Last season, Penny went 11-11 last season for the Detroit Tigers with a 5.30 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 31 games while earning $3mm.

Penny’s career year came in 2007 with the Dodgers when he went 16-4 with a 3.03 era, while striking out 135 in 208 innings. That year he earned $7.5mm as he was in the second year of a three-year deal he singed in 2006.

Penny has a 119-99 career record and a 4.23 ERA over a 12-year major league career.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

They have an outstanding offense, now even more improved with the addition of Prince Fielder, and the most dominant starting pitcher in the Majors in 2011, Justin Verlander.

In 2011, the Tigers won 96 games during the regular season. This means that they won 47 games above the 49 games won line. Their payroll for 2011 was $105,700,231 (ranked tenth in the Majors), breaking down their expenses to $2,006,451.72 for every win they got above 49.

Their top five paid players were:

– Miguel Cabrera ($20,000,000): A worthy MVP candidate in 2011, Cabrera hit .344/.448/.586 with 30 HR’s, 105 RBI’s, 111 runs and a 1.0333 OPS in a career high 161 games. The slugger earned $666,666.67 for every home run he hit, $190,476.19 for every run he batted in, $180,180.18 for every run he scored or $61,162.08 for every time he got on base.

– Carlos Guillen ($12,922,232): Guillen hit .232/.265/.368 with 3 HR’s, 13 RBI’s, 8 runs and a .633 OPS in only 28 games. He earned $4,307,410.67 for every home run hit, $994,017.85 for every run batted in, $1,615,279 for every run scored or $478,601.19 for every time he got on base.

– Justin Verlander ($12,850,000): The most dominant pitcher in the Majors in 2011 went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched. Verlander earned $535,416.67 for every game he won, $51,400 for every hitter he struck out or $176,027.40 for every run the opposition scored against him.

– Victor Martinez ($12,000,000): The switch hitting catcher hit .330/.380/.470 with 12 HR’s, 103 RBI’s, 76 runs and a .850 OPS. Martinez earned $1,000,000 for every home run he hit, $116,504.85 for every run he batted in, $157,894.74 for every run he scored or $52,173.91 for every time he got on base.

– Magglio Ordonez ($10,000,000): Ordonez hit .255/.303/.331 with 5 HR’s, 32 RBI’s, 33 runs and a .634 OPS. He earned $2,000,000 for every home run he hit, $312,500 for every run he batted in, $303,030.30 for every run he scored or $97,457.94 for every time he got on base.

Out of their top five paid players, only three lived up their expectations, actually two of them were outstanding, and probably among the best three players in the league, in my opinion (Cabrera and Verlander). Guillen was limited by injuries to only 28 games, making him incredibly pricey for the productivity they got from him.

Ordonez saw his playing time limited with injuries too, although he end up playing in 92 games. His power seemed to have vanished, slugging only .331 for the season, basically he slugged like a short stop while playing as a right fielder or a designated hitter.

Martinez proved to be valuable as a hitter for the Tigers, who saw time behind the plate with Alex Avila and but majority of his time was as the designated hitter. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they won’t have Martinez in 2012 because he suffered a torn ACL and a knee micro-fracture, but they are hoping that Fielder fills the void left for him next season.

The Tigers were a competitive team, with bright stars such as Cabrera, Verlander and Martinez, combining them with young talent such as Austin Jackson, Rick Porcello, Avila, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister. Their collective OBP was .344 (third in the AL), their SLG was .434 (fourth in the AL) and their OPS was .773 (also fourth in the AL). They also scored a total of 787 runs, fourth in the AL. Breaking down their expenses, each run they scored cost them $134,307.79.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Guillen will earn a base salary of $1mm and has incentives tied to plate appearances included in the deal.

Last season with the Tigers, Guillen was limited to only 95 at-bats and hit .232.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Curt Flood was a successful MLB player who earned seven Gold Glove Awards, played in three All-Star Games, and won two World Series.  In 1970, after being traded to the Phillies against his wishes, Flood challenged baseball’s reserve clause, fighting it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although Flood lost the court case, his step of suing MLB ultimately paved the way for reforms like the 1975 Seitz Decision, which granted baseball with free agency, a great benefit to everyone affiliated with the game.

