Baseball Guru
12-11-2004, 11:58 AM
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=knight-tigersturntobkoskie&prov=knight&type=lgns
BY JOHN LOWE, FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Tigers have a quick and available method for closing ground on the first-place Minnesota Twins:
Raid the Twins for their intense, productive third baseman.
The Tigers now appear interested in signing Corey Koskie, who has played third base for the Twins for the past five seasons.
With third baseman Troy Glaus having signed with Arizona, Koskie has become a more prominent option for the Tigers. But as with Glaus, Steve Finley and still-available pitcher Carl Pavano, they face major competition.
The clubs pursuing Koskie are said to include Toronto, Seattle and Los Angeles. And he might return to the Twins, who with their typically limited budget want Koskie to take a cut from his $4.5-million salary last season.
Koskie is a first-time free agent. He indicated to the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week that he wants to sign during the winter meetings, which opened Friday in Anaheim and continue through Monday.
Koskie, a left-handed hitter, hit .251 with 25 homers and 71 RBIs last season as Minnesota won its third straight American League Central title, finishing 20 games ahead of the fourth-place Tigers.
Koskie, 31, missed about one-fourth of the season, in part because of sternum and ankle injuries. His best season was 2001, when he set career highs with 26 homers and 103 RBIs.
Brandon Inge is the Tigers' third baseman for now. If the Tigers sign Koskie, Inge could either become the full-time centerfielder or an everyday player who moves among several positions.
Baseball people continue to talk about how aggressive the Tigers are in their pursuit of free agents. Rumbles circulated at the meetings that the Tigers had increased their offer to Pavano from four to five years. Pavano's agent, Scott Shapiro, wouldn't specifically address the bidding for his client. But Shapiro made clear Friday that the Tigers made quite an impression when Pavano visited Detroit last week.
"I can't tell you how influential meeting Al Kaline was for Carl," Shapiro said. "He was thrilled at Al's taking the time to sit down with him.
"And Carl and Tram hit it off," Shapiro said of manager Alan Trammell. "Carl walked away saying, 'I could play for this guy. I would go to the moon for this guy. He's a terrific person.' "
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski is pursuing trades as well as free-agent signings at the meetings. He requested a trade discussion Friday night with the Milwaukee Brewers. The topic might have been left-handed-hitting centerfielder Scott Podsednik (.244, 12 homers, 39 RBIs), who led the majors with 70 steals.
Without mentioning players by name, Dombrowski said, "We have been very aggressive -- we'd like to get a third baseman or centerfielder. We've talked about that possibility all along."
Glaus said Friday that the Tigers "were absolutely a consideration" before he signed with Arizona.
"The Tigers were professional all the way through," Glaus said. "They didn't do anything wrong. They did everything right. It came down to a decision between a couple of teams."
Glaus said he chose Arizona "for reasons off the field" that "fit a little better" for himself and his family. He declined to elaborate.
MATT ANDERSON GONE: As expected, the Tigers have let reliever Matt Anderson become a free agent instead of picking up his contact option for next season. Anderson, the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, hasn't pitched effectively in the big leagues since 2001, when he had 22 saves in his best season with the Tigers. Injuries began to plague him in 2002, and he has spent most of the past two years at Triple-A Toledo, including all of last season. ...
Former Tigers centerfielder Brian Hunter came to the winter meetings Friday representing himself as he looks for a team with which to revive his career. Hunter, 33, didn't play in the majors last year, and he wants to eliminate the perception that he has retired.
Contact JOHN LOWE at 313-223-4053 or lowe@freepress.com.
BY JOHN LOWE, FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Tigers have a quick and available method for closing ground on the first-place Minnesota Twins:
Raid the Twins for their intense, productive third baseman.
The Tigers now appear interested in signing Corey Koskie, who has played third base for the Twins for the past five seasons.
With third baseman Troy Glaus having signed with Arizona, Koskie has become a more prominent option for the Tigers. But as with Glaus, Steve Finley and still-available pitcher Carl Pavano, they face major competition.
The clubs pursuing Koskie are said to include Toronto, Seattle and Los Angeles. And he might return to the Twins, who with their typically limited budget want Koskie to take a cut from his $4.5-million salary last season.
Koskie is a first-time free agent. He indicated to the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week that he wants to sign during the winter meetings, which opened Friday in Anaheim and continue through Monday.
Koskie, a left-handed hitter, hit .251 with 25 homers and 71 RBIs last season as Minnesota won its third straight American League Central title, finishing 20 games ahead of the fourth-place Tigers.
Koskie, 31, missed about one-fourth of the season, in part because of sternum and ankle injuries. His best season was 2001, when he set career highs with 26 homers and 103 RBIs.
Brandon Inge is the Tigers' third baseman for now. If the Tigers sign Koskie, Inge could either become the full-time centerfielder or an everyday player who moves among several positions.
Baseball people continue to talk about how aggressive the Tigers are in their pursuit of free agents. Rumbles circulated at the meetings that the Tigers had increased their offer to Pavano from four to five years. Pavano's agent, Scott Shapiro, wouldn't specifically address the bidding for his client. But Shapiro made clear Friday that the Tigers made quite an impression when Pavano visited Detroit last week.
"I can't tell you how influential meeting Al Kaline was for Carl," Shapiro said. "He was thrilled at Al's taking the time to sit down with him.
"And Carl and Tram hit it off," Shapiro said of manager Alan Trammell. "Carl walked away saying, 'I could play for this guy. I would go to the moon for this guy. He's a terrific person.' "
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski is pursuing trades as well as free-agent signings at the meetings. He requested a trade discussion Friday night with the Milwaukee Brewers. The topic might have been left-handed-hitting centerfielder Scott Podsednik (.244, 12 homers, 39 RBIs), who led the majors with 70 steals.
Without mentioning players by name, Dombrowski said, "We have been very aggressive -- we'd like to get a third baseman or centerfielder. We've talked about that possibility all along."
Glaus said Friday that the Tigers "were absolutely a consideration" before he signed with Arizona.
"The Tigers were professional all the way through," Glaus said. "They didn't do anything wrong. They did everything right. It came down to a decision between a couple of teams."
Glaus said he chose Arizona "for reasons off the field" that "fit a little better" for himself and his family. He declined to elaborate.
MATT ANDERSON GONE: As expected, the Tigers have let reliever Matt Anderson become a free agent instead of picking up his contact option for next season. Anderson, the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, hasn't pitched effectively in the big leagues since 2001, when he had 22 saves in his best season with the Tigers. Injuries began to plague him in 2002, and he has spent most of the past two years at Triple-A Toledo, including all of last season. ...
Former Tigers centerfielder Brian Hunter came to the winter meetings Friday representing himself as he looks for a team with which to revive his career. Hunter, 33, didn't play in the majors last year, and he wants to eliminate the perception that he has retired.
Contact JOHN LOWE at 313-223-4053 or lowe@freepress.com.