Tigers' trade targets getting clearer?

Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez would look nice in the Tigers' rotation, but is the asking price too steep? (Getty Images)

We’re about 48 hours from baseball’s trade deadline, and the Tigers have yet to pull off a move.

So the next two days should be interesting. Because the Tigers will be making a move.

And it most certainly will be for a starting pitcher.

Rumblings from the Internet on Friday seemed to clear up the Tigers’ picture a bit. Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda no longer seems like an option. ESPN’s Jim Bowden tweeted this afternoon Dave Dombrowski pulled out of the negotiations.

Of course, it was never clear if Kuroda was a legit option anyway. He has a full no-trade clause, and some believed he’d never waive it to come to Detroit or Cleveland.

Likewise, Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie doesn’t seem to be realistic anymore. Perhaps the asking price was too high for a fella who’s already lost 14 times in 2011.

So, who is the favorite to end up in Detroit come Saturday or Sunday?

Could be any of the mid-tier pitchers, though one name that’s popping up more lately is Nationals right-hander Jason Marquis. He’s having a nice year, which he does every three or four years. He’s also never pitched in the American League, though I say the switching leagues is tougher on a hitter than a pitcher.

Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez also appears to still be on the Tigers’ radar. The question is whether Dombrowski, even in the last year of his contract, is willing to meet the steep price.  Speculation is any conversations with Detroit would start with top pitching prospect Jacob Turner, who might be major league-ready next summer. The Tigers have to at least consider it, as well as parting with one of their two highly touted prospects at third base (a trouble spot in Colorado — and Detroit). After all, prospects are just prospects, and Jimenez is a pretty sure thing, signed through 2014. But they’d have to hang up the phone if the Rockies also insist on Rick Porcello. Dombrowski must add to, not subtract from, this rotation.

Other names still floating around, all of the underwhelming variety: Erik Bedard and Aaron Harang.

FoxSports.com suggests the Tigers also are looking around for some middle-relief help. Makes sense. David Purcey’s been brutally bad — and yet stunningly wasn’t demoted when Daniel Schlereth was called up today — and Al Alburquerque is still dealing with forearm soreness.