Tigers acquire Edwin Jackson

9:32 p.m. — Source: Tigers to aqcuire Edwin Jackson

The Detroit Tigers are set to acquire right-hander Edwin Jackson from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Matt Joyce, according to a major-league source.

Tampa Bay, with David Price on the way, had a surplus of starting pitching. Jackson, 25, was 14-11 this year with a 4.25 ERA.

In exchange the Rays get a 24-year-old, left-handed-hitting corner outfielder who hit 12 homers in 242 at-bats. -- Ed Price

That sucks!

No, no, no, no, no!!

C'mon guys, Edwin Jackson isn't THAT bad...

12/10/08 10:08 PM EST
Jackson could be headed to Detroit
Tigers reportedly close to trading Joyce for Rays' righty

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

LAS VEGAS -- Another day at baseball's Winter Meetings seemingly means another deal for the Tigers. This one involves a familiar name in trade rumors, but would net Detroit help in an unexpected area.

The Tigers are close to a deal that would send outfielder Matt Joyce to Tampa Bay for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, according to a report on Foxsports.com.

Joyce has been a chip in the Tigers' talks with the Mariners for closer J.J. Putz. Seattle, however, entered Wednesday evening on the verge of a deal that would send Putz elsewhere, reportedly to the Mets in a three-team, prospect-laden trade that includes Cleveland.

Without Putz, the Tigers will be left taking their search for a closer past the Winter Meetings. With that search likely focused on the free-agent market, however, Joyce becomes a piece for another deal.

Tigers officials were at a team gathering Wednesday evening and unavailable for comment. However, he said that they were in trade discussions for a starting pitcher.

The 25-year-old Jackson won a career-high 14 games in 2008 at the back end of the rotation during Tampa Bay's breakout season. He posted a 4.42 ERA to go with his 14-11 record, pitching 183 1/3 innings, allowing 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 108.

Jackson's arrival would add some more certainty to a rotation that faced major question marks at the back end. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only certainties from last year, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to be back to full strength after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.

"After that," manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday morning, "I'm not sure."

Joyce, a Tampa, Fla., native, was a surprise for the Tigers after an early-season call up from Triple-A Toledo. He batted .252 with 16 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 33 RBIs over 92 games in Detroit, including the final three months. He has followed with a strong winter ball performance for Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League, batting .291 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 25 RBIs.

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

I'm not against getting Jackson. It is losing Joyce that pisses me off. Give them Thames... or another of our part time outfielders.

The Tigers need a starter more than Joyce (who doesn't even have a position. Guillen, Granderson and Ordonez are blocking him). This is a steal for the Tigers.

Tigers trade for Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Jackson

By JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • December 10, 2008

Editor's note: Story updated at 11:00 p.m.

LAS VEGAS – The Tigers completed a deal on Wednesday night that sent outfielder Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-hander Edwin Jackson.

Joyce had been the player that most intrigued the Seattle Mariners during recent discussions involving closer J.J. Putz, but it did not appear that Detroit team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski included him during the earlier discussion of a three-way trade among the Tigers, Mariners and Rays.

According to Foxsports.com, which first reported the tentative agreement between Detroit and Tampa Bay, the Mariners then traded Putz to the New York Mets in a three-team trade involving the Cleveland Indians.

The Tigers had not officially confirmed the Joyce-Jackson deal as of Wednesday at 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the team is expected to announce the signing of shortstop Adam Everett within the next several days. He passed a physical examination in Lakeland, Fla., on Wednesday, solidifying his one-year, $1-million contract.

Jackson went 14-11 with a 4.42 ERA in 32 games (31 starts) with Tampa Bay this year. He should become one of the top three starters in a Tigers rotation that was uncertain beyond Justin Verlander, Armando Galarraga and the rehabilitating Jeremy Bonderman.

Joyce is likely to become the everyday rightfielder for the Rays, who play their home games a short drive away from where he grew up in Hillsborough County.

The Tigers had maintained strong interest in Putz throughout much of the morning and afternoon on Wednesday, but they appeared unwilling to include Joyce and infielder Jeff Larish in the same offer.

Detroit’s best chance of acquiring Putz was in a three-way deal involving the Mariners and Rays. The full list of other players involved was not clear, but the Tigers were going to part with Larish and reliever Freddy Dolsi, and Putz was going to end up in Detroit.

Putz had been the Tigers’ top choice among possible closers. They had expressed only mild interest in Baltimore’s George Sherrill and were not involved in serious discussions with Pittsburgh about Matt Capps.

Brian Fuentes is the top free agent closer available, after Francisco Rodriguez and Kerry Wood agreed to contracts, but he’s likely to receive as much or more than the $10 million annual salary Wood will receive from the Cleveland Indians.

Dombrowski said earlier Wednesday that he doubted he would pay $10 million or more, per year, for a closer.

The acquisition of Jackson could discourage the Tigers from pursuing John Smoltz as a free agent. Prior to the agreement with Tampa Bay, Dombrowski acknowledged that he had interest in Smoltz, the Michigan native who has won 210 games and saved 154 more in a storied career with the Atlanta Braves.

The Tigers are among the clubs that have requested medical information on Smoltz, who appeared in only six games with the Braves this year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The 41-year-old has resolved to pitch again next year and threw “very well” in a workout last Friday, according to his agent, Keith Grunewald.

“He was ecstatic,” Grunewald said. “He felt great.”

The Tigers drafted Smoltz in 1985 and traded him to Atlanta two years later, in a deal that brought Doyle Alexander to Detroit and helped the Tigers win the A.L. East.

