Cabrera and Willis to Detroit rumor

[AmarilloRed]

Sources: Marlins, Tigers talking blockbuster
Ken Rosenthal
FOXSports.com, Updated 21 minutes ago

The Marlins, stalled in their attempts to trade third baseman Miguel Cabrera, could be laying the groundwork for an even bigger deal.

The Marlins and Tigers are engaged in preliminary talks about a blockbuster that would send Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package of young players, according to major-league sources.

Outfielder Cameron Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller likely are among the Marlins' targets. The Tigers already feature two veteran left-handed starters, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, possibly making Miller available in a deal for Willis.

Cabrera would play third base for the Tigers. It is uncertain what would happen to the Tigers' incumbent third baseman, Brandon Inge, if a deal were completed; he possibly could be sent to another team.

[ChatterRed]

I seriously doubt Detroit has more to offer than other teams. I think this is to get things stirring with the Angels and others who seek Cabrera.

[Brutus]

I seriously doubt Detroit has more to offer than other teams. I think this is to get things stirring with the Angels and others who seek Cabrera.

It's not about having more to offer as much as how much are they willing to offer. Sure, other teams have just as much if not more, but if Detroit is willing to give up both Miller and Maybin to make this deal, that's saying a lot.

[AmarilloRed]

Update on the Cabrera/Willis for Miller/Maybin report
Posted by Danny Knobler December 04, 2007 12:51PM

Danny Knobler is currently away from his computer and has phoned in this report.

A team source has confirmed that the Tigers and Marlins have had talks, but classified these talks as discussions rather than negotiations. The current sentiment is that the Marlins are using the Tigers to potentially generate some better trade offers for Cabrera, possibly from the Angels.

It's also believe that Dave Dombrowski is reluctant to deal Cameron Maybin.

[*BaseClogger*]

I live in the Detroit area and have brought this up with some of my friends, and we can honestly not come up with 4 young players the Tigers have that could get this return. Obviously Maybin and Miller, but they have nothing else. A decent pitching prospect in Jordan Tata, and Ryan Raburn was okay last year, but it doesn't seem that they have enough unless the Marlins want someone like Nate Robertson...

[AmarilloRed]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Add the Tigers to the growing list of teams coveting Miguel Cabrera.

A Major League source said on Tuesday that the Tigers are inquiring about Cabrera. In fact, Detroit has approached Florida regarding Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that the Tigers are interested in a package deal that would involve both Cabrera and Willis.

A source told MLB.com that the Tigers are interested in either/or, not necessarily both. It is considered doubtful that there will be enough in return for the Marlins to swing such a mega-deal.

Interest in Cabrera has heated up at the annual Winter Meetings. On Monday, there were five teams interested in the 24-year-old slugger, who is coming off a .320 season with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs.

The White Sox also have had talks with the Marlins centering on Cabrera.

Cabrera is a close friend of Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen, who was Florida's third-base coach in 2002-03. Asked on Tuesday where Guillen would play Cabrera, the manager said, "We'd find a place for him, if we could get him."

A third baseman the past two seasons, Cabrera could be a candidate to move to left field in a place like Chicago. When Cabrera was called up by the Marlins in June 2003, he was used in left field. The Marlins kept Cabrera in the outfield, with a brief stint in right field, until 2006.

Some players the Tigers could be willing to part with for Cabrera and/or Willis are outfielder Cameron Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller.

The Angels and Dodgers also have had numerous discussions with the Marlins regarding Cabrera.

While the Marlins have been leaning toward keeping Willis, at least until the July 31 trade deadline, it is believed that at least three teams have interest in the 25-year-old left-hander.

One source said eventually the Mets are expected to make a push for Willis.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com.


It now seems that the Tigers have interest in acquiring either Cabrera or Willis, not both

[ChatterRed]

Update on the Cabrera/Willis for Miller/Maybin report

A team source has confirmed that the Tigers and Marlins have had talks, but classified these talks as discussions rather than negotiations. The current sentiment is that the Marlins are using the Tigers to potentially generate some better trade offers for Cabrera, possibly from the Angels.



