Tigers look to add a right-handed bat

By Sean Gagnier

Despite boasting one of the most formidable offenses in baseball, the Tigers are still on the prowl for additional offense. General Manager Dave Dombrowski has expressed that he is still looking for a right-handed bat that can fill part-time roles in the order.

Don't expect the Tigers to hit the free agent market soon however, as Dombrowski pointed out, he would prefer to fill the role internally. There are several options the Tigers have for a right-handed batter, namely, Danny Worth and minor league 2B/SS Jeff Kobernus.

Worth has major league experience with the Tigers, turning in a .216 batting average in 90 plate appearances with Detroit last season. Although his batting average was not what the Tigers wanted, his on-base percentage hovered around .330 for the season. He also has proven that he is a capable stop-gap on the infield when the need arises.

Kobernus, 24, has yet to play in the majors after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals. The infielder has steadily increased his batting average in each of his four professional seasons, ultimately recording a .282 batting average with Double-A Harrisburg in 2012. Kobernus reached base at a .325 rate last season, making him valuable to his club.

While Detroit is looking for a righty-hitter, they are not necessarily looking for another power hitter, as evidenced by their interest in Worth and Kobernus. The Tigers have the pop they need in the lineup, what this team needs now are role players that can play consistently and stay healthy. Worth and Kobernus appear to fill those roles. Look for both to get extended playing time in Spring Training to determine who will go north with the club.

Tigers Second Base Trade Targets

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It's safe to say that the Tigers struggle a little bit at second base right now, with Baseball America projecting the 2015 starting second baseman to be Ramon Santiago there is a problem. Either the Tigers give Danny Worth the at-bats he requires to see if he could be their option or they move uber-prospect Nick Castellanos to second from third in the minors to develop him, which may be the way they ultimately go; but what does Detroit do at the trade deadline?

There are a couple of players that could be on the Tigers radar, they are solid players, nothing worthy of a blockbuster, but good players that could bring a bit of consistency to the line up. One Tigers fans have seen for years and is a Michigan native, the other isn't as familiar to Detroit fans but they will get a chance to see him soon.

Neil Walker - Pittsburgh Pirates

2011 - .273 BA  .334 OBP  .408 SLG  
2012 (34 games) - .269 BA  .321 OBP  .336 SLG
Career - .279 BA  .336 OBP  .415 SLG

Walker plays both second and third base, but is primarily a second baseman. A native Pennsylvanian, he stands 6'3" and weighs 210 lbs.

The 26 year-old was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and debuted in the majors on Sept. 1, 2009. Walker was pre-arbitration eligible this season and is being paid $500K, he is eligible for arbitration in 2013 and stands to make a bit more money at that time. Under contract until 2017, Walker could be the bridge the Tigers need to get them from their current state to one where Castellanos has made the transition to second base.

Pittsburgh is once again out of the race early and will surely be sellers at the deadline, but Walker is seen to be a promising young player and may take a few pieces of eight (see what I did there?) to pry away from the Pirates. Detroit has a stable of young arms in the minors that may be just tempting enough to persuade the Pirates to part ways with Walker.

Would only take mid-level talent to get Walker; Jacob Turner and Castellanos will not be remotely considered in the deal. Could be a Casey Crosby or Adam Wilk type player or two to land Walker.

Chris Getz - Kansas City Royals

2011 - .255 BA  .313 OBP  .287 SLG
2012 (26 games) - .282 BA  .333 OBP  .408 SLG
Career - .255 BA  .316 OBP  .314 SLG

Getz is a prototypical second baseman, standing 5'11" and weighing 185 lbs. the Michigan native and University of Michigan alum could be a cheap get from the Royals.

Despite preseason hype, the Royals are once again near the bottom of the American League Central. Their rookies are not producing as they had hoped and their pitching is just as bad. The Royals will once again be sellers at the trade deadline, their big name players will be untouchable, but players like Getz could be an easy...get.

The 28 year-old was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox and played with Chicago in 2008 before heading to Kansas City in 2009. Getz was eligible for first-year arbitration in 2012 and is earning $968K this year. He is eligible for full arbitration in 2013 and is under contract until 2015.

A trade for Getz may be very similar to the one it took for Detroit to acquire Wilson Betemit last season. Now stop and think, who did the Tigers give up in order to get Betemit; and don't cheat and look it up. Exactly, you have no idea. Detroit gave up two Class-A minor-league prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez in that deal.

