Tigers trade Jason Grilli to Colorado

Tigers trade Jason Grilli to Colorado

NEW YORK -- The Tigers announced today that they have traded Jason Grilli to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Zachary Simons, a move designed to clear room on the roster for reliever Francisco Cruceta.
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Cruceta is expected to join the team in time for Thursday's game against the New York Yankees.

Simons will report to Detroit's Class A Lakeland affiliate.

Grilli was the only relief pitcher to be on the Tigers' active roster for every day of manager Jim Leyland's tenure with the team. He was 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in nine appearances this season.

:grilli:

WHAT IS THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???? NOT JASON!!!!

THIS IS DEVASTATING

This totally sucks!!!! Every Tiger that I have liked has been traded. Jair Jurrjens, Omar Infante, Mike Rabelo, and now Jason. This sucks royally.

I think I am giving up on Tigers for awhile.

okay, whose bright idea was this?!?!?!?!?

He is doing GREAT this year.

laprimamirala wrote:

okay, whose bright idea was this?!?!?!?!?

mrsrabelo wrote:

This totally sucks!!!! Every Tiger that I have liked has been traded. Jair Jurrjens, Omar Infante, Mike Rabelo, and now Jason. This sucks royally.

I think I am giving up on Tigers for awhile.

Mrs Rabelo is not allowed to like any Tigers. Sorry sweetie!

You know what I think that I am really loving Dave Dombrowski!

04/30/2008 8:01 PM ET
Tigers trade reliever Grilli to Rockies
Detroit gets Minor League pitcher, opens spot for Cruceta
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Francisco Cruceta is joining the Tigers bullpen at long last. Jason Grilli is leaving the team that has been a big part of his family since his father pitched for Detroit in the late 1970s.

The Tigers traded Grilli on Wednesday to the Rockies in exchange for Minor League prospect Zach Simons, a Class A right-handed reliever. The move creates room for Cruceta to join the Tigers on Thursday, when he'll try to carry his dominant numbers from Triple-A Toledo into the big leagues.

In an offseason when the Tigers made a slew of acquisitions, Cruceta was their lone Major League free-agent signing, added after spending the entire 2007 season at Triple-A Oklahoma. He was in line to get a shot at seventh- or eighth-inning setup work for Detroit until the Dominican native had trouble getting approval from the Federal government for his work visa. He began the season on Major League Baseball's restricted list before his visa was approved a few weeks ago.

After a week of workouts, Cruceta joined the bullpen in Triple-A Toledo on a 16-day evaluation period before the Tigers had to move him off the restricted list and either add him to the active roster, trade him or outright him to the Minors. Given his performance, it was more a matter of when and how the Tigers would add him.

Cruceta pitched in three games for Toledo, allowing one run on two hits over seven innings with 15 strikeouts.

"Our reports on him have been outstanding," Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "He's been throwing the ball very, very well. Everybody [who has watched him] has said he's ready."

The odd man out in the Tigers bullpen ended up being Grilli. In trading him, the Tigers dealt a mercurial, hard-throwing reliever who had spent the last three-plus seasons following in his father's footsteps of pitching in the Tigers organization.

Signed as a Minor League free agent in 2005, Grilli went from an effective starter at Triple-A Toledo to a versatile man in the Tigers bullpen for the last two years. He led the team and finished fourth in the American League with 79 2/3 relief innings, while stranded 37 of 53 inherited runners.

He had drawn a range of reactions from Tigers fans, inspired in part by a vast difference in his performances at Comerica Park compared to everywhere else. He had a 1.91 ERA and .184 batting average allowed in road games last year, compared to a 7.96 ERA and .335 average at home.

Grilli gave up five runs on seven hits in two innings over two consecutive outings earlier this month against the White Sox and at Boston. Since then, he had scattered four hits over 11 1/3 scoreless innings in his last six appearances.

That wasn't enough to keep him off the block when Cruceta showed he was ready.

"Jason's pitched better, no question," Dombrowski said. "He's pitched well for us recently. But we were in a spot [where bullpen roles were determined]. We think Zach [Miner] is throwing the ball much better [now compared to earlier this season]. We think he deserves to stay here. We had to make a decision one way or another."

Grilli had anticipated a choice like that.

"I'm arbitration-eligible," Grilli said. "There's several guys here who pretty much can do the same thing as me. Miner's got a year and a half of doing the same kind of role. [Armando] Galarraga's doing a heck of a job. He's got [Minor League] options. I know this business. With Cruceta and all the hype and talk about him, they're trying to create a roster spot. There's things happening around here. It's been on the tip of the tongue since Spring Training, even this offseason.

"I won't be the last. When one move gets made, there's usually several others that follow."

Nevertheless, the move drew mixed emotions from Grilli, still clearly stung by boos at home earlier this season but anticipating a deal that could put him on another club.

