Detroit Tigers: Monday Hot Stove Happenings & Rumors

The Hot Stove season is seriously heating up, especially in the land of the Detroit Tigers. From signings to rumors, here is your daily round-up of the happenings in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sep 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Lowe (57) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays won 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

First off, Al Avila did sign a bullpen pitcher to the squad. Avila announced that his priorities were with the starting rotation and the bullpen and so far, he has not disappointed. Mark Lowe was the latest signing, coming on the heels of Mike Pelfrey and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Lowe has pitched with mostly West Coast teams like the Los Angeles Angels, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers. His latest spot was with the Toronto Blue Jays were he pitched in 23 games and had a WHIP of 0.841. His lifetime ERA is .380 with a WHIP of 1.400. He pitched in a win with the Blue Jays during the ALDS against the Rangers and a loss against the Royals during the 2015 ALCS.

Ideally, Lowe would be the eighth inning guy to pitch before Francisco Rodriguez enters the game in the ninth. He is 32 and stands 6’3, making him an imposing pitcher on the mound. Like Pelfrey, his known as a ground-ball pitcher so he, too will be relying on the middle infield for defensive support. Lowe’s got a fastball that can hit 96 mph and a slider that he throws at 87 mph. The combination is troublesome for hitters. The right-handed pitcher signed a two-year contract. This leaves Avila with one more spot to fill in the pen.

While this signing brings some excitement to Tigers fans, the rumor mill has provided even more inspirational conversations. Fans are bustling over whether or not Avila will be signing a big bat to left field and one name kept popping up through the day: Yoenis Cespedes. When he played with the Tigers for that short amount of time, Cespedes commented on how much he enjoyed playing in Detroit. He will be an expensive addition that would put Detroit over the Luxury Tax limit.

Rumors also include Alex Gordon as an option in left field, especially since Gordon’s statistics at the plate are even better than Cespedes’s numbers. Now that many teams have signed their pitchers, the infield and outfield players will start moving.

Cespedes and Gordon would be outstanding additions to the Tigers’ clubhouse. Cespedes finished his split season with the Tigers and Mets with .291 batting average and 35 home runs. Gordon finished the .271 batting average and an .809 OPS. As a left-handed batter, Gordon would be able to fill that missing piece of a consistent batter who can hit both left-handed and right-handed pitching. These are two expensive players, so Tigers’ fans should not expect to see either player actually show up on the roster in 2016 (but it sure is fun to hope).

Next: Detroit Tigers Sign Jarrod Saltalamacchia

There are also rumors that backup catcher Bryan Holaday could be moving to Texas in exchange for a low-priced hitter. With the Tigers signing Salty yesterday, this leaves Holaday as a potential trade piece. He certainly is not worth much, but the Rangers have a few pieces that they could swap for him. DeLino DeShields is one name that popped up as a potential trade.

Along with filling the left-field, left-handed hole, watch for Avila to fill one more bullpen spot in the coming days. Stay tuned for a round-up of the events on Tuesday and any breaking news we happen to hear.