While a trade for Getz may take just a bit more than what it took for Betemit, it wouldn't take much more. So if Dombrowski can find a few minor leaguers that the Royals are interested in Getz could be coming home.




 

There's No One Thing Going Wrong with Tigers, It's Multifaceted

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

With their loss on Saturday night in Oakland the Detroit Tigers fell below .500 for the first time since May 29, 2011. But it's early, right? Detroit was right around .500 at this time last season and ended up going to the American League Championship Series; so what's there to worry about, right?

Wrong. Everything clicked last season. Remember the Tigers chasing the 2002 Oakland A's consecutive win's streak last season? That helped a little bit. But so many players had career years in 2011 that it skewed peoples expectations for this season.

If there was just one thing going wrong with the Tigers they would find it and fix it, but there isn't just one thing wrong with this team. It permeates every facet of this team and makes it impossible to fix this club with one fell swoop.

Rick Porcello's last start aside the Tigers rotation is probably the only good thing going for Detroit right now. In Detroit's last 13 games the starters have combined for a 2.62 ERA. While Doug Fister struggled a bit on Saturday, he has been good since coming back from the disabled list. Porcello couldn't keep his pitches down in the zone and when you're a ground ball pitcher that is death. But the starters aren't the problem.

Over the same 13 game span in which the starters have compiled a 2.62 ERA the Tigers bullpen has consistently imploded and has a 8.90 ERA over 13 games. Among the pitchers currently in the pen, the bullpen has averaged a 1.36 WHIP this season. These are supposed to be the most clutch pitchers on staff, they are supposed to be able to come into a game and slam the door, not give up runs. And when your relief pitchers are giving up an average of about one and a half base runners per inning there is a major problem.

On to hitting. Or lack of hitting for that matter. Over the Tigers last seven losses the offense has scored; 2,2,2,2,1,4 and 1 runs in each loss respectively. The lack of runs stems from the team's inability to get on base; this season the regular nine starters have averaged just a .321 on-base percentage.

A more telling statistic is the on-base percentage plus slugging, or OPS. The same nine starters that factored in to the on-base percentage stat were averaged for their OPS. First, an explanation of what a good OPS is. An OPS between .700 and .800 is mediocre, anything over .800 is a solid starter and anything over 1.000 is elite status.

That being said, when an average is taken of the OPS' of; Alex Avila, Prince Fielder, Ryan Raburn, Jhonny Peralta, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks, Austin Jackson, Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young they average out to .740. With a team OPS smack dab in the middle of mediocre-ville nothing will ever get done offensively with this club.

Those same nine players have combined this season for a sub-par .264 batting average, while failing to drive in very many runs. Over the Tigers first 32 games they have allowed 144 runs while only scoring 138; with those numbers being crunched they spit out a figure that puts their win/loss at 15-17, while their record actually being at 16-16.

Consistency is something this team lacks; second base is the major offender there. With all three candidates; Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth fairing quite poorly it is obvious that something needs to be done, but what? First of all, Raburn should never be near the lineup, starting or otherwise, ever again. Trade him for a bucket of baseballs, at least they would be useful.

Santiago has been solid defensively, but poor offensively. With a .163 BA, .208 OBP and .432 OPS he is far from the answer Detroit needs at second base. Santiago could be used later in games as a defensive replacement but should not see his name on the starting lineup card for some time. Worth is a bit of an unknown still as he has not been given enough at-bat's. He has 14 at-bat's this season, no where near the 100 that he needs to get for the Tigers to be able to judge what they have in him.

Worth has a .214/.353/.567 split, not too bad in the OBP column but in each of the other categories he needs improvement. It is too soon to tell if that is because he is not starting material, but he needs to get more at-bat's more consistently in order for the Tigers to find out if he is the answer to their problems or if they need to go out and trade for Chris Getz or Neil Walker.

So while the Tigers are struggling and the talk radio show phone lines will fill up with people who have "pin pointed" to all of Detroit's problems, but they are wrong. There is not just one problem for this team, there are many problems and not near enough solutions.

Ryan Raburn Needs the Inge Treatment; He Needs To Be Gone

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Let's face it, there is no earthly reason why Ryan Raburn consistently suits up and takes the field as the Detroit Tigers starting second baseman; there just isn't. Statistically, he is one of the worst second basemen, if not the worst in the entire league.

