After an embarrassing total collapse last season Detroit returns with a slightly different look but many of the same players. Catcher Gerald Laird was acquired from Texas in a trade a short while ago to take over the backstop duties with Ivan Rodriguez having been traded at the deadline last year to the Yankees. Adam Everett, who hobbled through his own lost season with Minnesota in 2008, was signed as a free agent to be a stop-gap at shortstop while the club gives top prospect Cale Iorg some additional time at Triple A. GM Dave Dombrowski was successful in signing a 26-y.o. pitcher from Taiwan who is very promising but will begin the year at their Lakeland minor league facility until he reaches major league projections. The biggest, and most curious, move of the off-season was the trading of terrific young outfielder Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. During the past two years the Tigers front office has traded away top prospects in pitcher Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Cameron Maybin and now the very promising Joyce. After looking at the minors via the web as well as reading my issues of Baseball America, in my opinion that leaves them very thin at the minors in development of position players ready for the majors. Jackson had remarkable success last season and figures to continue to be a successful starter in the AL Central facing the semi-potent offensive lineups of teams in Minnesota, Chicago and to a lesser extent Kansas City. In short it’s a trade I probably wouldn’t have made.
While we’re talking about pitching don’t expect Justin Verlander to flounder again in 2009 as he did last year or for Jeremy Bonderman to continue to suffer setbacks because of past injuries. I look for each of them to have respectable ‘comeback’ type seasons after struggling through 2008. Rookie Armando Galarraga was a real surprise becoming the team’s most consistent starter and he should be even more prosperous this season. But definitely don’t expect Dontrelle Willis to return to any kind of the form he resembled in his earlier days as a Florida Marlin. He simply hasn’t shown any flashes of that brilliance in over two years now and it doesn’t appear imminent either. Verlander, Bonderman, Jackson and Galarraga will form an impressive staff but either Willis or fellow lefty Nate Robertson need to step up and show they can be consistent in the fifth spot. And actually I would not be surprised to see either of them – or possibly both – moved before the end of spring training via trade(s) or out right released.
Where the Tigers really need help though is the bullpen and in particular the role of the closer. They have let every viable candidate on the free agent market get away from them – likely due to payroll constraints after taking on offensive powerhouse Miguel Cabrera last season. But Detroit has produced some very good major league capable pitchers in their minor league system lately and chances are good they can find someone at that level to work into that role while they let Fernando Rodney & Joel Zumaya share the responsibility. It’s possible they may be fortunate to pick someone up off the scrap heap when players begin being released prior to the end of spring training.
Cabrera leads the impressive lineup with outfielders Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillén and Magglio Ordóñez and second baseman Placido Polanco all providing offensive weaponry. Moving Brandon Inge back to third base, shuffling Cabrera across the diamond over to first and sending Guillén out to leftfield was a complete necessity and has worked to help improve the team both defensively and offensively. Inge is capable of hitting 20 or homers in a full season as he has proved in the recent past and super-sub Marcus Thames will add his usual 25+ too. No doubt Detroit has the personnel to contend and they very likely will challenge Cleveland for the title.
One suggestion to the Tigers front office: release current DH Gary Sheffield and sign Garrett Anderson. Sheffield is an absolute offensive black hole at this point and a disaster waiting to happen in the field at any position. Anderson is still a threat and could easily become the everyday DH. He would also make sense as the fourth outfielder and first bat off the bench…though Thames currently fills that role admirably. Yeah…release Sheffield. That’s really the weakest link on this strong Tigers squad for 2009.
Filed under: AL Central
