Baseball

Avila has been working out with Cabrera and says that Miggy is excited about moving to third base to accommodate Prince Fielder. He should be able to gain a bit more lateral movement with some pounds shed, but there's no doubt he's going to be a well below average defensive third baseman regardless. He could ultimately see plenty of time in the DH slot if things don't work out at third base, but the Tigers will give him every opportunity to stick at the hot corner.

According to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, Penny will earn $4 million in 2012 with an additional $3.5 million available through performance-based incentives. The deal also includes a $4.5 million mutual option for 2013, which will become a player option if Penny throws 150 innings or wins 12 games, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. With that kind of market available to him overseas, Penny might never return to the major leagues.

The dollar amount is not yet available. Penny failed to draw much free agent interest among major leagues teams this winter after posting an ugly 5.30 ERA and 74/62 K/BB ratio across 181 2/3 innings last year for the Tigers. He may try to return to the bigs next offseason.

Ordonez has reportedly made "consistent progress" in his recovery from ankle surgery and expects to play in 2012 despite being active for just 92 games last season. If he signs with the Athletics, it would only be on a minor league contract.

Dlugach, 28, spent the majority of his career in Detroit's farm system before a brief stint on Boston's 40-man roster this past season. A sixth round pick in 2004, he's strictly organizational depth for the Tigers.

We learned last week that Penny was "weighing an opportunity" to pitch for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League. Japanese website Sponichi is now reporting that a deal is close. "The deal has not been finalized yet, but I hear we are in the final stages," said Fukuoka team chairman Sadaharu Oh. "We see him as a pitcher for our starting rotation." Penny wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday that while he had offers from MLB teams, he had a "much better offer in Japan." The 33-year-old right-hander had a lousy 5.30 ERA and 74/62 K/BB ratio over 181 2/3 innings last season for the Tigers.

Cabrera played the position for a couple years with the Marlins, but he has a much different body type now and left field at Detroit's Comerica Park is more spacious than most. Instead, the Tigers are going to continue with their plan of trying the 28-year-old slugger at the hot corner. We'd bet on him ultimately splitting time between first base and DH with Prince Fielder in 2012.