Detroit Tigers among a half dozen teams pursuing Anibal Sanchez – MLB News
It will not be easy for the Detroit Tigers to bring back starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. The right hander posted one of the finest seasons of his career in 2012. His performances in the post season particularly made a big impression on the Manager Jim Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski.
According to a leading sports website, several Major League Baseball teams are showing interest in acquiring Sanchez’s services and the Tigers are also in the mix. If Dombrowski is serious about bring back Sanchez, he will have to jump headfirst into the bidding war.
As of now, it seems the Tigers are playing the waiting game. Mlive.com reported that they are among a half dozen teams pursuing Sanchez this offseason. Other teams looking to sign the free agent include the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Tigers had the fifth largest payroll in Majors last season and it is hard to see them making another big financial commitment but that won’t stop them from trying to re-sign an extremely talented pitcher. The 28 year old Sanchez has become a hot topic at this week’s winter meetings in Nashville.
It appears several of those interested clubs have already made their offers to Sanchez and their proposal bests Tigers. According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Sanchez, who is seeking a five year $90 million, has received offers from multiple teams and it will be interesting to see which offer he accepts.
Of course, Sanchez loved playing in Detroit. He had great success at Comerica Park. However, at the end of the day, its money players offer their services for. If the Tigers don’t offer him a long term contract, he has the right to go with some other team.
Right now, it is unclear if the Tigers have their offer on the table. Reports had surfaced on Monday that Sanchez rejected Tigers’ four year $48 million offer. If those reports were true, we can expect Sanchez to land somewhere else.
The reason why the Tigers are not offering Sanchez a long term contract is it could put talks with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in danger. Both starters will be entering free agency in 2015.
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