Todd
11-13-2002, 02:36 AM
Tigers will not bid for top free agents
By Tom Gage / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Baseball's free-agent season began Tuesday with the usual widespread speculation about which big names could end up where.
Jim Thome might be lured away from the Indians by the Phillies. Tom Glavine could end up with the Yankees. Ivan Rodriguez might not return to Texas.
But free-agent season also began with the annual likelihood that the Tigers will spectate instead of participate. They've signed some Tier B free agents in the past, but this year they're more apt to see who's left from Tier H before reaching for the checkbook.
General Manager Dave Dombrowski has made it clear that the Tigers are in no position to add to a payroll already bursting with contracts he feels burdened with. "Can we dabble?" he said at the end of the season. "Yes. Would we go big? I doubt it."
When you add up the salaries of Dmitri Young, Damion Easley, Dean Palmer, Bobby Higginson, Craig Paquette, Shane Halter, Danny Patterson, Steve Sparks, not to mention the considerable amounts the Tigers will pay Phil Garner and Randy Smith not to manage and general manage the team next season.
The Tigers are operating like an NFL team with no room left under the salary cap.
In this case, it's a self-imposed cap, but one they'll abide by all the same.
There's no guarantee they'll even agree to arbitration with Randall Simon, who won Tiger of the Year honors last week.
Simon doesn't have a defensive position -- he's just a designated hitter, albeit a good one -- but if they don't trade him, the Tigers might not be comfortable with the prospect of paying a DH more than they'd like to pay.
"I hope he comes back," said Robert Fick, another Tiger eligible for arbitration. "Randall can flat-out hit."
The decisions involving their own players will be difficult enough. Along with Fick and Simon, pitcher Mark Redman is eligible for arbitration. But with the contracts of players still on their roster weighing them down, the Tigers are in no position to gamble on a free agent who'd significantly increase their payroll.
If someone they like is still around in January and is willing to accept a low-ball offer, the Tigers might sign a player or two. Some players, such as Kenny Lofton this season, know that to prove they can still play, a step back monetarily is occasionally necessary.
Whatever the Tigers eventually do on the free-agent front, it probably won't be until after Dec. 20. That's the date on which teams must tender their rostered players a contract.
If non-tendered, the player becomes a free agent. It not only ushers in the second half of free-agent season but also creates a larger pool of available players for teams on a strict budget.
Bottom line: If the Tigers sign a free agent, it will be someone who accepts their bargain-basement terms. Now, if Dombrowski gets lucky before then and finds some takers for the indigestible salaries that wake him up at night, the Tigers might not have to bottom-feed after all. But dumping payroll this winter, when so many teams are looking to do the same, will be difficult.
The Tigers could lose two players as free agents: reliever Juan Acevedo and catcher Matt Walbeck. Acevedo is coming off a career year of 28 saves. But with Matt Anderson, for whom he filled in, and impressive prospect Franklyn German, the Tigers don't need to retain Acevedo.
Walbeck is handy to have around as an extra catcher. He's smart and well-liked by pitchers but doesn't represent the Tigers' future behind the plate.
As for the overall free-agent picture, the Phillies have made it abundantly clear that they have money to spend and would like to spend it on Thome, Glavine and third baseman David Bell.
You can write to Tom Gage at 615 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit 48226
By Tom Gage / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Baseball's free-agent season began Tuesday with the usual widespread speculation about which big names could end up where.
Jim Thome might be lured away from the Indians by the Phillies. Tom Glavine could end up with the Yankees. Ivan Rodriguez might not return to Texas.
But free-agent season also began with the annual likelihood that the Tigers will spectate instead of participate. They've signed some Tier B free agents in the past, but this year they're more apt to see who's left from Tier H before reaching for the checkbook.
General Manager Dave Dombrowski has made it clear that the Tigers are in no position to add to a payroll already bursting with contracts he feels burdened with. "Can we dabble?" he said at the end of the season. "Yes. Would we go big? I doubt it."
When you add up the salaries of Dmitri Young, Damion Easley, Dean Palmer, Bobby Higginson, Craig Paquette, Shane Halter, Danny Patterson, Steve Sparks, not to mention the considerable amounts the Tigers will pay Phil Garner and Randy Smith not to manage and general manage the team next season.
The Tigers are operating like an NFL team with no room left under the salary cap.
In this case, it's a self-imposed cap, but one they'll abide by all the same.
There's no guarantee they'll even agree to arbitration with Randall Simon, who won Tiger of the Year honors last week.
Simon doesn't have a defensive position -- he's just a designated hitter, albeit a good one -- but if they don't trade him, the Tigers might not be comfortable with the prospect of paying a DH more than they'd like to pay.
"I hope he comes back," said Robert Fick, another Tiger eligible for arbitration. "Randall can flat-out hit."
The decisions involving their own players will be difficult enough. Along with Fick and Simon, pitcher Mark Redman is eligible for arbitration. But with the contracts of players still on their roster weighing them down, the Tigers are in no position to gamble on a free agent who'd significantly increase their payroll.
If someone they like is still around in January and is willing to accept a low-ball offer, the Tigers might sign a player or two. Some players, such as Kenny Lofton this season, know that to prove they can still play, a step back monetarily is occasionally necessary.
Whatever the Tigers eventually do on the free-agent front, it probably won't be until after Dec. 20. That's the date on which teams must tender their rostered players a contract.
If non-tendered, the player becomes a free agent. It not only ushers in the second half of free-agent season but also creates a larger pool of available players for teams on a strict budget.
Bottom line: If the Tigers sign a free agent, it will be someone who accepts their bargain-basement terms. Now, if Dombrowski gets lucky before then and finds some takers for the indigestible salaries that wake him up at night, the Tigers might not have to bottom-feed after all. But dumping payroll this winter, when so many teams are looking to do the same, will be difficult.
The Tigers could lose two players as free agents: reliever Juan Acevedo and catcher Matt Walbeck. Acevedo is coming off a career year of 28 saves. But with Matt Anderson, for whom he filled in, and impressive prospect Franklyn German, the Tigers don't need to retain Acevedo.
Walbeck is handy to have around as an extra catcher. He's smart and well-liked by pitchers but doesn't represent the Tigers' future behind the plate.
As for the overall free-agent picture, the Phillies have made it abundantly clear that they have money to spend and would like to spend it on Thome, Glavine and third baseman David Bell.
You can write to Tom Gage at 615 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit 48226