Ten players had been named prior to today’s additions – Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Yasmani Grandal, Cesar Carillo, Ryan Braun, Francisco Cervelli, and Danny Valencia. Montero and Peralta bring the total to twelve.

Jesus Montero figures to be a big part of the Mariners future, but was linked to the Biogenesis Clinic earlier today. (Image Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

Montero appeared in 135 games for the Mariners this past season, his first with the team after being acquired from the New York Yankees just over a year ago. The now-23 year old hit .260/.298/.386 with 15 HR and 62 RBI on the year in 553 PA. It was a solid though unspectacular rookie season for Montero, who came with some high expectations as he climbed through the Yankees minor league system. For four consecutive years he ranked among Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects, including three straight seasons in their Top 10. Montero is a career .308/.366/.501 hitter in just over 2,000 PA.

Representatives for Montero, Sam and Seth Levinson (who also represent Peralta), released a statement stating that they were unfamiliar with the Biogenesis Clinic or Anthony Bosch prior to the start of these reports coming to public light. The Mariners expressed support for MLB’s investigation but refrained from any further comment.

Peralta had a down season in 2012, hitting just .239/.305/.384 with 13 HR over 585 PA. He faced numerous questions early on this offseason, as there was some uncertainty that the Tigers would exercise an option they held on him for the 2013 season. The team repeatedly was linked to other available shortstops but no deals ever appeared close. Peralta, a .264/.327/.422 hitter in his 10 year career, has reportedly lost a fair amount of weight (18 pounds) heading into Spring Training – typically the opposite affect someone would have from taking a steroid-like substance.

Neither Montero nor Peralta’s names were specifically mentioned next to any drug-related information in Bosch’s journals from the Biogensis Clinic, so the nature of their relationship – if there was one – remains uncertain.

The Oakland Athletics traded away Cliff Pennington (to Arizona, who apparently doesn’t consider him to be a major league regular at short), then watched as Stephen Drew became a free agent. A couple days ago, the A’s had all but agreed to a deal that would have brought them Yunel Escobar from the Marlins, only to back away at the eleventh hour over concerns about Escobar’s reputation as a malcontent.

Drew remains on the market and Oakland has maintained dialogue, but the Scott Boras client figures to land a contract larger than the one Oakland wants to give him. According to Susan Slusser, GM Billy Beane would like to make a deal with the Tigers to obtain Peralta, should Detroit find a way to upgrade the position themselves. They are know to have been interested in Drew as well.

Could Weeks re-invent himself as a left fielder? Image: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Slusser’s piece notes that while Oakland cannot offer the right handed hitting outfielder the Tigers are seeking to play left field, Detroit like second baseman Jemile Weeks and envision moving him to the outfield. Despite a mid-season demotion to Triple-A, the A’s are still high on Weeks and are in no hurry to move him and it seems unlikely the Tigers would feel like this is a great fit for them either. Weeks has only ever played second base and the Tigers have Omar Infante employed at that position.

Weeks is just 25 years old and has elite speed, but is a below-average defender at second base. He struggled at the plate last season, but burst onto the scene in 2011 with a .303/.340/.421 line. Part of his struggles was due to a near 100 point drop in his batting average on balls in play, facilitated by a significantly lower line drive rate. Assuming Weeks is actually somewhere in the middle of the hitter he was in 2011 and the one who struggled in 2012, you find a guy who gets on base at a fairly high rate and can wreak havoc once he gets there. The Tigers haven’t had many guys like that in the past 30 years or so.

One remote possibility, should a trade involving these two take place, is that the Tigers could install Weeks at second and play Infante at shortstop. Though he has been primarily a second baseman throughout his career, Infante has logged nearly 1800 career innings at short. He likely wouldn’t be as good defensively as he is at second base, but Infante would cover more ground than Peralta, which is what the Tigers are trying to accomplish by seeking out a new shortstop.

The Indians don’t figure to contend and Cabrera is coming off a couple of excellent seasons at the plate. St. Louis and Boston has both shown interest in obtaining Cabrera, who will draw a healthy return from either club.