Flood is considered by many to be the pioneer of free agency, but he paid a significant price for his contributions by sacrificing a flourishing MLB career for what he believed was right not only for him, but for all who played.

One of our readers, Blayke Tatman, a 7^th grader from Orange County, California, conducted a research project on Curt Flood for his National History Day Project.  To learn more about Flood and the history of free agency in baseball, stop by his website. You can also stop by his website and see what current players such as Gerald Laird and past players think about Flood, and what his decision to stand up against Baseball did for the game.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports notes that the Rangers have not made an offer to Oswalt, and that the Astros, Oswalt’s old team could also be a possibility.

Oswalt had received heavy interest from the Red Sox and Tigers, with the Tigers supposedly offering the right hander a one-year $10mm deal yesterday that he turned down.

In 2011, Oswalt went 9-10 while posting a 3.69 era in 139 innings with the Phillies. He did average a career low with 6.0 strike outs per 9 innings and is coming off a series of injuries. Oswalt earned $16mm last season and made $1,777,777.78 for every win or $172,043,01 for every strikeout.

Image taken by Matthew Straubmuller and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Fielderwho hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season will join Miguel Cabrera who led the majors with a .344 average and 48 doubles, 30 homers and drove in 105 runs as one of the most feared 3-4 hitters in all of the game.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, first reported that the sides were nearing a nine-year deal earlier today.

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Betemit hit .285 while splitting time between Kansas City before he was traded to the Tigers. He also posted a .343 OBP and a career high in strike outs with 105. Betemit made $1mm last season.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Damon, 38, is a career .286/.353/.435 hitter with 231 career home runs and 2,723 career hits. In his 17 year career thus far, he has played for the Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Rays.

Image Taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.

The Tigers have plenty of options open to them to help them fill the .330 avg, 178 hit, 103 RBI’s and a .380 OBP void that the was created with Martinez sidelined. Martinez was also the primary protection in the lineup behind slugger Miguel Cabrera.

Dombrowski could go with a free agent like Manny Ramirez (though he would miss the first 50 games), Johnny Damon or Vladimir Guerrero. Or he could go the trade route and acquire another bat or promote from within the organization.

But another option which is intriguing is to try and sign Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and move Delmon Young who they signed to a one-year $6.75mm deal today (avoiding arbitration) into the full time DH role.

Martinez was entering the second year of his four-year $50mm deal he signed last offseason.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Zumaya who is known for his 100MPH fastballs hasn’t pitched 32 games or 40 innings in a season since his impressive rookie season of 2006 due to injuries.

Zumaya hasn’t pitched since 2010 where he posted a 2.58 era in 38 1/3 innings.

Image taken by Dave Hogg and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

We are proud to announce that our PRO Rumors Android app version 1.0 is available on the Android Market.  We spent a lot of time on the app’s design and functionality, and we are sure that you’ll love it.  To download the app for an introductory price of $2.99 you can click here.

Here are a few features:

– Push Notifications to get the latest news and rumors for your favorite MLB team

– Pulse-like view of articles – it’s beautiful

– Real-time scoreboard

– Real-time box scores of in-game action

We’re working hard to add more features, so if you have any questions or feature requests, please send an email to support@prorumors.com.  We promise to write you back.

Allan

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Balester was orginally an Expo and had a 5-16 record with a 5.17 ERA in 62 games (22 starts) for the Nationals from 2008-2011.  The 24-year-old Perry was 5-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 149 relief appearances for the Tigers over three seasons.

Image by Rob Pongsajapan under the Creative Commons License.

Dotel will pitch in a set-up role helping get the ball to closer Jose Valverde.

In 2011, he posted a 3.50 ERA in 54 innings.

Yesterday, we learned that the Tigers were closing in on Dotel. He had narrowed his choices down to the Cardinals and Tigers after having an impressive postseason helping the Cardinals win the World Series after he was traded from the Blue Jays.

Image by sillygwailo under the Creative Commons License.

– The Houston Astros have hired Jeff Luhnow as their new general manager. (Brian McTaggart, MLB.com)

– The Pittsburgh Pirates have released Ross Ohlendorf. (Jenifer Langosch, MLB.com)

– John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Giants are out on Carlos Beltran. Jon Heyman adds that Beltran’s market appears thin.