"I think I did a good job for what my role was," Grilli said. "I know there's a lot of people who probably would think differently. But to those people, I'm going to say thank you, because I'm a bigger person than people who don't like the way my eyebrows are, my face, or the way I pitch.

"Maybe I was the lightning rod for that on this team. But I surely didn't get cheered as much for the role that I was given, I thought."

Simons, a 22-year-old right-hander drafted by Colorado in the second round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, has made seven relief appearances for Class A Modesto. He has allowed four earned runs on 12 hits in 13 1/3 innings, walking nine and striking out 14.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I am surprised that the Tigers traded Grilli.

I wondered who it would be. I can see why it was Grilli, due to the lack of minor league options. Had they tried to send him down, another team would have grabbed him and the Tigers would not receive anything in trade.

Bye Grilli!

Damn, Im gonna miss him.

Jason! Now....I just Cruceta lives up to all the hype! If so...the Tigers just became a Much better team!

gdennis59 wrote:

Damn, Im gonna miss him.

At least now you can wear his shirt and say it was true so Det got rid of him!

Haha, maybe I could.

05/01/2008 9:42 PM ET
Leyland hopes Grilli gets fresh start
Beleaguered reliever traded to Rockies on Wednesday
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Jason Grilli left the Tigers on Wednesday showing his aggravation with the boos he received from fans in Detroit. A day later, manager Jim Leyland hoped that Grilli's trade to the Rockies will give him a fresh start.

"I just think sometimes it's best for somebody to move on," Leyland said.

Grilli mentioned the reception he had at home when he talked with reporters on Wednesday afternoon following the trade.

"I think I did a good job for what my role was," Grilli said. "I know there's a lot of people who probably would think differently. But to those people, I'm going to say 'thank you,' because I'm a bigger person than people who don't like the way my eyebrows are, my face, or the way I pitch.

"Maybe I was the lightning rod for that on this team. But I surely didn't get cheered as much for the role that I was given, I thought."

Leyland observed that the boos seemed to affect Grilli, whose statistics were far worse at Comerica Park than they were on the road last year and again this season. Moreover, Leyland said that it reached the point where it could affect how he laid out his bullpen for home games.

"I think it was starting to get to him," Leyland said. "Nobody likes to get booed. That's all part of the business. I don't have any problem with it. It's just that if you feel like you're in a situation where you're starting to get real conscious about using him at home, when you go into a homestand basically with, you think, 11 pitchers [to use rather than 12], that's not good. I wanted to protect him as much as I could."

Five out of Grilli's nine appearances this season came at Comerica Park, but he pitched 8 1/3 innings on the road compared with 5 1/3 at home. His 5.06 ERA in home games dwarfed his 2.16 ERA away from Detroit.

Grilli could still end up pitching in Detroit this season, since the Rockies visit the Tigers for a three-game Interleague series at the end of June, but that'll be it.

Leyland cautioned that he was not criticizing Grilli, whose services he appreciated for the last two-plus seasons.

"This guy took the ball whenever I asked for the last two-plus years, never turned the ball down, had a resilient arm and did a lot of good things for us," he said. "I think that he was a very useful pitcher for us. But do I, in my heart, think that it was starting to get in his head a little bit? Yes, I do. And when that kind of stuff happens, I think you're best to move on."

"I think he'll be fine. I mean, his stuff is good. He throws 94-, 95-mph. This guy has done a lot of good jobs for us over the last two years-plus. So I think he's a very usable Major League pitcher. When a team's not doing good, sometimes one guy becomes the [scapegoat] if they're not doing good. And I'm certainly not blaming Detroit fans or anybody else. That's life."

The heart of the decision, Leyland said, came down to keeping Grilli or fellow right-hander Zach Miner.

"I've got nothing but great things to say about him," Leyland said of Grilli. "But it was time to make a decision. Basically, at this point, we decided to keep Miner over Grilli. That's what it boils down to, because they were both struggling at the start, and they both pitched a little better later. We made the decision to keep Miner over Grilli."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I would how the fans will react if Grilli pitches against the Tigers when the Rockies come to town in June

Casey21 wrote:

WHAT IS THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???? NOT JASON!!!!

THIS IS DEVASTATING

I guess it all depends on your point of view. I personally think this move is LONG overdue.

Good luck Grillmeister!!

mrsrabelo wrote:

This totally sucks!!!! Every Tiger that I have liked has been traded. Jair Jurrjens, Omar Infante, Mike Rabelo, and now Jason. This sucks royally.

I think I am giving up on Tigers for awhile.

Would you mind "liking" Jacque Jones next please??

tigersaint wrote:

mrsrabelo wrote:

This totally sucks!!!! Every Tiger that I have liked has been traded. Jair Jurrjens, Omar Infante, Mike Rabelo, and now Jason. This sucks royally.

I think I am giving up on Tigers for awhile.

Would you mind "liking" Jacque Jones next please??

Saint!

... Maybe this is why it took so long for them to trade Mesa and Neifi... nobody liked them.

I liked Grilli, just not his pitching......