The offense is the problem for the Tigers right now, they are not getting the clutch hits and they are leaving runners on base. Detroit's starting pitchers have a sub-2 ERA over their last seven starts but only have three wins to show from it. The offense is not picking up their pitchers and Raburn is a major offender.

Raburn has played in 23 games for Detroit so far this season, mainly at second but occasionally being shifted to left or right field for defensive purposes late in game. In those 23 games Raburn has had 71 at-bats and in those at-bats he has only nine hits, just three of which were for extra bases.

His terrible at-bats has pushed his batting average all the way down to Brandon Inge territory at .127 and an on-base percentage of just .192. But another stat that shows just how poorly Raburn is playing is his on-base percentage plus slugging or OPS. A mediocre OPS is between .700 and .800. Anything over .800 is a mark of a solid every day starter, if a batter has a 1.000 OPS he is elite in the league. With that in mind, Raburn's OPS is a mind blowing .361.

When a player has a .361 OPS they better be giving the team the defensive skills of a Hall of Famer or be sitting in the Super 8 motel because they aren't playing. There is no excuse for a player with numbers this bad should ever see the field.

Raburn can't get on base in any fashion; he can't hit the ball and he can't draw walks. In his 71 at-bats Raburn has drawn just four walks, compared to his 19 strike-outs, he is by far the worst second baseman in the league.

Delving into sabermetrics on Raburn gives better insight on his mediocrity. In 2012, Raburn's WAR, or wins above replacement, is at -0.9, meaning that he costs the Tigers about one win per season. His dWAR, or defensive wins above replacement, is also negative at -0.3 meaning that once again Raburn isn't helping the Tigers, he's hurting them.

Raburn isn't making much money, just about $2 million, so he isn't commanding a whole lot of the Tigers pocket book, meaning that they need to give him the Inge treatment and get him out of town as soon as the wheels touch the tarmac in Detroit. Give Danny Worth 100 at-bats and see what he can do and if that doesn't work, throw some players the quality of the Wilson Betemit trade the Royals way and get Michigan-native Chris Getz to take over at second for Detroit.

 

Could Patterson Be The Answer At 2B?

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Second base is one of the most glaring areas of need for the Detroit Tigers right now, all three of their options in the majors, Ryan Raburn, Danny Worth and Ramon Santiago are all hitting under .200. While Raburn typically has a slow start to the season, things are reaching a breaking point for the Tigers.

Manager Jim Leyland has said that he is trying to get Raburn going but if things don't go his way soon, there will have to be changes made. Perhaps the answer is Worth, who only has eight at-bats this season but has only recorded one hit in that time.

With Worth hitting .125 and Santiago also hitting under .200 there don't seem to be many options for the Tigers at second right now. Either they stick with Raburn and hope to ride it out or they give Worth every day playing time and hope more at-bats could lead to an increased batting average.

Or they could dip back into their reserves in Toledo. Eric Patterson is lighting the International League on fire this past week and the rest of his season has shown that he could be ready for a call-up.

In 28 games with Toledo this season Patterson, 29, is hitting .286/.433/.327. Those numbers are impressive, but when you look at how he had performed over the past 10 games things get really good looking. In the past 10 games Patterson is batting .323/.475/.387 with nine walks and two stolen bases.

Those numbers are solid and he brings another left-handed bat to the Tigers lineup, and one can never have too many lefties in the batting order. While Patterson hasn't fared that well in his past big league time, he could be a good stop-gap for General Manager Dave Dombrowski while he looks into the trade market for a more permanent solution such as Pittsburgh's Neil Walker or Kansas City's Chris Getz.

The Curious Case of The Detroit Tigers Second Base

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It was supposed to be a straight forward decision, it was made in spring training; Ryan Raburn was going to be be the second baseman for the Detroit Tigers and would be rested for Ramon Santiago. Then Brandon Inge decided that he needed to play second base and foul things up even further, of course despite proving to be just about as useful as a wet towel, Inge was awarded with the job.

Fine, whatever. As long as he can hit his weight and continue to field above-average Inge will be accepted at second. But that's not happening, and his self-serving choice to force his way into the second base position has done some damage to Raburn and Santiago. Raburn left Lakeland, Fla. hitting better than he ever had to start the season - but part of that was because he was allowed to settle in at second base and play every day.

