The Tigers have released 26-year old righty starting pitcher Billy Buckner. He pitched in 8 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Tigers and he was 3-5 with a 9.40 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 60 hits (8 homers) in only 37 1/3 innings for the Tigers in AAA ball before his release. Well this trade didn’t help either team as the D-Backs have cut Dontrelle Willis while the Tigers pulled the plug on Billy Buckner.

The Tigers have shut down 21-year old lefty starting pitcher Casey Crosby with recurring swelling in his left elbow. Crosby came into this season as the Tigers’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) in rookie ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 8.76 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. Crosby has now pitched in 30 games (all starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. It was smart of the Tigers to shut down Crosby and protect his future.

The Tigers don’t need to make massive changes to the roster as it stands right now to compete. But they desperately need help at shortstop. I would offer up 25-year old righty swinging 2B Scott Sizemore and 24-year old righty swinging SS/2B Danny Worth to the D-Backs for starting shortstop Stephen Drew. The Tigers might need to sweeten the pot just a tad more to get that kind of deal but I wouldn’t go overboard as Drew is a solid but not spectacular player. I would then turn around and trade righty relievers Casey Fien and Jay Sborz to the Royals for righty reliever Kyle Farnsworth and IF/OF Willie Bloomquist. If the Tigers can get a trio of players like Drew, Farnsworth and Bloomquist before the trade deadline that would consider that a success.

25-year old righty swinging 2B Scott Sizemore was the Tigers’ starting 2B when the 2010 season started. He couldn’t hold onto the job though. He played in 30 games for the Tigers and he was 20 of 97 (.206 avg, .586 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. But he whiffed 26 times often looking overmatched at the plate. He is really raking in the minors right now though. Sizemore has played in 38 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 52 of 154 (.338 avg, .920 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 5 homers and 17 RBIs. With Carlos Guillen blocking Sizemore at 2B (until his next injury….which is coming at some point) the Tigers could use Sizemore as a trade chip with the deadline approaching.

The Tigers have released 30-year old righty starter Ruddy Lugo. Lugo pitched in 11 games (10 starts) in AAA-ball for the Tigers this year and he was 2-4 with a 8.16 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He gave up 63 hits (10 homers) in only 43 innings this year while walking 19 batters which is pathetic. The Tigers saw more than enough of Lugo this season to know that he wouldn’t be able to help them in 2010.