Sorry Mods, but this cat gets his own thread because I said so. I just heard Jayson Stark say that he thinks Soriano will end up in Detroit. He said a deal is being structured around Humberto Sanchez. I like Sanchez, but he sort of came out of nowhere this year, which makes him expendable IMO. What else would you be willing to give up to get Soriano (BTW, he leads the majors in OF assists.)?!?

Not much.

I would offer them one of Tata/Colon/Ledezma/Sleeth along Spurling and see if they bite. They probably won't but that's the most I would offer.

It depends. From what I've heard, Soriano would be a rent-a-player setting. I don't want to give up a ton just to have a guy for the rest of the year. Now, if we can reach a deal on an extension, that's fine and I would be happy to give up AAA prospects. I would also want to make sure he was still fine with playing LF and/or DH. He's a righty bat, so it doesn't solve THE need, but it certainly makes our offense more potent.

Also, even though I know he's a horrible second baseman, if I were managing and we got him, I would let him play 2B if he wanted to on the days I intended to rest Polanco. Offensively he's better than Infante so it would be an opportunity to keep his bat in the lineup, with Thames in LF and Dmitri or a lefty bat we acquire at DH.

I would like to see him in a Tiger's uni, but you can't give away the future for a guy that has the distinct possibility of walking at the end of the year. The Tigers are great this year, but I wouldn't sacrafice what we could have for the next couple of years to make a run at the World Series this year. I don't have much faith in Tata or Ledezma, so we can give them up. I would even throw in Young and/or Thames. I doubt Washington bites on that though. I am also reluctant to get rid of Thames, since he's been the key to our offense lately.

I hate Soriano.

That is all.

I hate Soriano.

That is all.

Why? :(

I'd trade Monroe, a current bench player, and some mid-level prospects. Soriano is actually a player worth trading for, unlike others(Stairs, Huff).

We don't have too many weaknesses offensively, but one of them is basestealing, which Soriano brings. He'd be awesome as a #2 hitter in our lineup because of his awesome table-setting skills(I think he's 70% in attempts at stealing 3rd). And we can put Polanco where he belongs: lower 3rd of the order. It also brings us a guy who can hit 40 dingers.

Personally, I think our "need" for a left-hander is overrated(i think left-handed hitters are overrated in general). What's the point in looking for a left-hander when we already have a good leadoff lefty, a switch-hitter(better than lefties) that's awesome as a lefty, another switch-hitter coming back that's also pretty good as a lefty(career .300 overall), and a decent lefty on the bench. Not to mention that all of our righties are pretty awesome. It makes no sense to me.

The thing that scares me about trading Monroe is the chemistry issue. Along with the "new blood" on this team, is a group of guys who have been there during the worst of times in Tigers History. Monroe is one of those guys, along with Inge, Bonderman, Maroth, etc. They know what it was like when things were terrible, and now that they're good it brings chemistry. I wouldn't trade anyone away who messes with our chemistry, because that's the strength of what the 2006 Tigers have.

I'm scared of playing rent-a-player for the price of someone thats going to be here and produce and help us out 3 or 4 years down the line

I was going to do a thread for a debate because of what Stark had to say about Abreu and Soriano since both seem to be on Detroit's Radar.


To summarize the insider content...Abreu is not that high on anybody's list but Detroit the Yankees don't feel he is a fit, plus he is rather expensive player for teams to throw money at. However his price is a lot cheaper since the Phillies are trying to shed salary. The Mets and Brewers also have limited interest. So the Pro's to Abreu is he won't cost us our best prospect, we are only really bidding against ourselves, he is a left handed bat which the team wants, he is a patient hitter and has a good OB%. The Cons his power has really dropped off ( but let's face it the Phillies have a shit coaching staff, so his swing may be fixable), he will require lot of cash over the next few years, meaning we may not be big player in Free Agency.

Now Soriano, he is wanted by at least 5 teams all with huge bank books, and all but the Yankees have desireable top prospects to give up. So it will be competitive trying to get him.

Pro's he can play infield and outfield, hit for power and has a lot of speed on the bases.

Con's will likely be more costly in FA than Abreu so we have to hope to lock him up before then, will cost us a top 3 prospect in all of baseball. He is a free swinger and is not patient at the plate, He is a righty so it doesn't solve our problem or fix our need for a LH bat. Lastly Bidding against other teams makes a deal more costly to us since we have a lot of chips.

So to me Soriano is luxary item, whereas Abreu is a valuable addition because he changes the lineup he makes it more balanced and patient. I don't think Soriano is worth more than Abreu, or makes us that much better, so I can't justify losing Sanchez for Soriano. Now don't get me wrong I don't think that anyone outside of Zoom or JV should be untouchable I just don't think Soriano is the right move. If we got a pitcher or two in the deal like Livian or Cordero and needed to include something else like Miner or Monroe I would do it, but for just Soriano I am not sold.

I hate Soriano.

That is all.

Why? :(

I just think he's an over-rated hacker. Don't get me wrong, the power's nice, but he's a terrible situational hitter, has never really shown any patience, and I just don't think he's the difference maker everyone makes him out to be.

And the thought of us even thinking about letting him play some second makes me just cringe. Just because a guy has played second before doesn't mean he can or should.

If it didn't cost us much, sure, of course I'd want him, but I'd prefer not to give up Sanchez, and supposedly that's the deal breaker for Washington.

I'm not trying to say you could put Soriano on any team and he would lead them to the post-season, because that's obviously not true, proven by losing teams he has been on. But that type of speed and power in the middle of a decent lineup has to make an impact. It may mean we win blow-out games by 8 runs instead of 6, or from time to time it might just mean we get that one extra insurance run or go-ahead run. Either way, if adding him to the lineup can get us 3 wins down the stretch that we otherwise wouldn't, I think that's the type of guy we need.

