About this time, the past two off seasons, the Tigers had already made big trades.
Last year, it was acquiring Edgar Renteria from the Atlanta Braves. Two years ago, it was getting Gary Sheffield from the Yankees.
It seems highly unlikely the Tigers will make any major moves early this off season.
Their priorities are obvious. Pitching. Catching. A shortstop. Identifying the issues is easier than actually filling them.
I’ve read reports the Tigers are interested in signing Francisco Rodriguez. Don’t see that happening. His a risk, despite his stellar numbers, because of the salary he will command, and because he doesn’t throw as consistently hard as he used to, an indication he might struggle to match his past performances.
Brian Fuentes would be a perfect one-season fit for the Tigers, but so is he for several other teams. He’ll be overpriced and want too many years for his value.
J.J. Putz is intriguing, but how healthy is he? And do the Tigers have the prospects to interest anybody - at least those they can afford to unload - for such a deal.
The key isn’t necessarily who the Tigers acquire as much as the development of Ryan Perry and Casey Fien, and the return to health of Joel Zumaya, which is becoming increasingly iffy. I do believe the Tigers will find a veteran closer of substance, but it’s not going to matter if their bullpen depth isn’t much better. It’s what made them in ‘06. It’s what broke them in ‘07 and ‘08.
The starting pitching rotation will be difficult to change. The Tigers are boxed in, because of long-term deals with Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman. They need them to be healthy and throwing well. A reasonable expectation from those three before last season would have been combining for 40 victories. Instead, they combined for 10. Some of that was made up by an unexpected season by Armando Galarraga, but was negated by Justin Verlander’s subpar performance.
Like it or not, the Tigers are dependant on those three pitchers - and Verlander to pull himself together. While there is some potential help arriving from the minor leagues to benefit the bullpen, it’s not there for starters - at least until Rick Porcello is ready. And that might be later instead of sooner given his youth.
The Tigers catching as it stands is awful. They need to find at least one veteran to fill the spot. Ideally, it would be a couple. I don’t see them signing Jason Varitek for what he wants, or re-signing Pudge. They need an adequate defensive catcher first, and will likely sacrifice that spot in the lineup. That makes it more important that Brandon Inge picks it up offensively at third base, and Carlos Guillen has a bounce back season.
Will the Tigers trade Magglio Ordonez? It’s possible, not probable. Thing is, he is their most popular player. It’ll take front line pitching to do it - or an every day catcher. I do agree with some reports I’ve read that the Angels would be the ideal trading partner with the Tigers should an Ordonez deal come down.

Random Thoughts

- Even with Rodney Stuckey out, the Pistons went to a small lineup Tuesday night and it worked very well. Allen Iverson was terrific. He not only scored, but hustled defensively and did an excellent job of distributing the ball. Will Bynum is a better player than I thought. The Pistons have very good depth right to the end of their bench.

- What happened to the Red Wings Tuesday? Real simple: Who wanted that game more? There’s your answer. The Penguins are going to be formidable as long as they have two No. 1 overall picks, and two No. 2 overall picks in their lineup. Jordan Staal is coming of age and it will negate a lot of the Penguins’ losses.