Detroit Tigers Clips Wednesday, November 11, 2015 Detroit Free Press Rajai Davis coming back? Tigers' options in LF remain open (Fenech) Tigers GM: Pics show pitcher Bruce Rondon 'in good shape' (Fenech) Cespedes earns Tigers' first Gold Glove since 2009 (Fenech) Tigers' Avila talks trade scenarios, more at meetings (Fenech) Tigers to hire Apple exec for analytics role (Fenech) MLive.com Yoenis Cespedes captures Detroit Tigers' first Gold Glove since 2009; Ian Kinsler denied again (Schmehl) MLB.com Avila says Tigers have interest in Iwakuma (Beck) Cespedes takes home AL Gold Glove in left (Beck) ESPN.com Offseason preview: Tigers' 10 things to watch for (Strang) Oakland Press Deep free-agent class of pitchers sets up well for Tigers to get the two starters they need (Mowery) Yoenis Cespedes wins Tigers’ first outfield Gold Glove since 1989 (Mowery) MassLive.com Boston Red Sox trade rumors: GM Mike Hazen, Detroit Tigers GM Al Avila on working with Dave Dombrowski (McCaffrey) Daily Transactions 1 Rajai Davis coming back? Tigers' options in LF remain open November 11, 2015 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press BOCA RATON, Fla. – There is an outfield market for free agents. "I can confirm that," Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila said on Tuesday afternoon. But what Avila couldn't confirm is how much of a player the Tigers will be in that market, or if they are interested in bringing Rajai Davis back, or if the team is dead-set on finding an everyday option in leftfield. "We need an outfielder, for sure," Avila said, speaking with reporters on the second day of the general managers' meetings at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. "There's a lot of different options we're looking at, and whatever the best option is, we'll pursue it." Avila was mum on retaining Davis, who has served in multiple roles with the Tigers for the past two seasons and profiles as a perfect platoon partner to Tyler Collins in leftfield. In 2015, Davis hit .258 with 18 stolen bases in 112 games. "We'd like to obviously get somebody for that role, if not something else," Avila said. "We've got to improve there." Preferably, he said, the team would like to add an everyday outfielder. Also preferably, the Tigers would like that outfielder to hit right-handed. "Obviously, (Anthony) Gose is a left-handed bat, Collins is a left-handed bat, so it would be nice to get a right- handed bat," Avila said. "But you can also do some other things, too, if they're available. But all things being equal, obviously a right-handed bat would be more to our tastes at this point. That's not to say we're just locked into that, because anything else can come around." With a number of needs on the pitching staff — the Tigers are looking to add two starting pitchers, a closer and perhaps additional bullpen help — it seems likely they will not be in play for upper-echelon options like Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon or Justin Upton in leftfield. In talking about the preference to add an everyday outfielder, Avila said, "I just don't know if we can be able to do it." If they are not, they would either pursue a cheaper everyday option — perhaps Gerardo Parra, although he hits left-handed — or find a platoon partner for Collins in leftfield. Collins, 25, hit .266 in 60 games last season. "We're happy with the way Collins ended up the year," Avila said. "He actually played very well for us. If it was the right fit, it could work." That fit has yet to be determined, with the free agent market still taking form, but the desire to add an outfielder has not. "There's a lot of different ways of making it happen," Avila said. "I can't tell you right now if it's going to be a platoon, a straight platoon, or if there's going to be one guy playing more than the other guy. Or are we able to wing it where we have a full-time guy? Sitting here right now, I can't tell you, because we're not there yet." 2 Tigers GM: Pics show pitcher Bruce Rondon 'in good shape' November 11, 2015 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press BOCA RATON, Fla. – The proof, the Detroit Tigers hope, is in the pictures. And the pictures of Bruce Rondon that general manager Al Avila received on his cell phone Tuesday were positive. "He looks good," Avila said. Rondon, who was sent home for "effort level" issues late in the season, is in the middle of his off-season conditioning, is throwing and will begin pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League in December. "He will be more than ready for spring training," Avila said. "He's in good shape. Right now, in the off-season, he's been great. ... He's been down there, and he's worked out. He's doing strength and conditioning work and throwing, so he's been doing what he needs to do to pitch." Yet another roller-coaster season for the hard-throwing right-handed reliever stalled in September, when he was told to pack his bags by manager Brad Ausmus and head home. Said Avila at the time: "We both agreed in the long run that this course of action is best for both Bruce and the club." In 2015, Rondon, 24, posted a 5.81 ERA in 35 appearances. It was his first action since undergoing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery at the start of the 2014 season. He started 2015 on the disabled list with right bicipital tendinitis, then slogged through a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Toledo before squandering the chance to capture the closer's role for last season. Though the Tigers hope his dismissal was a wake-up call, Avila admitted they cannot count on Rondon for next season. "He's a guy that's definitely going to be in the mix," Avila said, "He is another guy we have in our system that we go into spring training and he will be in the mix. "But that doesn't deter me from looking for a closer or whatever we need for the bullpen. I can't say that he's in there in ink. He's going to have to come out there and perform and earn his spot." 3 Cespedes earns Tigers' first Gold Glove since 2009 November 11, 2015 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Detroit Tigers have an American League Gold Glove winner, though he last played for the New York Mets. Yoenis Cespedes, who was on the AL ballot because he started the season in Detroit, won his first career Gold Glove after being a finalist the past two seasons. In 2015, Cespedes ranked first in baseball with a 13.6 defensive rating, according to FanGraphs. He led the major leagues with an 18.8 Ultimate Zone Rating. He was traded to the Mets at the July 31 trade deadline for a pair of pitching prospects. Cespedes’ Gold Glove is the Tigers’ first since Placido Polanco at second base in 2009 and the first in the outfield since Gary Pettis in 1989. The two other Tiger finalists, Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez, fell short. For the second straight year, Kinsler was snubbed, losing out to Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. In 2015, Kinsler led AL second basemen with an 8.5 defensive rating, 6.3 ultimate zone rating and 19 defensive runs saved. Kinsler, 33, recently won the Fielding Bible Award at second base, a defensive metric-heavy award which is voted on by a panel of experts. In 2015, Martinez ranked third in baseball with 15 outfield assists. He lost out to Los Angeles Angels rightfielder Kole Calhoun. Note: Former Tigers left-hander David Price was named a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award tonight on MLB Network. He goes up against Houston Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel and Oakland Athletics right- hander Sonny Gray. The winner of the award will be announced at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 on MLB Network. 4 Tigers' Avila talks trade scenarios, more at meetings November 11, 2015 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press BOCA RATON, Fla. – They were busy, in meetings from morning to night, and the Detroit Tigers were prepared for it. Their contingent arrived at the general mangers meetings a day early. On Monday, the first day of the four-day gathering of baseball’s head honchos at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, general manager Al Avila said the team met with “several” agents for free agents. Most of those players, Avila said, were pitchers, but also outfielders the team is interested in. “Mostly groundwork,” he said. The meetings were set up in advance by assistant GM John Westhoff and will continue through Thursday as the team looks outside the organization to address off-season needs. But the Tigers won’t stop there. Avila said in the afternoon that he had talked to several GMs about different trade scenarios but, “I wouldn’t say we’re actively engaged and throwing names back and forth at this time, just getting a feel for where everybody’s at.” He said there has been a lot of talking among teams, a lot of movement making noise in face-to-face interactions, phone calls and texts, and expects a lot of movement to happen across baseball soon but said it was too early to tell whether the Tigers would be participating.