According to Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Tigers are considering several starting pitchers including Aaron Harang, Jason Marquis, Jeremy Guthrie, Ubaldo Jimenez and Hiroki Kuroda. Now even though the Rays said they wouldn’t trade him, the Tigers are also in on James Shields after sending two scouts to watch him pitch the other night against the Yankees. You have to figure that even though the Rays consider Shields off the table, the right deal could tempt them enough to include him in a trade. However you can bet that any trade with Tampa for Shields would have to include Jacob Turner, the Tigers’ top prospect.
The Tigers are also interested in Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez however it’s been reported that their really hasn’t been discussion to bring Rodriguez to Detroit.
The interest is still strong for Ubaldo Jimenez however Morosi tweeted that a turn off right now for the Tigers is the cost to obtain Jimenez from the Rockies. That cost is likely Jacob Turner once again.
The Tigers need to be careful with Ubaldo Jimenez. A lot of the hype surrounding Jimenez stems from one good half season last year which enabled him to finish with a 19-8 record. Jimenez however has had very mediocre numbers prior to his 2010 season and as it stands right now the 2010 season for him seems more like a flash in the pan than true legitimacy.
Source: Twitter, Fox Sports, ESPN