So the rumblings on Saturday apparently were right on the money.

After The Arizona Republic's Diamondbacks beat writer Nick Piecoro blogged Saturday afternoon that the D-Backs were interested in talking to the Detroit Tigers about their extraneous rotation arm, Armando Galarraga, a Major League Baseball source has confirmed that trade talks are nearing completion, just two days later.


MLB.com writer Steve Gilbert wrote Monday morning that the Tigers and Diamondbacks were closing in on a deal, with the Tigers shipping Galarraga — and his recently-signed, $2.3 million contract — to Arizona, in return for minor league pitcher Kevin Eichhorn (bio here) and "another player."


Eichhorn, who is just less than two weeks from reaching the legal drinking age, is a long way from being ready for the majors. Acquired by Arizona in the third round of the 2008 draft, straight out of high school, Eichhorn made 13 starts at the rookie-league level last season, going 5-5 with a 4.94 ERA, before making single starts for two different teams at the Class A level for the Arizona organization.


Given the nature of Galarraga's non-guaranteed contract — worked out on the eve of the deadline for clubs and players to swap arbitration numbers — there doesn't seem to be a financial component in this trade, like there was when the Tigers sent Dontrelle Willis and his hefty contract to the desert last summer. If Galarraga doesn't make the D-Backs' rotation, the financial hit won't be too extensive, should the club decide to release him.