Offseason: What to Expect in October

The Tigers will know if the offseason will start today or tomorrow after the Twins and White Sox play their games today. Regardless of when it does, I wanted to provide some context to some of the procedural moves that will happen while the league's best (and the Dodgers) duke it out in the postseason.

Assuming Todd Jones is not taking up a roster spot, the Tigers currently have 39 players on the 40 man roster with three more on the 60-day DL. I believe they can wait until some of the eligible free agents file to activate them from the disabled list, so there may not be a rush to make moves.

Numerous players will be crossing the waiver wire in October. It is possible the Tigers could snag a player off waivers that somebody else is trying to pass through. Remember, though, that they need to have room on the roster to do so. Also, bear in mind that it may not be a wise move to claim every player out there off waivers because roster spots are at a premium. To make room for possible claims, some players may be removed early. Dane Sardinha and Gary Glover come to mind as candidates.

This is where outright free agents come into play. These are guys who could declare free agency before the rest of the minor league and major league free agents. Any player with more than three year's experience who is removed from the 40 man roster or a player who is removed for at least the second time can declare free agency through this route. Most of these players are eligible for minor league free agency, but they may get their names in the transactions log this route. So far, Francis Beltran and Francisco Cruceta are eligible to declare free agency. Most of the players who would get outrighted in October may also end up on this list.

Finally, we will likely see staff changes in October, probably immediately after the season. Aside from any rumored coaches, keep an eye on the trainer situation. Certainly if the bloggers have turned on Kevin Rand and his staff, there has to be some discussion of a change there. Rand, himself, was hired in October of 2002. If you want to see a change, don't get your hopes up. Rand is one of Dave Dombrowski's guys, working for the Marlins from 1993-2001 and the Tigers since 2003. As for the coaches, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez would certainly be near the top of any list of coaches in jeopardy.

Biggest Game of the Year?

• When the team is on the brink of mathematical elimination, it's a bit weird to be calling a game the biggest of the year. What makes it so important is Dontrelle Willis' return to the Major League mound. After a year battling knee, mechanical, and forearm injuries, Willis has a shot to earn back the rotation spot that was supposed to be his. While I remain skeptical that he is healthy, the only way he will prove his readiness is through pitching effectively. I look forward to tonight because I have no idea what is going to happen.
• When he was put into the bullpen, I initially thought Gary Glover was brought in to help the team lose and gain draft position. On top of that, I had assumed he would be non-tendered, and not locked into next year's bullpen. Then I saw Jason Beck's piece on him this weekend entitled "Glover making impression with Tigers" Yikes. I know he has pitched well (about as well as could be expected), but I would hate for the Tigers to guarantee this guy a spot in next year's bullpen. His hot streak should be treated as just that: a hot streak. After all, it was a hot streak that led to this team committing guaranteed money to Francisco Cruceta, and it is frequently a hot streak that is responsible for mistakes made by big league teams. The Tigers would be on the hook for at least $860,000 next year. While that can be reduced to severance pay if dropped in spring training, I don't see how it can be justified. Glover's track record just doesn't point to this being a legit turnaround. Non-tender him, and get him signed to a minor league deal if you so desire.
• On the topic of crappy relievers, during one of the broadcasts last week I heard one of the announcers (I don't remember which one) saying Leyland said he was impressed with Casey Fossum this year. I hope that was just nice talk. There was no excuse for Fossum to be on this team over Rapada this year, and he shouldn't be next year. A large part of the Rays' improved bullpen this year has been the addition by subtraction of guys like Fossum and Glover. Take a cue.
  

Cruceta for Fossum

Francisco Cruceta goes from high leverage innings to the waiver wire as he was designated for assignment today. It turns out the problems with his control haven't gone away, as he has struggled mightily. It's just interesting to me that he goes straight from pitching in the late innings to off of the team. Maybe this was a case of Dave Dombrowski taking a bullet out of Jim Leyland's gun. He has 10 days to clear waivers or get traded. I'll bet he clears waivers and heads to Toledo, although somebody may want to take a flier on his arm.

Casey Fossum has been dominant in Toledo and had a July 1 out clause in his contract. There have been concerns about his fastball velocity, but this gives the Tigers a second lefty in the pen while Seay is struggling and Willis returns to the rotation. Still, Fossum has been pretty bad in the bigs the past couple of seasons. The one time Red Sox ace of the future is now a mopup guy for the Tigers.

Nice to know You, Son of Steve

It was only a matter of time before the Tigers made a roster move to make room for Francisco Cruceta. That move came today, as Jason (Son of Steve) Grilli was shipped off to pitching hell (Colorado) for relief prospect Zach Simons. This marks the end of a frustrating era, but one that may ultimately pay off. If the Tigers' perception of faith in Grilli led to getting a decent prospect in return, could it be worth all of the unjustified high leverage innings and stubborn patience with him? Probably not. Unfortunately, this deal comes right after I find a great nickname for him. How many times did we hear "Son of former Tigers' reliever Steve Grilli" in reference to Jason? I can understand if his dad was John Hiller or Mickey Lolich, but Steve Grilli went down in history as Jason will, a dime-a-dozen relief pitcher.

Simons, 22, was a second round pick in 2005. He struggled as a starter his first two seasons before starting to put up decent numbers in relief last season. In 13.1 innings in High-A Modesto, Simons has 14 strikeouts, 9 walks, and a 2.70 ERA. I'll work on finding a scouting report for him. Just based on his numbers and other pitchers Dave Dombrowski has acquired, I'm guessing he's a hard thrower with command problems, who has had problems developing an off-speed pitch to get hitters out over the course of a game.