You guys all suck. Are you telling me that you'd rather WAIT for Humberto Sanchez and Jordan Tata and all of our young cats. We have four pitchers under 30 in our rotation and we just drafted Andrew Miller. IMO we have pitchers we can give up. Would you rather get Soriano and improve our chances or stick with the same team and hope we're able to pull it off.

P.S. I forgot about Zack Miner..............GOD DAMN we're loaded.....I love it!!!

good point filly. one thing thats obvious but also worth mentioning is that this has been a very magical year. we might not be in this position again for a long time (dont discount that). if the tigers think that the difference between advancing in a round is bobby abreu or siriano, then they should go make that move... i personally feel this team is built for regular season success but not playoff success, but what do i know. i think dombrowski will know, and hopefully he makes the right move.

personally, im not too high on either deal:

abreu: he might not cost us our best prospects, but he wants $$$. i guess he has 13, 15, and an option that would be picked up at 18 left. and i heard on the radio to waive his no trade clause, there would actually have to be 2 more years added, and the deal would come to about 75 million over the next 5 years, for a 32 year old. thats too much. we could probably get a younger, better batter in the offseason for cheaper. but that does us no good now.

siriano will likely cost even more, plus then we're talking about giving up top flight prospects. not that you get cheep about giving those up (encarnacion used to be one of the hottest prospects in baseball). i'd be more worried about having to pay him. tigers arent the yankees, and we have to spend our money wisely. im not sure putting all our eggs in one basket is such a great idea, even though i love siriano.

i dont think they should make much of a deal at all. maybe i'd go for a move that wouldnt creat too much of a splash (stairs), but i'd be real nervous if we did an all out blockbuster. maybe just cuz it would stir up so many memories of jaun gonzales.

You guys all suck. Are you telling me that you'd rather WAIT for Humberto Sanchez and Jordan Tata and all of our young cats. We have four pitchers under 30 in our rotation and we just drafted Andrew Miller. IMO we have pitchers we can give up. Would you rather get Soriano and improve our chances or stick with the same team and hope we're able to pull it off.

P.S. I forgot about Zack Miner..............GOD DAMN we're loaded.....I love it!!!


No here is what I am saying, this is a down year for trades because the races are so close thus not as many great trades will be made. I don't think making a trade for the sake of making a trade is a good philosophy. Now if you want to add a Matt Stairs or J. Jones where you don't have to bet the farm you make the move. To me Soriano is not worth it unless you agree to an extension as part of the trade, because with the money coming off Ny's book they will out spend us to get him back. I agree that you need to gamble, I am not sure that this is our best bet. You are also correct we have the horses to give up, but at the same time what if you can get more later for a top prospect? What I mean by that is come Nov/Dec when the GM meetings are taking place the Tigers can clean up if they want to. I am old enough to remember the Smoltz trade, which was the right move at the time also, but almost 20 years later we got killed in the deal. As a fan of the team and one of the very few posters here who bothered talking about the Tigers when they sucked I want thsi team to win in the worst way, but unless Mr. I says he will go to 120 million a year in salary emptying the farm system is not the best way to win.

Beside the fact of Soriano's pending FA, I am concerned that we aren't filling a need if we get him. So I will say this if we made a trade that for example netted us Todd Walker (rumored) and then got Soriano in a deal I say go for it.
I just think we need to get some left handed hitting, therefore I can't endorse the trade for a guy that doesn't fit our needs.

I am a person who looks at things in their context, I don't try to project things on a situation that don't exist. That is why i feel Abreu is the better deal at this point since he fits our existing need.

I hate Soriano.

That is all.

DING DING DING

By the way, now that Vinny Castilla was released and proved he CAN'T hit without Coors, what will you do with your av?

I hate Soriano.

That is all.

DING DING DING

By the way, now that Vinny Castilla was released and proved he CAN'T hit without Coors, what will you do with your av?

In response to both your and Glenn's question from another thread, I am firmly convinced that my AV is the sole reason for the Tigers play so far this year. I'm not changing this puppy till after the World Series.

The tour of internet Vinnys will resume as scheduled then.

(Just so everybody knows, I have no real attachment to Vinny Castilla. It was part of a tour of internet Vinny pictures that was interrupted by a baseball season.)

Thanks for clarifying.

Screw tarding for Soriano the price is way way too high!


The Tigers remain in the thick of the race to acquire Soriano from the Nationals. But the two teams aren't close to completing a trade, according to a report in the Detroit News.

The paper reports that the Tigers turned down an offer that would've land Soriano in Detroit. In the proposed deal, the Nationals asked for prospects Humberto Sanchez and Jair Jurrjens, both right-handed pitchers, and outfielder Cameron Maybin. The Nats, in turn, turned down a counteroffer from the Tigers.

If we are going to trade 3 great prospects it better be for a player who will be here for years to come. To be honest if we are going to be willing to part with that much for one player why not call TB and see about Crafword. I know there is no talk about Crawford being moved anymore but I think TB would part with him for what the Nationals want. Hell Crawford is younger a lefty and is cheap so with the money we could save on Crawford vs Abreu or Soriano could be used on Free Agents to make the team that much deeper.

Good grief. That's way way too much for a rental player.

They wanted Maybin too? Holy crap. For a rental player. Suck that.

I would offer Tata, Monroe and another prospect (not Mayben or a 'big' prospect) for Soriano. I would be willing to part with Sanchez though if need be. We'll never be able to use all these arms. I also think Soriano would highly consider resigning here. We have 4 guys from his country (dominica republic), 4 from Venezuela and 1 from Puerto Rico. We're also contenders, have a new ball park, and great fans. I don't see why he'd leave if we are willing to pay him next year.