.......ah yes, see my earlier post. The old stirring the pot trick.

[Orenda]

The marlins should just hurry up and get this over with, play a few more seasons, then trade Hanley Ramirez.

[jmac]

Gammons said Tigers just got both for 6 including Miller and Maybin.

[Bip Roberts]

Detroits line up scares the crap out of me.

[757690]

From ESPN BLOG


6:20 p.m., from Peter Gammons
• The Tigers have won the Miguel Cabrera sweepstakes. Detroit will get Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for six players -- Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three minor league prospects.

[BEETTLEBUG]

Any word on other 3 players names.

[Bip Roberts]

Burke Badenhop, Eulogio de la Cruz, and Dallas Trahern

[Handofdeath]

I don't know that the Tigers didn't just make a huge mistake. Considering Willis's recent stuggles trading away a couple of young starting pitchers for him might wind up really biting them in the rear. On the other hand, the Tigers have done quite well the last two seasons without them so maybe they figure they could afford to make the deal. There is no doubt that Cabrera will rake. But which Willis are the Tigers getting?

[GoReds33]

That's terrible. The Reds didn't really have a shot to get Cabrera, so that is atleast good for us. I just don't want to have to face this lineup. They're stacked.

[Handofdeath]

The Marlins did what they always do. Trade away outstanding players for younger(and much cheaper) talent. Then when these players develop they get traded and on and on it goes...

[*BaseClogger*]

The Marlins did what they always do. Trade away outstanding players for younger(and much cheaper) talent. Then when these players develop they get traded and on and on it goes...

Oh yeah, and they won 2 WS in the process...

Is anyone else suprised at the return the Marlins got? Maybe it is just becuase I don't think very highly of Maybin, but I would rather have Kendrick, Adenhart, Mathis and another prospect for Cabrera only and then whatever else I may get seperately for Willis...

[Handofdeath]

Oh yeah, and they won 2 WS in the process...

Is anyone else suprised at the return the Marlins got? Maybe it is just becuase I don't think very highly of Maybin, but I would rather have Kendrick, Adenhart, Mathis and another prospect for Cabrera only and then whatever else I may get seperately for Willis...

And right after one of those World Series they won the grand total of 54 games the next season. It's one thing to be the Texas Rangers and try to win but suck. It's another thing to not even try and be willing to suck.

[Vada Pinson Fan]

I just went to the Marlins and Tigers (MLB) forums and Marlins fans are mad as h*** and threaten to boycott the Marlins. The Tigers fans aren't as happy as you might think and I agree with them (overpaying). Cabrerra and Willis are both FA's after the '09 season. This is what a Tiger fan said at their forum:
"From: tigstoday
Posts: 52
We DEFINATELY overpaid.

We just dumped our 1st, 3rd, 7th & 11th rated prospects?

The Tigers are one fat Migbrera injury away from having no longterm chances.

This trade is how you cripple your system."

Exactly. That is how you cripple your farm system and thus your major league team too in the future. Tigers better win the WS in '08 and/or '09. They're (Detroit fans) not counting on Willis to do much b/c of his obvious decline the last two years and his high ERA.

[ChatterRed]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-cabreratigers120407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Yeah, if this is the asking price and paying price, I might be happier if WK decides not to give up the farm.

[DannyB]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-flsphydespec05sbdec05,0,1836587.column

Marlins' money deal no surprise
Dave Hyde | Sports Columnist
December 5, 2007
Article tools
E-mail Share
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Post Comment Text size: Here's the worst part: I can't even work up a good anger anymore. I can't type venom, or talk nasty or muster even an ounce of ugliness other than to ask in a weary tone: When does this ever end with the Marlins?

Will they ever act like a major league franchise again?

