The Tigers re-signed Aquilino Lopez to give them depth in the bullpen for 2008. The righty reliever pitched in 10 games for the Tigers last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 5.19 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He pitched 17.1 innings for the Tigers and he allowed 18 hits, walked 6 batters and whiffed 7.

The Tigers have acquired shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Braves for young starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens and minor league center fielder Gorkys Hernandez. The 32-year old Renteria played in 124 games last season for the Braves and he was 164 for 494 (.332 avg, .860 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 12 homers, 57 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Renteria has now played in 1,722 games in his major league career and he is 1,934 for 6,637 (.291 avg, .756 OPS) with 1,021 runs scored, 117 homers, 762 RBIs and 274 stolen bases. This was an excellent move by the Tigers who will now slide Carlos Guillen to first base in a effort to keep him healthy.

The Tigers are looking for a way to lessen the wear and tear on Carlos Guillen so they have decided to move him from shortstop to firstbase for 2008. Guillen has been outstanding for the Tigers since the day he arrived 4 years ago. He has played in 527 games for the Tigers in his career and he is 614 of 1,963 (.313 avg) with 331 runs scored, 65 homers, 307 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. The Tigers will acquire a shortstop through either free agency or trade in the off-season as they don’t like any of their internal options. This means that Sean Casey will likely be leaving the Tigers. He played in 196 games for the Tigers and he was 179 for 637 (.280 avg) with 57 runs scored, 9 homers and 84 RBIs. The Tigers just needed more power than Casey could provide them.

The Tigers like to think they have a solid rotation but nothing could be further from the truth. Justin Verlander (35-17, 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) and Kenny Rogers (210-143, 4.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) are the only two starting pitchers that the Tigers can depend on as they both have good career numbers. Nate Robertson’s career to date has been very sub-par as he has a career record of only 42-55 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Tigers need more from him or they will have to consider replacing him in the rotation. Jeremy Bonderman has not really improved as much as the Tigers would have liked him to so far in his career. He is an un-impressive 56-62 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP over his major league career. Bonderman has a great pitching arm but he still hasn’t learned how to pitch yet.