It has been a while since I have written anything for Bleacher Report; let’s hope college has benefited my writing.
It was a forgone conclusion that the Tigers would trade Curtis Granderson. He was an expensive commodity that we could get good value for in return. The Tigers have long been looking to get younger, and cheaper, and Granderson and Placido Polanco were the casualties of a tight budget.
Polanco was an extraordinary second baseman and I am sad to see him leave but he was a bit too expensive for the new cost-conscious Tigers. General manager Dave Dombrowski declined to offer him arbitration and Polanco received an $18 million contract with the Phillies.
I wish him only the best, and thank him for his services to the club.
In his stead in 2010 will be the highly touted prospect, Scott Sizemore. Sizemore has long been the second baseman in waiting, and now that Polanco is gone he will get his chance.
Reports have Sizemore as an average hitter with decent speed and a good fielding percentage. But more than anything else, the Tigers like him because he is cheap and they can continue to develop him while paying him the league minimum. He will be a decent replacement for Polanco and can only improve as the years go on.
With Granderson gone, the makeup of the outfield comes into question. Granderson had long been an above average centerfielder with struggles at the plate. So now look for the Tigers to tap into their prospects in the outfield or make some free agent signings, which I will look at later in the article.
Austin Jackson, the Tigers newly acquired center fielder from the Yankees, has been called the "poor man’s Andruw Jones." However, it is not known if he is ready to play center on Opening Day. If he doesn’t go, look for the Tigers to call on Don Kelly, Ryan Raburn, or Clete Thomas to fill the voids.
Both center field and left field are vacant at the moment, and while Austin Jackson could fill the vacancy in center,Thomas has done a fair job platooning with Magglio Ordonez in right, and Kelly and Raburn could be a possible platoon in left or center.
However, looking forward to 2010 there is a lack of experience in the outfield outside of Ordonez. Free agency could help address this problem.
Two free agents stand out to me that I believe the Tigers should look at picking up. Outfielder Scott Podsednik is a free agent with good experience.
He has had troubles with his range and with Comerica Park having a large center field, he might be out of place there, but he could be a decent fill in until Jackson is ready to play center. He could also play left field where range isn't as important.
The Tigers should look at Podsednik because he has good leadoff experience and good speed on the basepaths. He posted a .353 OBP with the White Sox in 2009 and has stolen 266 bases in his 882 career games played.
If he isn't what the Tigers are looking for then Mark DeRosa is still on the market. This guy can play almost any position on the field. Remember the old Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs plays every position on his own? That's DeRosa.
He can play any position besides pitcher or catcher, even though he might try if you asked.
The Tigers could bring him in as a backup or an insurancy policy for both the outfield and infield. It doesn't matter where on the field the Tigers could have a need, DeRosa could easily fill it.
Knowing that the Tigers are now a cost-conscious club and are still in need of a closer, it seems as though these free agents will not soon be donning the old English “D”.
But a guy can hope, right?
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