Tigers Tracks

By The Numbers: Bill Freehan

By The Numbers looks at one current or former Tiger that wore each uniform number. To catch up on numbers 1-10 click the “By The Numbers” tag at the top of this page.

As I approached number 11 on my list, I knew I would have a tough choice to make. There have been only three prominent Tigers to don the number 11, but narrowing the list to one was a tougher choice than I expected. In the end, another catcher gets the call, joining Rudy York and Pudge Rodriguez on the list so far. So with apologies to Dizzy Trout (P, 1939-52, 3x All-Star), and Sparky Anderson (Mgr, 1979-95, 1 WS, 2x Manager of the Year) I present No. 11: Bill Freehan

Bill Freehan was born in Detroit in 1941 and attended Royal Oak High School. He followed by enrolling at the University of Michigan where he played football as well as baseball. In 1961, Freehan set the all-time single season Big Ten record with a .585 batting average.

The Tigers signed him as a free agent that summer, and he spent all of 77 games in the minor leagues over two stops that year. He performed well enough (.312 average, .512 slg) that the Tigers brought him up to join the final road trip of the year. He made his big league debut in Kansas City on September 26, 1961, just months after catching collegiate pitchers at U-M. Read the rest of this entry…

Tweet This Post

Tags: 1968, Bill Freehan, BTN

Valverde Deal is Official, Roster Move to Follow

The Tigers today annouced the signing of closer Jose Valverde to a two-year contract with a club option for a third. The move puts the team at 41 players on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move must be made soon.

Mark Anderson of TigsTown noted in a tweet to MLB.com’s Jason Beck that he’s hearing Don Kelly would likely be the guy DFA’d.

I hope this isn’t the case.

There is an argument to be made that Kelly is the weakest link on the roster, but he also has several points in his favor. Namely, he hits left handed and can play literally anywhere on the field. Kelly also has good speed and a good enough glove that he can provide spot duty at the big league level. He also is nearing 30 years old and has little chance to improve his game at this point.

So the Tigers will likely send him through the waiver process, just as they did mid-season last year. He cleared waivers that time and he may again, but he does have value so I’d expect another club will put a claim in on him. If not, he could be released, but more likely would be re-assigned to the minor leagues.

If it were up to me, I’d try like hell to work a trade of Bobby Seay.

The Tigers have far too many lefty relievers at this point, and Seay is due a raise through arbitration. Even if they only received cash considerations for Seay, his salary coming off the books would be a welcome relief for this team. Plus his replacements (Fu-Te Ni, Brad Thomas, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke) are all making significantly less money than Seay will. Seems like a win-win to me.

Tweet This Post

Tags: Bobby Seay, Don Kelly, Jose Valverde

Tigers Talking with Damon

Geez, it’s like the Winter Meetings all over again.

On the heels of agreeing to a contract with closer Jose Valverde, the Tigers are now reportedly engaged in talks with Johnny Damon and his agent Scott Boras. From MLB.com’s Jason Beck:

The pending arrival of Valverde had barely settled in when SI.com’s Jon Heyman suggested via Twitter that the Tigers could be “in play” for Damon, then said on MLB Network that the two sides are talking.

The question in most fans minds right now has got to be one asking where all this money is all of a sudden coming from. The national media had painted the trade of Granderson and Jackson as a sign of surrender. The words “fire sale” were thrown about frequently. But as MLive’s Scott Warheit pointed out, those words didn’t come from Jim Leyland nor Dave Dombrowski. Perhaps, as Warheit mentions, the Tigers knew what they had in Granderson and Jackson, and saw an opportunity to “sell high” and maximize their return. More from Warheit:

What the signing of Jose Valverde, and the interest the Tigers are showing in Johnny Damon tells me, is that the trade of Granderson, and all the other moves the Tigers have made this offseason were never about the money.  

Dombrowski just was not as sold on Curtis Granderson, the baseball player, as most Detroit fans were. So, he sold high, received a lot in return and started to rebuild his team.

After my initial outrage over the signing of Valverde subsided, I began to recall thinking much the same thing that Warheit says here. When the trade went down, this is what I had to say:

We all know of Grandy’s “quad 20? season of 2007, but since then he has taken a major step backward at the plate.  Look, I love Granderson, but the guy really struggles against lefties.  I think he has the talent to yet become the complete player that he should be, maybe a change of scenery will help.  Well, that and the very short porch in right field in New York.

As for the Tigers, Dave Dombrowski did better than I think most people will give him credit for here.  He traded an erratic pitcher who has had only one great half of a season in his career and a centerfielder who really can only hit righties for four very talented, young, major league ready pieces.