Drew can cover a lot more ground than Peralta. Image: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

For those clubs who think the asking price on Cabrera is too high, Detroit offers a cheaper alternative in Peralta, who was displaced by Cabrera as the Tribe shortstop a few years back. Peralta is under contract for only one more year at an affordable $6 million and the Tigers won’t be asking for the moon in return. The one caveat is that Detroit won’t make such a move without a clear alternative at the position.

One of the few shortstops on the free agent market is former D-back Stephen Drew. Drew has struggled to come back to his pre-injury form at the plate, posting a .223/.309/.348 line in 79 games last season, split between Arizona and Oakland. In the six seasons prior to his 2011 broken ankle, Drew posted a .773 OPS for his career. There is no question he can hit when healthy and despite taking nearly a full year to get back onto the field, Drew’s legs weren’t under him for much of 2012.

According to John Heyman, Drew has drawn interest from teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers. New York makes little sense unless Drew sees himself as a utility player. Boston could offer a job as a one season place-holder until Jose Iglasias is more mature. The Tigers, on the other hand, have no viable shortstops coming through their minor league system for quite a while and at age 29, Drew could conceivably hold down the position in Motown for several years to come.

ESPN’s Jim Bowden indicated on twitter that the Tigers are in pursuit of Drew and would sign him with the intention of then trading Peralta away, either to Arizona, as we discussed earlier, or to Boston, where Peralta’s expiring contract would make sense with Iglasias’ arrival.

Peralta has proven over the past two seasons that can still handle the shortstop position defensively, though his range is limited. Detroit would like to add someone who covers more ground to play next to Miguel Cabrera. While offensive concerns wouldn’t be paramount in this equation, Drew’s left handed bat does have pop. The Tigers would be thrilled to exchange Peralta for Drew.

According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports, Towers has turned his attention to the Detroit Tigers and is interested in shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Peralta is under contract for $6 million in 2013.

Peralta was an all-star in 2011, but fell back to Earth last year. Image: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Peralta had a banner year in 2011, but regressed significantly at the plate last season, posting a .239 average and .689 OPS for the Tigers. Defensively, Peralta has limited range, but sure hands and an accurate throwing arm. He made several outstanding defensive plays during the 2012 post-season.

The Tigers would like to upgrade at shortstop more for defensive reasons than anything Peralta has done at the plate. With Miguel Cabrera playing third for the foreseeable future, Detroit gives us a lot of ground ball base hits through the left side of the infield. The shortstop market is weak, however, and in order to move Peralta, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski would want another shortstop in hand.

Drew, a free agent, could be an option for the Tigers, but apart from Danny Worth, Detroit has no realistic internal candidates for the job.

The Diamondbacks are also said to be in contact with free agent shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, who intends to play in the major leagues in 2013. Nakajima was posted in 2011, but did not sign with the Yankees, who had won the bidding for the rights to negotiate.

Nakajima has averaged better than 20 homers per season dating back to 2004 during his career in Japan. After turning down the Yankees last year, Nakajima inked a one-year deal with the Seibu Lions where he posted a .311/.382/.451 line.

Towers has been working actively to add a shortstop, seeking the best young players at the position as return on any possible Justin Upton trade. Now that an Upton deal looks unlikely, Towers will seek alternative means to filling that hole.

The fit for both parties is simply too strong to ignore, which is probably why this marriage will happen. Hunter would give Detroit the complete player in right field, drastically improving both the offensive production there and the team defense. Going from Brennan Boesch, who was decidedly below average at the plate and with the glove, to a player with the pedigree of Hunter would be like replacing Delmon Young with Victor Martinez. Oh yeah, the Tigers get to do that, too.

For a team that won the American League pennant last season, it would be an embarrassment of riches.

But beyond the surface improvements a Hunter signing would bring the Tigers, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News sees an opportunity for Detroit to improve their defense even more.

If Tigers get Hunter, who was always a top target, they add a bat in LF and a bat in V-Mart. Allows a trade of Peralta and making Worth SS.

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) November 12, 2012

Peralta struggled at the plate in 2012. Image: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Earlier in the off-season, the Tigers picked up the $6 million option on shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Though Peralta is coming off a down season at the plate, his glove work was steady all season and outstanding during the playoffs. Danny Worth, however, has a reputation as an elite defender. The only question is whether or not he can hit enough to hold down the position.

