Dontrelle Willis DFA'd [Traded to D'Backs, Reply #23/24]

[Bikeage77]

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Brewers Nation was arguing that Scotty Po shoulda won ROY over the D-Train. It's kinda hard to believe that the Tigers have give up on him. In my opinion, I think messing with his mechanics had a lot to do with it. I know he was out for his anxiety, but to I think that was more or less a phony excuse for his performance. That leg kick may have gotten him hurt in the long run, but messing with it clearly affected him, IMO. It bums me out to an extent because his windup was so old school and fun to watch, unlike most pitchers today that follow some sort of "blueprint" for mechanics. I hope he can pick up with a team somewhere and maybe get back to what he used to be.

 

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100529&content_id=10595258&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det

[HiAndTight]

Wow. I'd REALLY like to see the Brewers deal Suppan to the Tigers for Dontrelle Willis.

 

Wouldn't make any difference to the Tigers since they're eating the 12 million anyway. We could give them 2.5 million for Suppan's roster bonus for next year.

 

Melvin and Dombrowski have a good relationship from what I've read, so this would really be the Tigers doing us a favor. Certainly Willis offers more potential to earn some of that money than does Suppan.

 

Am I missing something here? Would the Tigers feel as though they owed it to Willis to allow him to look for his own team?

 

 

Seems as though it'd be pretty straight up. Willis for Suppan with the Brewers paying the difference in salary.

 

His FIP is 4.62 this year, so it's not as though he's completely gone to hell like Suppan has.....

[PeaveyFury]

Willis' ERA is under 5 as it is, and he's pitched minimally the last two seasons, but it might be worth a flier to see if Peterson can do anything with him. He's still only 28, and if we can move Suppan for him, I'd be for it.

[jjkoestler]

He's a free agent if the Tigers can't trade him and he clears waivers, correct?

[Invader3K]

He's a free agent if the Tigers can't trade him and he clears waivers, correct?

Yes, although they're still on the hook for his salary.

 

I'd love to see the Brewers take a look at bringing him in. Couldn't hurt anything at this point.

[dlk9s]

We should pick him up so that Wolf can be bumped down to the second pinch hitting option.

[Funketown]

I wouldn't take him on anything more than a minor league deal. He was great from 2003-2006, but he's been terrible from 2007-2010. I always enjoyed watching the guy pitch, but I think he lost it a few years back.

[endaround]

The Tigers are DFAing Willis to free up a roster spot, they won't want Suppan. You can do a Suppan+ for Willis but not sure I'd give anything of value for a guy you coudl easily end up releasing in 3 weeks.

[derflotr]

The Brewers have so many starters as is, not sure another iffy option makes sense. Between Parra, Estrada, Narveson, Davis, Capuano, Suppan, Bush, and maybe even Loe the Brewers have enough competition for starts. Minor league deal would be fine but I can't imagine the Brewers can promise him major league action.

[MilwaukeeCounsell]

His FIP is 4.62 this year, so it's not as though he's completely gone to hell like Suppan has.....

And Suppan's FIP is 4.44.

 

I'd rather have neither on the team

[davego]

Funny. Neither seems to be a good choice.

[HiAndTight]

His FIP is 4.62 this year, so it's not as though he's completely gone to hell like Suppan has.....

And Suppan's FIP is 4.44.

 

I'd rather have neither on the team

Well I hadn't even looked at Suppan's given he's made just 2 starts and then has only pitched in mop up duty.

 

In any event, are we going to waive Suppan do you think? If the answer is no, saying you don't want either is besides the point. If we're hell bent on not giving up on our investment, this is at least a way to try and get some return on that investment.

 

 

Anyway, everyone wants us to DFA Suppan, it doesn't look like we're going to.

[HiAndTight]

The Tigers are DFAing Willis to free up a roster spot, they won't want Suppan. You can do a Suppan+ for Willis but not sure I'd give anything of value for a guy you coudl easily end up releasing in 3 weeks.

Right, like I said, it's unlikely this would work as the Tigers don't have anything to gain, but they also don't have anything to lose. They'd just be dumping Suppan right away.

 

It's worth calling and looking into at least as long as we're not going to release Suppan. Willis still has decent stuff and pitching in the NL again may kick start his career.

[nate82]

I wonder if a Rick Ankiel move would work with Willis also. I believe Willis is a good enough athlete where he could transition from pitcher to outfielder he could probably be just as good as Ankiel.

[Kelbysdaddy]

i'm sure he could be a decient outfielder but i dont think he could get a good enough swing make the change worth it. he showed a bit earlier this season that he could be worth saving. if a suppan/willis deal could be done i say go for it. it couldnt be any worse.

[LouisEly]

We should pick him up so that Wolf Gallardo can be bumped down to the second third pinch hitting option.

Fixed.

[HiAndTight]

i'm sure he could be a decient outfielder but i dont think he could get a good enough swing make the change worth it. he showed a bit earlier this season that he could be worth saving. if a suppan/willis deal could be done i say go for it. it couldnt be any worse.

Yeah, he hasn't lost it anywhere near the degree of other pitchers have.

 

Willis has shown enough stuff yet that he could still easily become a good big leaguer.

 

I'd rather we just waive Suppan and be done with it, but again, if we have to get some return on our investment, or this helps the accounting dept sleep better at night, whatever the reason is Suppan hasn't been dumped yet, I'd much rather have Willis than Suppan since they're making almost exactly the same as each other.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I just don't see what Detroit gains by trading Willis for Suppan. There's no gain there at all. As others have said, if they're doing this to free up a roster spot, they don't want dead weight like Suppan back in any trade.

[LouisEly]

They can turn around and release Suppan, creating a roster spot. The Brewers can throw in a mediocre A-ball player to make it worth their while.

[DuWayne Steurer]

They can turn around and release Suppan, creating a roster spot. The Brewers can throw in a mediocre A-ball player to make it worth their while.

If they release Suppan, they're on the hook for his salary, unless we eat part of it. They're on the hook for Willis' salary, whether they release him or not. I just don't see how that makes any sense at all unless we throw in something of value.

 

Trade a guy they're going to release..........for someone that they'll surely release immediately? I don't get it.

[JohnBriggs12]

MLB traderumors site links to Joe Capozzi of Palm Beach Post tweeting that 4 teams are interested in Willis: Diamondbacks, Mets, Marlins and BREWERS!

[Invader3K]

Interesting to hear, but I don't know if much will come of it.

[TheCrew07]

If he was like a 23 year old I'd be quite a bit more interested than I am today when he's 28. Parra lost so much time to injury he's a still a young pitcher relative to his age, just like a Mark Rogers type.

 

I think Willis is done as a starter.

[crossface21]

Looks like Willis is going to the D'Backs.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

[crewcrazy]

Willis has been traded to the Diamondbacks, according to Ed Price. No word on what the Tigers are getting in return, but it can't be much.