With Inge filling his spot in the lineup in Detroit Raburn was forced to play the outfield and become the designated hitter, with this came uncertainty of playing each day and when playing DH, long periods of sitting on the bench before each at-bat. There is nothing that will quench a hot streak faster than moving a guy around the field, it's no wonder Raburn's bat appears to have been left in Florida. Coming hot out of spring training Raburn has seen his batting average drop all the way to .090, as of Apr. 25, 2012.

Santiago also had a decent spring, but has also struggled as of late, hitting just .153. He has been his usual self in the field posting a perfect fielding percentage. But Manager Jim Leyland usually opts to put Inge or Raburn in the lineup at second base and leave Santiago for a late-inning substitution. While this may hamper some players, Santiago has gotten used to this as most of his career has been spent in this fashion. If given more opportunities he could buoy his average, but nothing is certain.

Inge simply wants to stay in the lineup and who can blame him, his is getting paid to play his favorite sport and all he wants to do is play. It's hard to knock a guy for not wanting to call it quits, but the numbers are not great for Inge. Through Apr. 25, Inge had recorded just two hits in the season for a .100 average. While many may not have expected his bat to come with him to second base, many still believed that he could be an asset up the middle with his excellent glove work from third base. Unfortunately, that did not follow him.

It is a hard transition to move from a position you have played much of your professional career to the position you played in high school, but his defense has suffered mightily in his time at second base for the Tigers. In his time at 2B this season Inge has posted a .963, committing several errors, and several others that should have been charged to him. Because of this, Inge's Rtot/yr is a -15. Rtot is the measure of the number of runs above or below average a fielder is worth per year. And at -15, Inge is worth 15 runs less than the average second baseman. Meaning that he costs the Tigers 15 a year.

None of the three mentioned players are the solution at second base; Raburn was meant to be a temporary stop-gap at best, Santiago is not an every day player and Inge is costing the team runs. Then where do the Tigers turn to fix the problem? Danny Worth.

Worth only appeared in three games with the Tigers this season before he was sent down to Toledo to make room for Inge. But while he was with Detroit he had five plate appearances and was able to get a hit in that time. His .200 average is already higher than any of the three players currently playing the position and he is supposedly the answer the Tigers brass had for 2B when they traded away Scott Sizemore after his brief time in the Olde English D.

Since being sent down to play with the Mud Hens, Worth has had 48 at-bat's and recorded 14 hits during those appearances. He has also drawn six walks in Toledo which puts his on-base percentage at .370. While he still has problems striking out, he would give the Tigers someone different to put in at second and perhaps fix the problem.

The definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result; now isn't that what Detroit is doing with the three players they have playing second right now? Trying to fit square pegs into a round hole. It just won't work, why not bring Worth up, give him 100 at-bat's and see if he really is the fix that they desperately need.

The Bum Is Back. Tigers Recall Inge.

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

First off, I'm abandoning all of the journalistic morals in this article. This is something that infuriates me to the point that I can't do it justice by being impartial and staying out of the article. So here it goes.

The parade of mediocrity that is the Detroit Tigers front office, cough Dave Dombrowski, cough, continues. They called Brandon Inge up from Triple-A Toledo and plan to start him on Sunday. Why in the hell would those words ever come out of someones mouth? Why?

Inge is awful, there is no way around it. To say that he is anything but a waste of a lineup space is ludicrous. He hit under .200 last season, then he did it again in spring training, and got a job! If I could go to work and whine and complain while accomplishing basically nothing only to still be paid, you bet I would do that.

But then instead of cutting the cord and getting rid of the dead weight that has been around this Tigers team's neck for years, Dombrowski passed the buck and sent Inge to Toledo so he could avoid making a decision for two weeks.

Maybe he was hoping Inge would light up the International League and it would be a no-brainer to bring him up to the Tigers. Well, you forget sir, this is Brandon Inge. In his time with minor leaguers he got one hit. One. And you expect him to produce in the show? Good God, Dombrowski must have had a stroke. There's no other reasoning to why he would think this was a good idea.

Not to mention Danny Worth, a guy who hit near .400 in the spring and deserves a spot with the Tigers, gets shipped back to Toledo for a guy who can't even check his swing without striking out.

When Manager Jim Leyland was asked about Inge he said, "Made a couple plays. He had one hit. He's fine physically."

He's fine physically? That's what is important? How about the whole one hit thing. That seems pretty damn important to me. But you know what, I think it's good to add a complete washout to the team. That makes sense. You know what? I've always felt Detroit belonged in the National League, and putting Inge in the lineup basically gives the Tigers a pitcher in the batting order.

