Even though assistant general manager Al Avila announced to the media that his team was likely finished making deals, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reported on Friday that the Tigers are interested in the services of New York Mets outfielder Scott Hairston:
#Tigers interested in #Mets outfielder Scott Hairston, sources say.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 27, 2012
The 32-year-old Hairston has bounced around during his nine-year major league career, but appears to have found a solid niche with the Mets this season. Though he's hitting a respectable .259 through 83 games with a less-than-stellar .300 on-base percentage, Hairston has tallied 12 home runs, 39 RBI and five stolen bases, which aren't exactly too shabby when extrapolated over a 162-game campaign.
But even as the Tigers' interest in Hairston probably says a lot more about other players on Detroit's roster than Hairston himself (can Quintin Berry keep it up? is Andy Dirks not making enough progress?), Adam Rubin of ESPN.com revealed that the two sides are still unlikely to swing a deal:
The conversation between Tigers and Mets was about Scott Hairston. As I mentioned, unlikely something materializes.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) July 27, 2012
Considering how the Tigers just finished shipping away a couple of prospects in the Omar Infante-Anibal Sanchez trade, it's hard to imagine Dave Dombrowski aggressively going after a guy like Hairston armed with player of two from his farm system.
And aside from a .308 batting average against left-handed pitchers this season, Hairston could struggle to see the lineup most games in the outfield if he came to Detroit, and would have to contend with Delmon Young on a day-to-day basis for the designated hitter spot. Hairston is an intriguing player, to be sure, but one that the Tigers probably should avoid giving too much for at this point.
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