Detroit Tigers Links: David Price trade rumors, small Tiger moves, spot starters to bullpen

Yesterday was the beginning of the annual Winter Meetings. This is often when big moves are announced and with any detail, real or otherwise coming out (Oakland sending slugger Brandon Moss to Cleveland, White Sox rumored on being involved in half the pitchers in baseball, etc), Detroit Tigers’ fans Twitter exploded into a sea of angst and rage wondering when Dave Dombrowski would spring into action.

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Of course we know the Tigers need bullpen help and possibly another outfielder, but you can’t just make willy-nilly, knee-jerk trades. This isn’t a video game. Dombrowski has to be careful to not give much up and make sure he is getting the best commodity in return. It’s not easy and usually not a quick process.

While some like Chris Iott (second story) believe if the Tigers make any moves this week it will be of the small kind, others still believe something big is in the offing, such as the trading of David Price. One writer’s preferred landing spot for the lefty is the Chicago Cubs.

In the final story we look at how perhaps some of the young arms who pitched spot starts during Anibal Sanchez‘s absence, such as Buck Farmer, Kyle Lobstein, Drew VerHagen and Kyle Ryan could possibly earn a bullpen spot.

Detroit Tigers: Advantages of Trading David Price to the Cubs – Ben Rosener, Bleacher Report

"The Detroit Tigers will undoubtedly have a long line of potential suitors should they decide to offload former Cy Young-winner David Price. Most prominent among those suitors could be the Chicago Cubs, a team that offers the perfect blend of young players with extremely promising futures (Kris Bryant being chief among them). If the Tigers can acquire Kris Bryant from the Cubs, it will give them a prolific middle-of-the-order presence that can carry the team for years to come. Receiving hitting tips from Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez certainly won’t hurt either."

Detroit Tigers more likely to make small moves than big ones during winter meetings – Chris Iott, MLive

"The Tigers have made big moves in the past. They have an owner who is willing to spend serious money. The team has pulled some surprising moves — and major ones — during Dave Dombrowski’s tenure as general manager. Just about anything could happen.But all signs point to a more mild and mellow week for the Tigers, who seem to be more in the market for pieces than for major stars."

Could Detroit Tigers’ spot starters move to ‘pen? Maybe – Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press

"Even though the Detroit Tigers have solidified the fifth spot in their rotation and even though they’re still looking to solidify the bullpen, don’t count on any of the previous fifth-starter candidates to move there.“We’re not looking to do that with those guys,” president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said Friday.And while he said the team isn’t seeking to move those major league-ready pitchers to the bullpen, he also said that with the starting pitcher depth in the organization — “We have a lot of young starting pitching coming” — they wouldn’t be against moving a Ryan or a Farmer to the bullpen."