At least six teams in mix on Beimel
The signings of Damaso Marte and Jeremy Affeldt are having an effect up and down the lefty relief market. That includes free agent Joe Beimel, who is attracting an increasing amount of interest from clubs in recent days.
"Across the board, things are starting to pick up some," agent Joe Sroba said Wednesday. "That's to be expected [after the signings]."
Sroba estimated that at least a half-dozen teams have had talks with him on Beimel, including the Tigers. He would not confirm whether he has received an offer from any, nor would he speculate whether Beimel could sign soon. Still, it was clear that talks have progressed this week.
The 31-year-old Beimel went 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA this past season for the Dodgers, making 71 appearances over just 49 innings. Left-handed hitters batted .278 against him in 2008, compared to a .263 average against right-hander batters. His previous two seasons in Los Angeles, however, saw lefty hitters bat .188 against him in 2007 and .234 in 2006.
In the case of the Tigers, it's worth noting that Beimel is familiar with much of the coaching staff. A Pirates pick in the 1998 First-Year Player Draft, he came up through Pittsburgh's farm system and appeared in Spring Training while current Detroit third-base coach Gene Lamont was manager. He cracked Pittsburgh's pitching staff in 2001 under then-manager Lloyd McClendon, now the Tigers' hitting coach. And Tigers manager Jim Leyland was scouting for the Cardinals out of Pittsburgh while Beimel was part of the Pirates bullpen.
-- Jason Beck
"Across the board, things are starting to pick up some," agent Joe Sroba said Wednesday. "That's to be expected [after the signings]."
Sroba estimated that at least a half-dozen teams have had talks with him on Beimel, including the Tigers. He would not confirm whether he has received an offer from any, nor would he speculate whether Beimel could sign soon. Still, it was clear that talks have progressed this week.
The 31-year-old Beimel went 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA this past season for the Dodgers, making 71 appearances over just 49 innings. Left-handed hitters batted .278 against him in 2008, compared to a .263 average against right-hander batters. His previous two seasons in Los Angeles, however, saw lefty hitters bat .188 against him in 2007 and .234 in 2006.
In the case of the Tigers, it's worth noting that Beimel is familiar with much of the coaching staff. A Pirates pick in the 1998 First-Year Player Draft, he came up through Pittsburgh's farm system and appeared in Spring Training while current Detroit third-base coach Gene Lamont was manager. He cracked Pittsburgh's pitching staff in 2001 under then-manager Lloyd McClendon, now the Tigers' hitting coach. And Tigers manager Jim Leyland was scouting for the Cardinals out of Pittsburgh while Beimel was part of the Pirates bullpen.
-- Jason Beck
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