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Could El Caballo be on the move?
After the Detroit Tigers Victor Martinez suffered the dreaded ACL tear and has probably seen his 2012 written off, they are casting about for a DH-type to fill the void. There are a huge number of options, and Jon Paul Morosi mentions a few, one of which is Carlos Lee.
Ignoring Lee's defense, in 2011 he put up a solid above average campaign, putting up a 117 OPS+. In recent weeks the spectre of a move to Cleveland has risen, but these were only tentative enquiries. Nobody has made a serious run for Lee's services, and nobody will until the Astros and Jeff Luhnow make it clear they are willing to eat most of the $18.5m still owed, at least three-quarters of it.
More likely the Tigers will either pursue a free agent or put an in-house candidate like Miguel Cabrera in the DH position. Vladimir Guerrero and Carlos Pena seem like more sensible options for now.
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Morosi: Tigers And Astros Have Discussed Carlos Lee
Jon Paul Morosi, of Fox Sports News has a little tweet:
Which would suggest that they have discussed Carlos Lee, but not in depth. This only makes sense for the Tigers if the Astros eat almost all of the contract, maybe leaving them only $2/3m to pick up with a token return.
And then there is whether Carlos Lee would waive his 10-5 rights which he now possesses (I'm guessing that these have not been affected by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement), now that his no-trade clause from his 6-year $100m contract expires. Lee, who is a free agent at the end of the 2012 season would look odd turning down a trade to a bona-fide contender. Does he want to DH? Does he mind going to Detroit for six months? Do the Tigers think he can replicate his 2011 numbers and avoid sliding into the pit he fell into in 2010?
Jan 20 10:42a by Joshua Powling