Las Vegas — On Tuesday night, Tigers general manager Al Avila said he was slow-playing the shortstop market, not wanting to rush a deal now and potentially miss out on a bigger and better deal later.
Less than 12 hours later, he is closing in on deal with veteran shortstop Jordy Mercer.
Reports from the camp of Mercer's agent, Scott Boras, first reported by MLB Network's Jon Heyman and Jon Paul Morosi, said Mercer and the Tigers agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.25 million.
Tigers general manager Al Avila, however, would not confirm that any agreement was finalized.