Friday, July 17th, 2015
Detroit, Michigan
10:35am
We are currently 50-37, 4 games up on the White Sox to maintain our AL Central lead.
Well, it's been an interesting month and a half since my last update. We were desperate to unload some money, and we did just that. Dave, Brad, Scott, and I put our heads together to so what we could do.
There was this kid in Oakland we've liked for a long time, and he was struggling a bit with a 3-8 record but still had a very respectable ERA, so we decided to hit up Mr. Moneyball himself again, so I shot him a text:
"Hey Billy, give me a call when you get a chance."
and almost immediately, he shot back with:
"FOR THE LAST TIME, YOU CAN'T HAVE SONNY GRAY!!!"
After a chuckle, I texted him:
"What do you want for Jesse Hahn?"
(phone rings a few minutes later)
"Danny....you're not going to try and rob me again, are you? Castellanos....give me Castellanos."
"Wait, Billy, now who's robbing who? Why would you want Nick when you have Lawrie? Unless...you send him to us? What do you need?"
"I'm just not that high on Brett, but I've really liked Nick for a long time. Preferably outfielders and relief pitching. What about Moya or Rondon, can you part with any of them?"
"No way, we're thin enough prospect wise as it is. Let me call you back here in a few minutes."
"Okay."
So we discussed things for a few minutes, and Dave brought up a good point:
"Look, let's face it...we're up against the wall here money wise. We've got to get some flexibility here."
So I asked them both, what do they think of Hahn and Lawrie:
Scott spoke up first: "I like him. Nick is more of a swing-and-miss guy with probably a little bit less range than Brett so I think that we'll be good either way. I really like Hahn's stuff and potential, but he seems to aim and overthrow a bit sometimes and he can get knocked around. What do you think, Brad?"
"From what I've seen of him, he and Nick both seem very similar and Brett is only two years older. I like Nick, and I do like Brett. Jesse seems to have good potential and stuff as well. He has a very wide arsenal, which is always good to have a guy like that around."
"And he's cheap"
Dombrowski said "but Lawrie isn't. Essentially, we're trading a cheap contract in Nick for the $1.95m in Lawrie and Hahn's cheap contract. There's got to be something we can do."
So I asked:
"How about throwing him Cuddyer and Nathan, along with Nick, for Hahn and Lawrie? Nathan is wearing out his welcome here with both the fans and the players, and we love Cuddyer but he wants to start."
"Danny, you're a genius."
Dave piped in "But that's a lot of money for those cheapskates in Oakland to take in. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, however, because honestly...you never know what Billy is going to do. The honor is all yours."
So I called Billy Beane back:
"Alright Danny, whatcha got?"
"We'll give you Castellanos, Nathan, and Cuddyer for Lawrie and Hahn. How's that sound?"
".......Uhhhhhh let me stew on this. I'll call you back tomorrow."
"Alright, talk to you then."
So bright and early the next morning, Billy calls...
"Fields too. Give me Fields, and we have a deal."
"Let me think about it, I'll call you back."
So I called Dombrowski and asked him what he thought:
"Damn...we both like Fields and were hoping he could be in the big club for the playoffs or next season....but to hell with it. We've got some guys coming up. Let's do it, we really need this money freed up."
So again, I called Billy Beane back:
"Done."
"Great. Pleasure doing business with you, Danny! Glad to see you weren't trying to snivel Gray out of me for peanuts again. Take care."
As I hung up the phone, I know Nick and all of us will be disappointed because our goal was to mold him from the bottom up...and he's spent his whole young career in the entirety of our organization. But he's also a professional, and will take it in stride.
I broke the news to him and he was understandably stunned and confused, but otherwise took it very well. He will be missed and I know that he will do a fine job in Oakland.
I went to Joe and told him he's being traded, and he barely had a reaction:
"To where?"
"Oakland."
"Man, I hate that piece of **** stadium. But it is what it is."
Then he walked away. I have a feeling that he won't be missed around here and nobody will notice that he's gone.
When I told Cuddyer, he simply said: "Geez...can't a guy just stay in one place for once? I really liked it here and love the team. I've done more traveling in the past few years than I have my whole life! Oh well...thanks for the opportunity."
So the guys traded places, and immediately were welcomed. Jesse is had a rough first start, but still got the W, and he's starting to settle in. Lawrie took over 3rd base seamlessly, and has already fallen victim to one of Miguel Cabrera's practical jokes.
We had 3 All-Stars...Price, Kinsler, and Albuquerque, but Kinsler sat out. The injury bug swept through the clubhouse like a tornado with Cespedes, Kinsler, Wilson, Gose, JD Martinez, and Davis going down at almost literally the same time. Unfortunately Wilson, one of our best middle relievers, fractured his elbow in a game and is devastated. He's obviously done for the year. We snagged Nick Hagadone and Chris Hatcher on waivers so hopefully they can pick up right where Brian left off.
Thankfully, Gose, Cespedes,and JD Martinez - our starting outfield - should all be ready in a week or two.
Davis should be back before the playoffs and Kinsler should be back by the end of next month. So I guess now's the time to see what our kids can do after being thrown to the wolves well before we planned.
We made out well in the draft, getting almost everybody signed that we wanted except for a few kids that wanted to go to college. I really think that we're building the foundation of a new era - granted years into the future - of Detroit Tigers dominance.
As far as the International Free Agent signing period went, I believe that we did very decent considering that we were penalized and limited to just $250k signing bonuses after we went crazy in the first signing period.
I also received this note from Owner Mike Ilitch:
I'm praying that nobody else gets hurt...