Rangers appear to be balking at the high price.

Boston appears to have interest in Porcello and could match up well with the Tigers on a deal, but it seems they are hesitant to break up their bullpen mix. A deal involved right-hander Andrew Bailey could make sense for both sides, given Detroit’s need for help at the back of their bullpen. The two players also match up fairly closely in terms of 2013 salaries (Porcello’s slated to earn $5.1 Million, while Bailey will make $4.1 Million).

Baltimore and St. Louis have had scouts watch Porcello throw of late, but neither team is expected to be serious suitors.

San Diego has also had multiple conversations with the Tigers, and may have made the most progress on a potential deal, reportedly turning down multiple offers according to Jim Bowden. Detroit offered the team two separate deals involving either Huston Street or Luke Gregorson and the Padres rejected both proposals. Bowden suggests that talks are continuing between the two sides but there’s no certainty that a deal will be reached.

While there appears to be little urgency to getting a deal complete, it would be safe to assume that the Tigers would like to resolve the matter before the regular season begins in about two weeks. With a deal in place, the team can head into the season with some of their pending questions addressed (pending what they receive in return, of course). Without a deal, Porcello can focus on getting opposing hitters out and the rumors will cease to be a distraction for the time being. Detroit could look to move him before the July trade deadline as well. He’ll still be under team control for three more seasons following this year, meaning there will be some value to a team that acquires him no matter when a deal is completed.