Detroit Tigers Clips Monday, November 7, 2016
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Detroit Tigers Clips Monday, November 7, 2016 Detroit Free Press Hot stove ready to get fired up at general managers meetings (Fenech) Victor Alcantara has the stuff to succeed in Detroit Tigers’ bullpen (Fenech) Mike Russell is new special assistant to Detroit Tigers' Al Avila (Fenech) Veterans Day Parade, run and Vets Fest draw thousands to Detroit (Stafford) The Detroit News Tigers hire data analyst, build software system (McCosky) MLive.com Tigers hire manager of baseball analytics from Yankees (Woodbery) Tigers add 2 pitchers to their 40-man roster (Woodbery) MLB.com Trammell, Parrish to host camp at Wayne State (Beck) Avila aims for more youthful Opening Day roster (Beck) Longtime scout Russell returns to Tigers (Beck) Associated Press Mike Russell, Jim Logue join Tigers' front office (Staff) Crain’s Detroit Business Tigers add to analytics staff by hiring manager (Shea) Daily Transactions 1 Hot stove ready to get fired up at general managers meetings November 7, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Major League Baseball’s off-season begins in earnest Monday. By midafternoon, MLB’s decision makers will gather at the Omni Scottsdale Resort and Spa for the annual general managers meetings — a three-day stay that officially will light the hot stove. While the GM meetings aren’t nearly as publicized as the winter meetings, which this year will be held in Washington on Dec. 5-8, they often serve a similar importance. Though many deals won’t be completed here, many will begin here. And the Tigers will be a team to watch. They already have made one trade, shipping centerfielder Cameron Maybin to the Angels on Thursday, and reading between the lines of GM Al Avila last month, they will be exploring many others to create financial flexibility. The task for Avila isn’t simple: reduce a $200-million payroll that failed to make the postseason this past season while trying to keep a competitive product on the field next season. In theory, every player is available. On Oct. 18, Avila sent that signal to the other teams by saying: “Changes are coming.” What changes remains to be seen, though a decrease in payroll is a near certainty. “In describing the process, you can probably name it however you want to name it,” Avila said. “It’s, ‘Hey, we want to get younger, we want to get leaner, we want to run the organization without having to go over the means of the organization.’ “It’s not going to be easy, but it has to be done.” In Arizona, the GMs will be joined by a bevy of agents and, sometimes, even players. The Tigers likely won’t execute any major moves, but they could lay the groundwork for those moves later in the off-season. 2 Victor Alcantara has the stuff to succeed in Detroit Tigers’ bullpen November 7, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press The Detroit Tigers wanted to get something. If they simply had declined centerfielder Cameron Maybin’s $9-million contract option for 2017, they would have received nothing — and footed the bill for a buyout of $1 million in addition. So, Thursday, they sent Maybin to the Los Angeles Angels for minor league right-hander Victor Alcantara. Alcantara doesn’t figure to be close to introducing himself at Comerica Park soon. His minor league numbers — 4.60 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in four seasons, mostly as a starter — tell that story. But in getting something for Maybin, the Tigers hope they can hit on a pitcher with impressive stuff in a relief role. Halfway through the 2016 season with Double-A Arkansas, Alcantara was moved to the bullpen. The Tigers likely will try him in the same role, to better utilize his upper-90-m.p.h. fastball and attempt to minimize his command issues. At 23, Alcantara is far from a top prospect — checking in at No. 23 in the organization’s minor league rankings, according to MLBPipeline.com — but is equally as far from being a finished product. Perhaps in a new role or with different coaching, Alcantara could emerge as a viable reliever. One scout’s briefing on the right-hander, who is currently pitching in the Arizona Fall League: “Mid-to-upper- 90-m.p.h. fastball, slider flashes plus, lacks command, lacks mechanical/delivery consistency, upside guy who likely ends up as a reliever.” Alcantara has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo. If he starts next season there, it will be the highest level of minor league action for him. He was signed by the Angels out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. Four seasons later, he still throws hard, with the same control and command issues. The Tigers hope he can iron those out. And they saved money in trying to find out. 3 Mike Russell is new special assistant to Detroit Tigers' Al Avila November 7, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press Mike Russell is back with the Detroit Tigers. After a two-year stint overseeing the Arizona Diamondbacks’ pro scouting department as a special assistant in baseball operations, Russell officially rejoined the Tigers on Friday as a special assistant to general manager Al Avila. Russell, 56, worked on the Tigers’ major league scouting staff in 2002-14. He was coveted for his baseball knowledge and trading know-how: With the Tigers embarking on a crucial off-season in which they will be big players on the trade market, Russell will help Avila in evaluating talent. Russell has worked in professional baseball for 28 seasons, beginning as an area supervisor with the Giants in 1988. Since then, he has served multiple roles with the Giants, Blue Jays, Marlins, Tigers and Diamondbacks. In 2013, Russell was inducted into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. Russell isn’t the only addition to the front office. Like last off-season, Avila has added to the analytics department by hiring Jim Logue as manager of baseball analytics. Logue comes from the Yankees, where he worked since 2007 and most recently was the team’s senior analyst for quantitative analysis. According to the Tigers, Logue “created predictive analytics to support all aspects of baseball operations decision making.” The hires continue a theme set by Avila: beefing up the analytics department while keeping a strong balance with the scouting side. 4 Veterans Day Parade, run and Vets Fest draw thousands to Detroit November 7, 2016 By Katrease Stafford/ Detroit Free Press More than 120 veterans organizations and 3,000 people marched today in the 11th annual Detroit Veterans Day Parade that began on Jefferson Avenue and ended at Hart Plaza downtown. The event — which also included the 4 Star, 4 Mile race — featured some familiar faces including Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, Gulf War veteran and FOX 2 News weather expert Rich Luterman and Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, who served as the event's grand marshal, according to a news release. Luterman got things going at Martin Luther King High School and fellow veteran Jim O’Brien of WCSX 94.7 led the Hart Plaza ceremony following the parade. The 4 Star, 4 Mile race and the Vets Fest were produced by Fifth Third Bank and presented by Verlander’s Wins for Warriors Foundation. The Vets Fest included live music and food trucks. “It is so important that we honor those who have served their country — many of whom were never thanked or acknowledged properly,” Phil Harrison, the parade chair for the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition, which put on the parade, said in the release. Families lined up along the north side of Jefferson and watched and waved as the participants went by. The event honored all veterans and gave special recognition to local veterans: Peters, who is a Navy veteran, Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, Brigadier General Michael Stone and Gen. David Bassett, according to the release. Veterans groups from 27 Michigan cities, Junior Reserve Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) and youth group members from 26 Detroit area schools, and five high school marching bands also participated in the parade, which was held days ahead of the actual Veterans Day on Nov. 11. The parade was created years ago to increase awareness and appreciation for veterans and their families, said Darci McConnell, spokeswoman for the event. 5 Tigers hire data analyst, build software system November 7, 2016 By Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News Detroit — At his postseason press conference, Tigers general manager Al Avila said the club’s analytics department was in its infancy. “We will be hiring several more people in that area that will basically just be doing the calculations, mathematics, formulas that they create to help us make better decisions,” he said. “It is not in place right now. Hasn’t been. In reality, it’s in its infancy right now.” A month later, and maybe the department is closer to adolescence. Under the guidance of senior director of baseball operations Jay Sartori, the Tigers are building their own software system, which will be called Caesar. And, announced Friday, they have hired a respected data analyst and programmer — Jim Logue. Logue has been with the Yankee since 2007, most recently serving as the club’s senior analyst. For the Tigers, Logue will oversee quantitative analysis and help create advance predictive models to support all levels of decision-making. The Tigers hope Caesar will up and running by January. “We’re building Caesar as we speak,” Avila said. “That won’t be operational, fully operational, until January. It’ll be functional by January, hopefully. It will be a continuing process every year.