
| Posted: Monday October 30, 2006 10:05AM; Updated: Monday October 30, 2006 10:05AM Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski might elect to enter 2007 without a contract extension and approach his future as a star player might. If Dombrowski expects his services would be in great demand, he could enter next off-season as an executive "free agent" and see if any attractive GM jobs are open. For all of Craig Monroe's success, the Tigers have never been totally enamored of him. He is young enough and talented enough to attract interest from other teams, but not so young and talented that the Tigers absolutely must keep him. Monroe has significant trade value, especially if he is packaged with a young pitcher or two. The White Sox could aim for a younger player and try to trade for Boston's Coco Crisp or the Angels' Chone Figgins. But the Sox don't have a surplus of young pitching to trade after losing six prospects in trades and the Rule 5 draft in the last 12 months, which could rule out any shot at Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford. If the Cubs go the trade route, outfielders such as Toronto's Vernon Wells and the Yankees' Gary Sheffield are likely to surface. The Rangers will get a chance to sit down face-to-face with candidate Trey Hillman this week. But they won't be the only ones. Hillman will also meet with Oakland on Wednesday and San Diego on Thursday. Vicente Padilla is not expected to get an offer quite as lavish, but he could get one in the $8 million-$9 million range for three or four years, which might be more than the Rangers are willing to pay. 2 of 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||