That’s not to say that I am suddenly on board with Dombrowski’s tossing of money at Valverde, but if there really is enough cash to still augment the offense, the signing of Valverde looks better. Adding a left handed bat in Damon, one that can hit for extra bases and can bat at the top of the lineup is almost exactly what this lineup needs. If Damon were a middle infielder I would like it more, but having Damon, Carlos Guillen, and Magglio Ordonez rotating the corner outfield and DH spots would, in theory, allow all of them to stay fresher and healthier throughout the season. That’s important because Maggs and Damon are not young, and Guillen body is about 10 years older than his age.

I’ll remind you, if only because I need to remind myself, that the season is still a long ways off, and there is time to assemble the finished project. The addition of Valverde, and possibly Damon, would mean that one or two players will have to be removed from the roster. It’s my hope that Dombrowski has talks in the works for trading someone instead of losing those players to waiver claims. If he could move Bobby Seay, for example, he would free up the $2-3 MM Seay will likely earn next year, which would go a long way towards softening the blow of Valverde (and Damon) on the payroll.

Tweet This Post

Tags: Johnny Damon, Jose Valverde

Tigers Agree to Sign Valverde

According to a tweet from Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the Tigers have agreed in principle to a two year contract with former Astros Closer Jose Valverde. The deal, pending a physical, is for $14 MM and includes a third year option at $9 MM.

If you haven’t already read my thoughts on this matter, please refer to my post, written yesterday, at the Detroit Tigers Den. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

If you are too lazy to click over there, I’ll sum up my feelings here: DAMMIT!!!

Don’t misunderstand, I think Valverde is a fine reliever, and I’m glad the Tigers feel they are in a position to add to the payroll and solidify the bullpen. Make no mistake, Valverde is as good as it gets for a closer not named Nathan or Rivera (Career Numbers- 1.168 WHIP, 11 K/9, 3:1 K:BB). That said, I hate losing the draft pick, and I hate that the Tigers seemed to have switched horses mid-stream, so to speak.

Wasn’t it just a month ago that Dave Dombrowski traded two young stars in order to clear some payroll? If this is how he planned on using the spare cash, I’m a bit disappointed. Sure, the pitching staff appears to be set for a while, but where exactly, do they think the runs are going to come from?

If there was a spare $7 MM laying around, I sure would have liked to see them try to add a veteran LH hitter to use when Carlos Guillen breaks down again, and he will.

As it stands, If Austin Jackson can hit big league pitching, you are looking at a center field combo of Ryan Raburn and Clete Thomas. Thomas isn’t a good hitter and Raburn can’t handle center defensively. Heck he can barely handle left. Not to mention that the 40-man roster was already full, so in addition to losing the draft pick, the Tigers will also have to designate a player for assignment and open up the very real possibility of losing said player to a waiver claim.

But, it appears the deal is done, so I guess I’ll try to focus on the bright side of life. Valverde is a significant upgrade to Fernando Rodney. He’s much better than Joel Zumaya or Ryan Perry in the ninth. As I said before, he’s better than just about anyone in baseball in the closer’s role. So hopefully, after years of Todd Jones and Rodney, Tigers fans can finally stop riding the ninth inning roller coaster. Which would be nice, for a change.

Here’s hoping for a whole host of 2-1 and 3-2 games, ’cause the Tigers are gonna have trouble scoring runs.

Tweet This Post

Tags: Jose Valverde

The Return of Rabelo

2007 was a strange season for the Detroit Tigers. Coming off a surprise run to the World Series in 2006, the Tigers were poised to make another run. They had added slugger Gary Sheffield to an already imposing offense, and first baseman Sean Casey was brought back for a full season in Detroit. One place the Tigers didn’t expect to make a change was in their catching corps.

Pudge Rodriguez was the unquestioned starter and still a force both offensively and defensively. The backup was again slated to be Vance Wilson, a veteran with a solid bat and strong arm.

But when Wilson went down with elbow troubles, the Tigers had to turn to a rookie to fill the void. Enter Mike Rabelo, a switch hitting youngster who had only one at bat in the big leagues before that.

But as Wilson injury proved to be more serious, it became apparent that Rabelo would have to take on a greater share of the work at the big league level. Rabelo, then 27 years old, stayed with the Tigers all year and held his own quite nicely. He posted one home run and 18 RBI while hitting a respectable .256 in 168 at bats.

Following the season, the Tigers dealt Rabelo, along with four others, to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

Rabelo struggled in his first season with the Fish, batting just .202 in 109 at bats. He was sent to the minor leagues and didn’t make it back to the Show at all in 2009.

Now Rabelo has come back to Detroit. The Tigers announced today that Rabelo is one of 17 minor leaguers inked to contracts for the 2010 season.

Don’t expect to find his name on the Opening Day roster, though. Rabelo will likely play in Toledo alongside Robinzon Diaz. But it’s nice to know that if something should happen to either Gerald Laird or Alex Avila, the Tigers have two guys waiting in the minors that have proven they can handle the duties of catching in the big leagues.

Welcome home, Mike.

Tweet This Post

Tags: Mike Rabelo