12/10/08 11:29 PM EST
Tigers acquire Jackson from Rays
Detroit sends Joyce to Tampa Bay for right-handed starter

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

LAS VEGAS -- Another day at baseball's Winter Meetings means another deal for the Tigers. This one involves a familiar name in trade rumors, but nets help in an unexpected area, sending right-hander Edwin Jackson to Detroit in exchange for Matt Joyce.

After Detroit couldn't swing a deal for Mariners closer J.J. Putz with one of their young left-handed hitters, they swung Joyce into a one-for-one deal that adds to their starting-pitching depth and allows them to head into Spring Training in 2009 without having to count on a turnaround from lefties Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis.

Seattle sent Putz to the Mets in a three-team, prospect-laden trade that includes Cleveland on Wednesday.

Without Putz, the Tigers are left to take their search for a closer past the Winter Meetings. With that search likely focused on the free-agent market, however, Joyce became a piece for another deal.

The 25-year-old Jackson won a career-high 14 games in 2008 at the back end of the rotation during Tampa Bay's breakout season. He posted a 4.42 ERA to go with his 14-11 record, pitching 183 1/3 innings, allowing 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 108. Jackson's arrival adds some more certainty to a rotation that faced major question marks at the back end. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only certainties from last year, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to be back to full strength after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.

"After that," manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday morning, "I'm not sure."

Joyce, a Tampa, Fla., native, was a surprise for the Tigers after an early-season call up from Triple-A Toledo. He batted .252 with 16 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 33 RBIs over 92 games in Detroit, including the final three months. He has followed with a strong winter ball performance for Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League, batting .291 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 25 RBIs.

At best, however, Joyce projected to be a fourth outfielder next year on the Tigers' roster in its current form, behind left fielder Carlos Guillen.

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

I guess he's okay. Okay is better than most of what we've got though. 101 ERA+ doesn't excite me terribly though.

Tigers Acquire Jackson from Rays
Last Edited: Thursday, 11 Dec 2008, 5:32 AM EST
Created: Thursday, 11 Dec 2008, 5:32 AM EST


LAS VEGAS -- The Tigers acquired right-hander Edwin Jackson from the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday for outfielder Matt Joyce, Detroit's second trade in three days at the winter meetings.

Jackson is set to join a rotation alongside Justin Verlander, Armando Galarraga and Jeremy Bonderman, who had surgery in late June to correct a condition that caused a blood clot in his pitching arm.

Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski has filled two of the Tigers' biggest offseason needs after trading for catcher Gerald Laird on Monday. Laird was acquired from the Rangers in a swap that sent right-handed pitching prospects Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo to Texas.

The 25-year-old Jackson went 14-11 with a 4.42 ERA in 31 starts and 32 appearances for the AL champion Rays this season, pitching a career-best 183 1-3 innings. He spent three seasons with Tampa Bay following three for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Everybody in baseball has known his ability and potential for years," Dombrowski said. "He took a step forward last year and hopefully he'll take a step forward for us. ... We're in a spot where we get a pitcher we think will help us. He pitched on a World Series club last year. He's got great stuff."

While Dombrowski didn't necessarily want to give up Joyce, the outfield is his club's deepest position -- with reliable regulars Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez as the anchors.

A Tampa native, the 24-year-old Joyce batted .252 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs in 92 games for the Tigers in 2008 as a rookie. He ranked third among AL rookies with a .492 slugging percentage after beginning the season with Triple-A Toledo. Joyce made his major league debut in May.

Rays general manager Andrew Friedman will keep looking to upgrade the offense with a designated hitter/right fielder but called Joyce "an above-average defensive right fielder."

"It gives us a little more comfort if we can't acquire that bat," Friedman said. "Having roster flexibility and depth is something that's extremely important to us."

The Tigers also were working to complete a one-year contract worth about $1 million for shortstop Adam Everett after he worked out for the team last week.

Everett batted just .213 with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 48 games for the Minnesota Twins last season, limited by a shoulder injury. He appeared in only 66 games the previous year for Houston, but the Tigers believe Everett will be a reliable option at shortstop.

The addition of the 31-year-old Everett would help settle some instability manager Jim Leyland faced in the infield this season. With Everett, Brandon Inge can return full-time to his natural spot at third base after catching 60 games in 2008, playing 51 at third and 15 in the outfield, including 13 in center.

I think I'm gonna cry.....

I guess we did need pitching. But
I love Matt.....

Is ok Holly. I was PISSED when I saw this, but we all know he's gonna be a key in TB and do extremely well down there.

We'll all be watchin' the Rays now!

For Sure!

Good Luck Matt!

geez, at this rate, I'll have to keep my mlb.tv subscrip up so I can watch all the former Tigers!

I know!
But! We may be getting one back, Smoltz is interested in playing for us! =]]]

where did you see that?
that would be great if he could!

Freep. It was nice, theres an article posted in the breaking news topics, it seemed interesting.

great read! Yup, it would be a shame that he gets away twice. At least not to the schmuck Yankees or Red Sox....

Merged two topics.

I almost got in a huge argument at school today because of this. It was first hour so I was still really really mad. And people were talking bad about Matt and saying it was good he was gone. And I kinda started yelling at them (And I DON"T talk in 1st hour) and the teacher walked in the room and yelled at me so I was just mad the rest of the hour.

well then those people TOTALLY suck and you don't need to waste your time with them!

I know they do! But I was in a really bad mood and decided to yell at them..... Prolly a bad plan but oh well, they'll get over it.

Why don't the Tigers get a relief pitcher


We needed Kerry Wood or Putz



I guess it will be the Rodney and Zumaya show next year

Same old Shit

Sucks they traded Joyce


Edwin Jackson ain't that good


Nate Robertson will win more games in 09

It more than sucks they traded Matt....