Tigers reel in pair of big fish
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Detroit Tigers reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday to acquire all-stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins for a package of six players, an unexpected blockbuster trade that developed quickly at the winter meetings.
In a huge deal that took the spotlight away from Boston's pursuit of Johan Santana, Florida gets lefty Andrew Miller, outfielder Cameron Maybin and four other prospects from the Tigers, a baseball official with knowledge of the talks said on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been finalized.
Willis was on vacation when he heard the news.
"I'm in Mexico right now with my family. I'm kind of busy," he told The Associated Press.
"It's very serious, but nothing is finalized yet because some issues need to get worked out," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the AP.
Florida didn't even approach the Tigers until Tuesday morning. The Marlins told the Tigers they could have both stars for those six players, then Detroit called back about two hours later and agreed, the baseball official said.
"If it does happen, obviously they're getting two very good players," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who managed the Marlins in 2006.
Willis, the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time all-star, is coming off a down year in which he went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA.
Cabrera and Willis were the last players left from Florida's 2003 championship team. Unable to secure a new ballpark, the Marlins keep shedding players when they are due to earn huge salaries. Cabrera made $7.4 million this year and Willis $6.45 million.
Boston, meanwhile, was focused on Santana, the Minnesota Twins' two-time Cy Young Award winner. Finding the price too high, the Yankees ended their efforts to acquire the 28-year-old left-hander.
Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner had set a Monday deadline for an agreement with the Twins.
"A deadline is a deadline. It was pretty much done as of this morning," he said. "He's a fine pitcher, but there's a lot of things that go into this. This isn't fantasy baseball."
In other news:
• Power-hitting outfielder Jose Guillen and the Kansas City Royals reached a preliminary agreement on a $36 million, three-year contract, a deal subject to him passing a physical.
• NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy and the San Diego Padres reached a preliminary agreement on a $52 million, three-year extension through 2012, a deal subject to a physical.
• Denny Bautista was acquired by the Tigers from the Colorado Rockies for Jose Capellan in a swap of right-handed pitchers.
• The Yankees reached a tentative agreement to trade Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo in an exchange of young pitchers.