– Jimmy Rollins’ agent, Dan Lozano, and manager Charlie Manuel are saying that a deal between the Phillies and Rollins will get done.  (Jim Bowden, ESPN XM Radio).

– Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Washington Nationals are now targeting Roy Oswalt.

– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports reports that the Detroit Tigers are considered front runners to land veteran right hander Octavio Dotel. Rosenthal also adds that a NL team is also in the mix.

– The New York Mets are shopping Jonathon Niese according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He adds that the Padres and Rockies are among the teams interested in him.

– Mark Buehrle has narrowed his choice to three teams and according to Juan Carlos Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel the Marlins are one of them.

– The Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the teams interested in Hiroki Kuroda according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. He adds that the right hander may go back to Japan.

– According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Athletics will not move left handed pitcher Gio Gonzlaez during the Winter Meetings.

– The Kansas City Royals are looking for an utility infielder, and according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, they are considering Edgar Renteria and “several others.”

– The Cleveland Indians are interested in first baseman Derek Lee, and according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, they are waiting until after Lee decides if he’ll accept the arbitration offer from the Pirates.

– The Colorado Rockies are interested in trading for Edinson Volquez or signing free agents Hiroki Kuroda or Kevin Millwood according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. He adds that the teams has the money to make the next move.

– According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres are talking about a deal involving Huston Street.

– First baseman Carlos Pena said that he will not accept the Cubs’ arbitration offer according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.

– Sussan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle confirms that the Phillies are indeed interested in Gio Gonzalez, and adds that they are also interested in reliever Craig Breslow.

– According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, Gio Gonzalez’s “known suitors” are the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Reds and Phillies.

– Veteran short stop, Miguel Tejada, is working out in Fort Lauderdale and is hoping to get a Major League deal according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. He adds the the Orioles have no interest in signing him.

– According to the New York Post (via Guillermo Celis of ESPNDeportes), the New York Yankees are listening to offers for A.J. Burnett. He adds that the Yankees are willing to eat about $8 million of the $33 million owed to Burnett.

– The Detroit Tigers are apparently trying to make a strong push for left handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says that the Angels and Brewers are among the teams interested in Aramis Ramirez. He adds that the Phillies are no longer interested in the third baseman.

– Peter Gammons says that the Oakland Athletics are considering Josh Reddick and propects for Andrew Bailey.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports add that only the length of the deal is what has yet to be determined.  Rosenthal speculates that a one-year deal with a vesting option is the most likely outcome.

Dotel had narrowed his choices down to the Cardinals and Tigers after having an impressive postseason helping the Cardinals win the World Series. Knobler adds that Dotel wanted a chance to win another World Series with another team.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License agreement.

– Five teams (including the Texas Rangers) are in the hunt for C.J. Wilson and one of them has made a six-year offer.  (Jeff Wilson, Star-Telegram)

– The Twins, Nationals, Marlins and Rangers are in on Mark Buehrle. (Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports)

– The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen. (Enrique Rojas, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles)

– According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins), plan to tender Juan Carlos Oviedo (formerly Leo Nunez).

– The Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres have inquired about Daniel Murphy from the Mets. (Joel Sherman, The New York Post)

– The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking for a starter, and according to Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports, they’re targeting right handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

– Josh Willingham have been contacted by nine teams according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. That list includes the Twins, Red Sox, Indians and Reds adds Crasnick.

– Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says that the Philadelphia Phillies are “strong players”for third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

– The Los Angeles Angels have been inquiring about Andrew Bailey according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.

– The St. Louis Cardinals have been talking to Octavio Dotel according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.

– The Pittsburgh Pirates “may add another outfielder” according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports. And according to sources close to him, they are interested in former Pirate Nate McLouth.

Image by raisethejollyroger dot com under the Creative Commons License.

–According to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com, the Nationals have recently talked to the representatives for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, though the level of their interest is not known.

