Tigers release Gary Sheffield

The Detroit Tigers recently made a trade for speedy outfielder Drew Anderson. The trickle down move from that move is for the Tigers to release outfielder Gary Sheffield, who said he was in his final season anyways.

This comes on the heels of the news for the Tigers that Dontrelle Willis is doing his best Mark Fidrych impression.

Look for teams like the Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, and yes possibly even the Yankees to at least sniff around Sheffield. Anyone looking to add some right handed power who has cash to spend. This is a bit bittersweet for Sheffield who was trying to wrap things up quietly (for once) in Detroit and now he’ll most likely spend his final season a free agent or in a weird looking uniform.

We wouldn’t be shocked to see Sheffield hang them up entirely. Then again, although he was hitting only .178 this spring, he is only 1 homer shy of 500 for his career. He’s going to do it somewhere.

Update: Tim Kurkjian just said on Sportscenter that Gary Sheffield would get his Hall of Fame vote if it came to that. Kurkjian listed Sheffield along with Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey Jr. as the most productive offensive players of the last 20 years.