Morosi: Tigers Have Serious Interest in Jayson Werth

Free agent outfielder Jayson Werth has been a topic of discussion around the Tigers blogosphere but until today, it seemed that no one in the national media was listing the Tigers among his suitors. That all changed with Jon Paul Morosi’s piece that named the Tigers, along with Philadelphia and Boston, as one of the most serious about acquiring Werth.

"The Tigers, meanwhile, are more confident in their ability to sign Werth than (Carl) Crawford, a source indicated Thursday. Detroit signed Victor Martinez away from Boston earlier this offseason, but team officials believe they need at least one more impact hitter for the outfield."

Morosi’s article also discusses the Rangers and Angels as possible landing spots, and does say that Boston remains the favorite to sign Werth, but hey, it’s nice to see some smoke where we will be hoping for a fire.

No one expects Werth to sign quickly, most figure he’ll wait until Cliff Lee and possibly Crawford are off the board before signing. A Scott Boras client, as is fellow target Magglio Ordonez, Werth will wait until he has maximized the offers coming his way.

If the Tigers were to sign Werth, another bonus, to me anyway, is that Philadelphia, not Boston, would receive the Tigers first round pick. Werth is rated higher than Martinez, so the Red Sox would have to settle for a second round pick instead. If it happens, the Tigers would have taken Boston’s switch-hitting catcher, their top free agent priority (Werth) and stuck them with only a second round pick in return. Man, would that be sweet.

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