– The Marlins have offered a six-year, $111 million offer to free agent shortstop Jose Reyes. (Enrique Rojas, ESPNLosAngeles.com)

– Manny Ramirez filed for reinstatement and teams including the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics WILL NOT be interested (our apologies). (Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Buster Olney of ESPN.)

– The Mets have contacted Francisco Rodriguez.  (Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated).

– The Reds have offered a managing position to Double-A Pensacola to Jim Riggleman.  He’s likely to accept.  (Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated)

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

One of the teams are the Boston Red Sox, who according to Zumaya expressed interest in him as soon as he became a free agent. Even though Zumaya says he would like to stay with the Tigers, sometimes he “sounds like a pitcher in need of a fresh start,” says Beck.

“I think it’s best for me that I can start somewhere new,” said Zumaya.

The 27-year old flamethrower could be a good addition to any bullpen in need of a reliever. And although his health is always a concern, any team interested in him could sign him to a low-base, incentive laden contract.

In 2010, the last time he pitched in the Majors. Zumaya went 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA in 38.1 innings throughout 31 games.

Image by hueytaxi under the Creative Commons License.

– The Texas Rangers are still looking for bullpen help, and according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports one of their targets is Athletics’ Andrew Bailey. Buster Olney of ESPN adds that the Reds, Blue Jays, Mariners and Red Sox are among other teams interested in the closer.

– Troy Renck of the Denver Post says that the Rockies remain “hopeful of finding common ground with Atlanta on infielder Martin Prado.” The Braves are apparently willing to move the infielder and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says that the Tigers are also interested in acquiring him.

– Even though the Giants exercised Jeremy Affeldt’s $5 million option, Major League sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports say that they will try to move him or Ramon Ramirez. The Giants are “trying to reduce the heavy investment in its bullpen,” says Rosenthal.

– According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Angels have talked about a possible Chris Iannetta deal. Renck was told that the Rockies asked about Tyler Chatwood.

– The Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking for a closer, are interested in Royals’ Greg Holland according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. He adds that the team is not “inclined” to move him unless they are overwhelmed by an offer.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Santiago hit .260/.311/.695 with 5 HR’s and 30 RBI’s in 258 AB’s for the Detroit Tigers in 2011.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Earlier this month, we learned that the Tigers were interested in DeJesus to be their lead off hitter. DeJesus hit .240/.323/.376 with 10 HR’s and 46 RBI’s in 442 AB’s with the A’s in 2011.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

In the book’s preface, the author quotes work done by a Manhattan lawyer named Doug Pappas. Pappas, says that a team with only minimum wage players, both on the Major League roster and the rest of the 40-man, would still probably win 49 out of the 162 games played.

In 2011, the minimum wage for a player on the 25-man roster was $414,500. The minimum wage for a player on the 40-man roster, with at least one day of MLB service time or had been on the 40-man roster for a year was $67,300.

The minimum that a team could spend on their 40-man roster in 2011 was: $11,397,000. That’s $10,387,500 for their 25-man roster and $1,009,500 for the rest of their 40-man roster. If a team could get approximately 49 wins with a $11,397,000 payroll, that means that if you divide the total wins a team got above their 49th win by the total dollars they paid over the minimum, you get the “price” each team paid for each win they got.

After this brief introduction of the “marginal win” formula, I’m going to say what this report is all about. I’m going to analyze the “price” for each win a team got in 2011 so we can determine which teams were the most cost effective. Besides that, I’m going to list the top 5 paid players on each team and give you their performance line, to see how much they actually contributed to their team.

I’ll also list each team’s OBP, runs and SLG totals so we can see for ourselves how related these stats are at the moment of scoring runs and winning games. So get ready to experience a thoughtful analysis of every 2011 Major league team.

The team’s payroll was taken from USA Today and the individuals salaries from About.com.

Image by dherrera_96 Under the Creative Commons License.

The Tigers are looking to upgrade 2nd and 3rd base as well as their leadoff spot, all which Izturis has experience at.

The Angels do not plan to use Izturis in an everyday role this upcoming season as they are looking for an upgrade at the hot corner. The Angels have recently been connected to Aramis Ramirez.

The 31-year-old hit .276 with 5 home runs in 2011. Izturis is wrapping up a three-year deal where he will make $3.8mm in 2012.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.