Can they ever look like an ownership group that cares about winning and isn't simply intent on stuffing money under their cap like the past two years?



Dave Hyde Bio | E-mail | Recent columns


Losing Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis or both was expected this offseason. But losing both in the same trade to Detroit should be the kind of thunderclap that brings out titles like "Black Tuesday" or "The Day Baseball Died."

Go ahead, play the drama card if you want. It's played so well and so often in the past the card is soiled by now. Everyone around the Marlins has been here before, no doubt will be again, and owners Jeffrey Loria and David Samson will keep crying baseball poverty made them do it all the way to the bank.

You can debate the trade of Cabrera and Willis, if you know any of the names they got back. I don't. But it's a safe bet, judging by General Manager Larry Beinfest's past deals, that he got some good prospects who in a year or two will be producing so well for the Marlins they'll be rumored in trades.

Look at Detroit now, too. Gary Sheffield. Pudge Rodriguez. Jim Leyland. Dave Dombrowski. Al Avila. Cabrera. Willis.

They have more Marlins you want to watch than the Marlins.

They have a bigger slice of this franchise's championship history than this franchise does.

You know how many Marlins players have a title ring from 2003? Zero. Cabrera and Willis were the last out the door. So they're all gone now, all the champs from four years ago. See ya. Even given the transitory world of pro sports, that's no way to create a bond with fans.

Of course, the Marlins don't give a fig what fans think. They know the one advantage in this disadvantaged market: Attendance won't be affected by even this mega-trade. What, fewer Marlins fans will show up next year because of this trade? What's fewer than the fewest?

The Marlins finished last in attendance in the majors in 2007 with Cabrera and Willis. Think they can finish last again without their combined salaries of more than $20 million next year?

Let's say this, too: These Marlins needed a change. They were last in fielding and struck out more than every team except Tampa Bay last season. That wasn't a surprise, either. In 2006, they led the league in striking out and were the third-worst fielding team.

But if this were about improving it would be one issue. This is about money, only money, though not in the way you think. The Marlins could afford Cabrera and Willis with no problem. Of course they could, no matter what the perception is.

This has been said before but needs to be shouted on days like today. This franchise makes bundles of money. It turns a wonderful profit. Take out the calculator and add up what they got last year:

$30 million. That's in revenue sharing.

$12 million. That's an estimated local TV deal, according to a source.

$18 million. That's from the national TV deal.

That's $60 million right there. That's before they sell a ticket, sign up a corporation or cash one of the increasingly lucrative checks from the merchandising arm of Major League Baseball. That's against a $32 million payroll last year that could dwindle to about half that this year.

Oh, right. There's the cost of running a minor league system. Please. If Loria and Samson wanted to take that saved $20 million this season and put it toward the new stadium fund, fine. Who wouldn't be for it if they followed through with that idea?

You'll see that about the time you hear Cabrera and Willis are upset about this trade. They'll love moving on, the way most ex-Marlins do. They'll get long-term, big-money deals. They go to a team that wants to win.

It makes you a bit wistful for how it all started, in the magic of 2003, when first Willis and then Cabrera were called up to join that carpet ride.

They got called up to the majors again Tuesday. Detroit wants to win. The Marlins want to make money. And, if you can still get angry, good for you. I can only shake my head and wonder when the Marlins will act like a big-league team again

[texasdave]

I just went to the Marlins and Tigers (MLB) forums and Marlins fans are mad as h*** and threaten to boycott the Marlins.

Both of them? Seriously, how would you tell the if fans were boycotting? I seem to recall some games late last year when they drew well less than a thousand. Marlins' fans boycotting - I have heard everything now.

[Handofdeath]

Both of them? Seriously, how would you tell the if fans were boycotting? I seem to recall some games late last year when they drew well less than a thousand. Marlins' fans boycotting - I have heard everything now.

For kicks I'll listen to the Marlins radio broadcast on the PC. When it comes time to give the attendance they just count the fans right there on the air.