The Tigers have decided not to tender a contract for 2009 to 33-year old righty reliever Aquilino Lopez making him a free agent. He pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last year and he was 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Lopez has now pitched in 159 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 6-6 with 15 saves, a 3.78 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. It was a little bit interesting that the Tigers let Lopez go because they don’t have much depth in the bullpen.

The Tigers have selected 25-year old lefty pitcher Kyle Bloom in the Rule 5 Draft. Bloom pitched in 28 games (22 starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 5-8 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Bloom has good enough stuff to make the Tigers’ pitching staff in 2009 if he works on his control. He walked 55 batters in only 109.1 innings last season.

The Detroit Tigers have acquired 25-year old righty starting pitched Edwin Jackson from the Rays for 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Matt Joyce. Jackson pitched in 32 games (31 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 14-11 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. In 106 games (77 starts) in his major league career Jackson is 25-30 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Tigers are hoping that Jackson has turned the corner in his career because they need rotation help. Matt Joyce was the Tigers’ #7 prospect heading into 2008 according to Baseball America and he played well for the Tigers. Joyce played in 92 games for the Tigers last season and he was 61 for 242 (.252 avg, .831 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 12 homers and 33 RBIs. Jackson will have to pitch well to make this trade look good as Joyce will likely start in the Rays’ outfield.

The Tigers have signed 32-year old righty swinging catcher Matt Treanor to back up Gerald Laird in 2009. Treanor played in 65 games for the Marlins last season in which he was 49 for 206 (.238 avg, .607 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 23 RBIs. Treanor has played in 274 games in his major league career in which he is 171 for 723 (.237 avg, .639 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 8 homers and 70 RBIs. The Tigers might have been better off letting Dusty Ryan back up Laird as Treanor just isn’t much of a baseball player.

The Tigers have acquired 29-year old righty swinging catcher Gerald Laird from the Rangers for 25-year old pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and 17-year old pitcher Carlos Melo. Laird played in 95 games for the Rangers last season and he was 95 for 344 (.276 avg, .727 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 6 homers and 41 RBIs. Laird has now played in 374 games in his major league career and he is 312 for 1,225 (.255 avg, .689 OPS) with 184 runs scored, 25 homers and 134 RBIs. Getting Laird to catch in addition to Adam Everett to play shortstop will really help the defense of the Tigers in 2009. 25-year old righty Guillermo Moscoso pitched in 21 games (12 starts) in A + AA ball and he was 5-4 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. 17-year old righty Carlos Melo also has a good arm. Melo pitched in 14 games (13 starts) in Rookie ball last year and he was 3-3 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. This was a good trade for the Tigers.