Tigers Trade Rumbling Roundup

The Chicago White Sox made a move yesterday to bolster their bullpen. Cleveland added an outfield bat today in Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs. While the Tigers have already made one move by trading for Wilson Betemit, their stated focus has been on the pitching market. With the trade deadline now looming only about 75 hours away, the time for the Tigers to strike is growing short, and their list of competitors growing long.

This morning, we heard from Danny Knobler of CBS Sports who tweeted that word he is getting is the Tigers focus has narrowed to Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers, Aaron Harang of the Padres, and Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie. Knobler also tweeted that he’s heard the Tigers are a very unlikely landing spot for Erik Bedard.

Jon Paul Morosi, who, like Knobler, is a former Tigers beat writer, said there were scouts from the Dodgers, Rays, Mariners, and Astros in attendance at Low-A West Michigan last night, before the White Caps game was postponed. Obviously, these teams match-up fairly well with the names reported by Knobler, but the addition of Rays and Astros scouts could mean there is some talks on-going about Wandy Rodriguez or Brett Myers from Houston, or Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis from Tampa. Of course, those scouts might have been at the game to scout players from the other club as well, but in late July everything looks suspicious.

At this point, time is running short for Dave Dombrowski and company to pull the trigger on a deal. The addition of a starter remains a top priority, but word of more elbow discomfort for reliever Al Alburquerque certainly has to put relievers in play as well. The Tigers have been linked to Baltimore’s Koji Uehara in recent days, so I still think a Guthrie plus Uehara deal with the Orioles might make the most sense. For what it’s worth, Kuroda said earlier today he couldn’t envision himself in a uniform other than the Dodgers, so landing him seems the longest of realistic shots for Detroit.

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