The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported the Tigers' financial problems are so serious they are shopping center fielder Curtis Granderson, the Thornton Fractional South and Illinois-Chicago product. Hours later, there had not been a peep out of Detroit to knock down the report.
Oh, really?
Maybe Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was too worn out from beating his head against a wall to slow the runaway speculation. But if the Tigers really are willing to trade the 28-year-old Granderson, a guy with old-school baseball skills and leadership traits off the charts, then the Cubs must do everything possible to get him.
This would be just as true for the White Sox, but the Tigers surely aren't crazy/desperate enough to trade him to a division rival. Are they?
Sox GM Ken Williams ought to call and find out, but let's assume that answer is no. Cubs GM Jim Hendry would face no such barrier, and they absolutely should do everything they can to get Granderson, who last season supplemented a modest .249 batting average with 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and 91 runs scored.
As a left-handed hitter, he is a very nice fit for the Cubs. He has a very reasonable contract that, not including a 2013 option, is $23.75 million for three years. And as an intelligent, uncannily cool presence, he's the next best thing to Derek Jeter.
With Detroit's economy badly in the tank, Dombrowski is charged with downsizing a payroll that was sitting at about $120 million at the end of last season, when the Tigers lost four of their last five to miss the playoffs. In addition to Granderson, he also is reported to be shopping 13-game winner Edwin Jackson, and is seeking inexpensive veterans and prospects in return.
Hendry has been loath to trade prospects from his farm system, which rarely has generated a surplus of demand. But this is the time to play those cards.
If Dombrowski wants to talk about Carlos Marmol, potentially a closer for the next two or three years, and Starlin Castro, who could have a Shawon Dunston impact and tenure at shortstop, Hendry should be willing. Granderson -- at this point in his career -- is worth paying a huge price to get.
For a Chicago team, he's a unique commodity, as anyone who has spent 15 minutes with him would know. He's the perfect piece to have in place as Derrek Lee sails toward free agency.
The fact Dombrowski must consider dealing him and the 26-year-old Jackson is a sign of how economic attrition elsewhere in the two Central divisions could work as a secret weapon for the Cubs and White Sox, both now and over the next few seasons.
While Chicago's teams are expected to keep their payrolls at the same levels they were in 2009 ($96 million for the Sox, $120 million for the Cubs), if not a little higher, it's an ugly picture elsewhere.
The Tigers have huge payroll issues, the Indians essentially wrote off two or three seasons when they traded Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee last year, and the Cardinals have their hands full trying to re-sign Matt Holliday.
Huge free-agent situations hang over the Twins, who finally have begun talks to keep Joe Mauer beyond 2010, and the Cardinals and Brewers, who have only two seasons left on the contracts that bind them to Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, respectively.
None of this will make Paul Konerko younger nor help Alfonso Soriano hit a slider. But it suggests the short-range forecast isn't as bleak as it seemed.