If the Tigers can add Hunter, however, some of that offensive slack is already picked up.

The market for shortstops is exceptionally thin this Winter and third base is probably the only position thinner. Peralta is an attractive option thanks to his affordable salary and experience at either position. That he’s still just 30 years old and only one year removed from a 21-homer season in which he produced an .824 OPS suggests he has something left in the tank.

Peralta is a solid hitter. In fact, over his 10 year career, he’s been exactly average with a .750 career OPS and a 100 career OPS+. He’s also shown himself to be a sure-handed defender, though one without ideal range. Any ball he gets to, however, Peralta is as close to automatic as they come.

If the Tigers view Worth as a significant upgrade defensively, and range-wise he is, they may like the idea of moving Peralta. But Worth has spent a career in the minor leagues getting the bat knocked out of his hands. He’s improved in recent seasons, but still has never seen an OPS in the minor leagues higher than the .785 mark he produced in just over 200 at bats in Triple-A Toledo in 2012. In parts of three big league campaigns, Worth is a career .244/.310/.318 hitter. At age 27, Worth is no longer young and doesn’t figure to improve much. At this point, he is what he is, which is a capable defender at three infield positions. Anything he adds offensively would be pure gravy.

That just doesn’t seem like enough for a team that expects to contend not only for the playoffs, but for their first World Championship since 1984.

Henning, for those of you not familiar, has a history of being right about these hunches he gets. While all of Detroit was swooning over Curtis Granderson in 2007 and 2008, it was Henning who saw blockbuster trade to the Yankees coming when no one else did. Of course, like any prognosticator, Henning has missed on his fair share as well. Still, he’s got a better sense of Detroit’s front office and their line of thinking than most do.

I can see Peralta’s value to other clubs that need what he can offer and I can also see why the Tigers would desire an upgrade at shortstop, even if Peralta is the best they have today. Detroit’s minor league system is devoid of middle infield talent, so there’s no one coming up to challenge for the job anytime soon. Be it for the 2013 season or beyond, GM Dave Dombrowski will be tasked with finding the next Tigers shortstop and he’ll do it by looking outside the organization.

But if Worth is their alternative, Dombrowski should just go ahead an hold on to Peralta for another year.

Austin Jackson will return to the Tigers lineup today after being out with a strained abdominal muscle. (Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE)

This comes after Jackson spent the last three weeks dealing with a strained abdominal muscle. The Tigers outfielder first injured himself on May 16th during a swing. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 25th.

At the time of the injury, Jackson was hitting .331/.414/.544. To make room for Jackson on the 25-man roster, the Tigers are expected to announce a corresponding move.

Iott also says the Tigers have placed Johnny Peralta on the paternity list. To fill in for Peralta, Detroit has recalled infielder Hernan Perez. Perez will likely not see much time with the big league club, but Iott believes the move was made to give the Tigers some depth while Peralta is away from the team.

Peralta is currently hitting .268/.338/.400. Hernan was hitting .252 and had 11 stolen bases at Single-A Lakeland.

Iott expects the Tigers to send Matt Young or Jose Ortega to Triple-A Toledo to make room for Jackson today. 

The Tigers take on the the Reds today at 4:10 PM ET.  In the first game of the series last night, the Tigers lost a heart breaker on a squeeze play in the bottom of the tenth. 

For more on the Tigers, be sure to check out Motor City Bengals. 

Looking ahead to the 2012 season, it’s hard to pick a team who might be capable of replicating the magic the Diamondbacks pulled out of their hat last season.  Let’s face it – there are a lot of teams that look very strong, and a bunch of others that look like they are simply in a rebuild mode. (more…)

If he was hurt, so be it. Tigers fans had to be down on their knees thanking the Lord for the designated hitter. Martinez did not have to run out and play the field immediately. He could retreat to the clubhouse for an entire rehab session before his turn to hit rolled around again. The fact that he had so much time to pull himself together added to the playoff game’s suspense. We didn’t really know if he was going to take another at-bat or not. And manager Jim Leyland had innings to ponder his next move.

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