January 31, 200422 yr 01/31/2004 5:40 PM ET Boras: No deal with Tigers yet By Jason Beck / MLB.com DETROIT -- The Tigers' pursuit of Ivan Rodriguez goes on. Both WXYT-AM 1270 and WDFN-AM 1130 reported Saturday morning that the Tigers and Rodriguez had reached a verbal agreement on a four-year, $40 million contract. However Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, denied the deal had been reached Saturday afternoon in a statement to another broadcast outlet. While the radio reports said a press conference could happen as soon as Monday, a Tigers spokesperson said Saturday no press conference has been scheduled. Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski was unavailable for comment Saturday. On Friday, he said the two sides continue to talk. Negotiations were expected to last into the weekend. Concern over Rodriguez's back is believed to be one of the hurdles to a deal. An Associated Press report Thursday night said the Tigers wanted clauses that would allow them to cancel the remaining years of the deal if Rodriguez spent five weeks or more on the disabled list with certain back problems between 2004 and 2006. The pursuit of Pudge has now well outlasted the Tigers' chase for free-agent Miguel Tejada earlier this offseason. If successful, the Tigers would have the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history, not to mention their richest contract in terms of average annual salary. Detroit appears to be the only team actively negotiating for Rodriguez. The Los Angeles Dodgers became a potential pursuer Thursday when Major League Baseball approved new owner Frank McCourt, who stressed the need to acquire a right-handed bat for the middle of the order. However, published reports suggest general manager Dan Evans is pursuing other options. Moreover, the Dodgers can fill that need with a first baseman or outfielder and without the premium price for Rodriguez, who would supplant another All-Star catcher in Paul Lo Duca. Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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