Tigers acquire Rule 5 pick

Loads of potential for Campusano. He is young, and already getting experience as a closer in the minors. Interesting.

Very interesting indeed.

No one better to discourse with than you on this one Rich. I think Shelton is going to be traded. If not I think he will have a very hard time in making the roster in the spring. I actually forsee Sheffield playing 1st when Caey doesn't or can't. I am not a long term big fan of the Sheff deal though I think it going ot be good for 2007 anyway. I saw him play a little first base in the post season and quite frankly was impressed at his athleticism there. I know he has drawn some criticism from the NY media about this but what I saw really impressed me. I saw him stretch out on a reception from a throw from Jeter that only skilled first sackers are able to get away with. What is your take on him at first as a part time fill-in there and how it impacts on Big Red?

I know, I know---Leyland has said he won't play him there and that his primary job will be DH but I gotta believe we will see him defensively more than we have been led to believe. In RF too.

Dan, I gotta admit.........you saw something in Sheffield at first that I didn't see. I only saw his inability to catch a ball, and he seemed quite out of place. It would scare me to see him there.

This quasi Rule 5 pick up is interesting. And, seeing as DD has built a TON of capital in evaluating talent, this prospect must have an upside.

The Tigers seem to have more than a few semi-young ball players that are on the cusp of either being VERY productive, or career minor leaguers. Thames, Shelton, Infante, Miner, Ledezma, and to a lesser extent Gomez..............I could picture any or all becoming good everyday players(a couple border-line All-Stars). I could also see all of them not progressing, having already maxxed out. This is an interesting group, and I wonder if we'll ever see them get a chance. I'm not even sure we should.....they have all inkled at being wonderful, without delivering totally.

In fact, I am confident you could make the above starters in left, first, second, two starters and right for the Kansas City Royals, and they would improve over their current team, significantly. Might even be a threat to play .500 ball. Throw in Santiago to play short(although, not as sold on his ability to be anything more than he currently is), and there're more than a few major league teams that would be improved with that lineup.

Personally, as a lifelong Tiger fan, I am hoping we don't do too much more trading, and bringing in unfamiliar players. One of the traditions of being a Tiger fan, is watching the youngsters come up from our system. Some additions are needed to complete a team, of course. Just hoping we don't go overboard.

I can't believe the White Sox traded Garcia. He was turning into a monster late last season. I know the reasons they gave are valid up to a point, but wow.

Dan, I thought Sheffield looked pretty bad at firstbase, though admittedly I only saw him play there, like most of us, in the Detroit series. I don't know how much work he'd had over there, but he certainly made some poor fundamental moves.

I think Thames would make the better project because it gets Marcus at bats and he'd work harder at it. He's also younger and could see it as a second career. As far as Shelton goes, I've just about quit wondering and am taking a wait and see attitude. He may get traded, he may be in Toledo, he may end up starting in Detroit. Who knows anymore? I think we were all pretty excited seeing that great swing he brought with him, and I still think he can excel. Where, I don't know.

That's about it from me for awhile. I may be able to make a quick visit over the next couple weeks, but I'll be back after that. Don't let 'em trade away our team, guys. :-)

Paying cash for Campusano was a great move by the Tigers. Campusano could turn out to be the lefty we needed, a player that needs more development, or a bust. However, if Leyland goes with a 7 man bullpen, Campusano will be given the opprotunity to develop at the major league level. Last year the the 7th man out of the bullpen either Colon, Minor, and Durbin were used in games that were already decided. So I would like the Tigers to do the same with Campusano, if he struggles. If he pitches good then more praises to DD.I just don't want to see them waste money on players like the rest of the teams seem to be doing.

On the Garcia trade, yes. The White Sox are afraid of the young pitching that the rest of the Central teams have, especially the Tigers. I wanted them to trade Garland away to. I know that they want to cut some payroll, but I'm gald that they did make the moves they did. Floyd and McCarthy are young, and some what unproven. The White Sox pitching staff is in the same boat that the Tigers were in last year, this year. Lets hope that their young guys don't get injured, but that they sink rather then sail.

Another thing to look at is that the Tigers are going to be able to pay their young pitching staff in the following years, because the huge contracts of aging veterans will be gone, and young talent from the minors will be takening their place.

That is why I loved the moves DD didn't make. Why trade players when you don't need to do anything? And by saving money with the deals they did make,( Sheff is going at league price, but Casey was at half price. I mean isn't Casey a gold glove, .300 lifetime hitter, a little better then matthews and meche, and is the same age.)then next year with the free agent all-star extravaganza sweepstakes the Tigers might be able to sign one, as well as thier pitchers at the same time.

I'm just glad that DD is going to give players the chance to improve before trading them away. It makes more sense then trading away a player to watch them trun into an all-star type player. It was fun following the winter meetings, but I'm happy its over. No dumb moves were made by the Tigers, but plenty were made by the rest of the league. And with next years market, being can't miss, the Tigers will have more flexibilty to do damage then the rest of the league.

I like most of your thoughts Hoot. I must say this whole off season strategy etc. can get confusing, at least for me. I'm finally getting more used to the Sheffield trade. He will add runs and pop to the equation. My problem with the trade was how it impacted the futures of Shelton and Thames, both of whom I already felt were being handled unfairly. I mean they weren't being given a fair shake in light of what they accomplished for the Tigers, in Shelton's case, at least for the first half.(the half that got them to the playoffs as I recall). I'm happy about the Casey signing. Guess I don't know much about the Campusano Rule 5 purchase. If he has that much potential why wouldn't the Brewers draft him for themselves? I'm missing something there. And will he leapfrog, so to speak, over Ledezma. Including Ledezma, do the Tigers have any young left handed pitcher in their system already who could have filled Walker's vacancy without losing much? As you can see, I have more questions than answers. I hope I'm not the only one.

I'm still holding out hope that Thames, Infante, and Shelton either make the team in April, or join it at some point during the season. I'm holding out hope that DD doesn't give up on these guys yet. If they do end up elsewhere, though it would really upset me, I'd still pull for them to excell in their careers. I'll always feel that the heart of baseball is having faith in and sticking with the young players in the organization. There is an exception to this belief, and that is seeing a good story unfold like Kenny Rogers finding success and redemption, so to speak,on a team that truly appreciated the talent, heart, and professional commitment he brought with him. I think Jones and Casey, although less dramatically, did as well. We got down on Pudge at the end of the season when he struggled offensively, but I appreciate the fact that he was willing to take a career gamble and come to a team that had lost 119 games. Yeah, he was paid well, but how many players would take that step of faith? Then there are Guillen and Polanco who simply have shown how well they can play given a fair shot by a Tiger organization that has appreciated their talents. And then Maglio who really hasn't gotten all the appreciation he deserves. Am I thrilled with him in right field? Not really, but offensively, he has delivered what I think was expected of him. I would like to see more emotion in his play, but maybe that's just the way he is. I'm not going to fault him on that account. He produces runs.

So now back to the young players, the other heart and soul of the team. You just got to be happy for them and pull for them staying in the organization. They deserve to be a part of winning consistantly. They earned it getting their butts handed to them for 3 years.

So I for one am hoping that most of the deals and dreaming are done for this offseason. Let's see what these guys can do now that the rest of the league knows they're for real. Too bad Walker didn't want to be a part of that. Baltimore? I think even Tampa Bay will leapfrog over them in the standings in 2007.