Tigers officials meet with Ordonez
Dombrowski, Trammell visit slugger, agent in Florida
DETROIT -- The biggest news to come out of Day 1 of the Tigers' winter caravan
had more to do with who wasn't there than who was.
Neither president/general manager Dave Dombrowski nor manager Alan Trammell wer
e in attendance when the Tigers held their scheduled luncheon with media member
s Monday at Greater Grace Temple. However, both had a pretty good excuse. Inste
ad of dining with reporters, they were wining and dining free agent outfielder
Magglio Ordonez.
Dombrowski and Trammell made a quick trip down to South Florida for an informal
meeting with Ordonez and agent Scott Boras.
Team vice president and assistant GM Al Avila emphasized that the meeting was "
preliminary" and that no deal is close. Ordonez did not hold a workout for the
Tigers to demonstrate the health of his left knee, though published reports hav
e stated that Boras is scheduling a workout for interested teams.
By meeting face-to-face, however, the Tigers have become the first team to step
up efforts to sign Ordonez, who along with first baseman Carlos Delgado is one
of the final two prominent free agents still available on the market.
The Cubs and Orioles have also reportedly talked with Boras about Ordonez, thou
gh no club is likely to make an offer until he undergoes a workout. The Rangers
could also reportedly enter the pursuit now that their negotiations with Delga
do have broken off. All interested teams have been going over medical reports
Not only has the Tigers' interest in Ordonez picked up, but so has the team's w
illingness to comment on it. Both Dombrowski and Trammell told fans Saturday at
TigerFest that the team is talking with Ordonez. Though they wouldn't elaborat
e much further, it was the first public admission from them that they're intere
sted.
Where they go from here will be interesting. Much like the Tigers' successful p
ursuit of Ivan Rodriguez last year, Ordonez is expected to remain unsigned into
February as the countdown to Spring Training reaches the final couple of weeks
. The main reason is his health; Ordonez missed much of last season with a left
knee condition known as bone marrow edema. He traveled to Austria last fall to
undergo a cutting-edge procedure that isn't yet cleared to be performed in the
United States. He was finally cleared to resume baseball activities earlier th
is month.
While other teams might well match the Tigers' interest, none of them have the
history that Boras and the Tigers do with creatively structuring a deal. A year
ago around this time, the two sides were negotiating a four-year contract for
Rodriguez that included a clause allowing the Tigers to get out of the contract
after two years should he spend more than a specified amount of time on the di
sabled list due to a lumbar spinal injury.
That kind of creativity could come in handy with Ordonez. For now, though, they
're practicing the art of conversation.
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