From Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal :
As the Tigers’ season crumbles, it’s becoming increasingly doubtful that Alan Trammell will remain the team’s manager, especially with Jim Leyland looming as a possible replacement.
One game under .500 on Aug. 23, the Tigers were within reach of their first winning season since 1993. But the team scored only 12 runs during its recent nine-game losing streak, and its late-season collapse ” complete with lapses in concentration and breakdowns in team play ” is the kind that typically gets a manager fired.
Leyland won the 1997 World Series for the Marlins working under Tigers G.M. Dave Dombrowski, and he would have a chance to succeed in Detroit, which likely will continue pursuing free agents in a division of modest spenders.
The Tigers could sign a free agent like A.J. Burnett or Jarrod Washburn to supplement a rotation that already includes Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Mike Maroth and soon could include top prospects Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya. Shortstop Carlos Guillen and right fielder Magglio Ordonez should be healthy from the start of next season. In all, it’s not an unappealing picture.