This whole Inge saga has done nothing but infuriate me, Dombrowski makes a few good baseball moves then blows it all by bringing back a completely worthless player that will serve only to hurt this team.

I thought the point of this whole thing was to win a World Series.

It Happened - Inge Is A Starter At 2B

Toledo Blade

 By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

No, you didn't read the headline wrong. Manager Jim Leyland has named Brandon Inge a starter at second base. Now, just let that settle in for a little, grab your blood pressure meds and let's explore this a little bit.

Inge will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin, the easy way out for Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski. The Tigers chose not to make a real decision on Inge, they didn't cut him, like many April Fools jokesters would have you believe. They didn't send him to the minors, but they also didn't put him on the everyday roster - until now.

Against the wishes of most Tigers fans with a pulse Leyland announced that Inge will be the starting second baseman for the Tigers when they are up against left-handed starting pitchers. They also decided to take Ryan Raburn who had an excellent spring at the plate and in the field and move him to the designated hitter role.

So they took the guy in Raburn who hit .268 and boasted a .994 fielding percentage and told him to go sit on the bench and make sure you can get us a hit every third inning. Raburn is the one guy on the team that you don't make the DH. He has struggled at the plate in the first half of the last several seasons, and now that he is coming off a hot spring they're going to sit him down and get him out of his rhythm so they can appease a guy hitting .180?

Yes, that's right, Inge hit a whopping .180 against pitchers in the spring. The time when pitchers are working on new pitches and the majority of games are pitched by minor leaguers and this "major leaguer" couldn't get his average above the Mendoza Line? That's the guy that you want to trot out in the starting line up, really?

Nothing about the spring Inge had called out for him to make the spring. Nothing. He didn't screw up defensively, but he also didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Not to mention he still couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.

Detroit, at least, called Danny Worth up to begin the season with the team, but if he is sent to the minors when Inge is taken off the DL it will be a travesty. Worth had a heck of a spring, he hit .317 and can play multiple infield positions. Inge, remember, hit .180 and Leyland said he would not be using Inge as a defensive replacement for Miguel Cabrera at third late in games.

So, let's break this down. The Tigers need a second baseman, the guy that started the most games at 2B in the spring and hit .268 while doing that will not get that job. He will be riding the pine and will be the designated hitter. The guy who is hitting .317 and can play multiple infield positions in Worth, likely won't be on the team more than two weeks. But the guy who is hitting .180 and whines about everything will get to start games for the Tigers.

That makes sense.

Inge Hitting .174, Says He Doesn't Care

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

“I feel great at the plate,” Inge said. “I consider a quality at-bat squaring it up and hitting it on the screws. I’ve done that a lot. I don’t have much to show for average, which I really don’t care about. I’ve learned -- especially after last year (when he hit .197) -- I don’t care one bit. I’m having fun playing baseball, and I will continue to have fun.
"I will never let numbers bring me down again. I’ve hit a lot of balls right at people.”

Yes, that's right, Brandon Inge doesn't think there is anything wrong with needing a boat oar at the plate to get a hit. And while Tigers fans may disagree with him on that one as long as he's having fun everything's alright, right?

With Danny Worth hitting .313 with a .395 OBP and Inge bringing up the rear with a real nice .174, he better have fun down in Lakeland because he might be staying there when the team comes back to Detroit.

Ryan Raburn has made it clear that he is the Tigers starting second baseman, he is tearing pitching apart this spring, hitting .325 with a .365 OBP. Raburn has also jacked six home runs and racked up 18 RBI this spring.

If things stay the way they are right now Raburn will be the starting 2B with backup's Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth. Inge, well, he can hit a lot of balls on the seams to little leaguers in Ann Arbor because he won't be doing it in an Olde English "D."

Sorry Inge, It's Worth's Time Now

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

When the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder in the off season it kind of screwed up Brandon Inge's plans, he had planned on not "being a nice guy any more" while playing third base in 2012. But with the new signing he was, once again, ousted from a position on the field. Many thought that at that point it was the end of the relationship between Inge and the Tigers, but he sought to stay with the team and make a run at the second base job this season.

Early in spring training things looked to be going well for Inge, sure he was the last player to show up to camp, but he took to second base well, even making a number of highlight reel quality grabs. But even early in March Manager Jim Leyland qualified his answers about how Inge was doing at second by saying that he needed to bring his bat. And if this season was anything like 2011, Inge would need a boat oar for a bat to have a decent batting average.

The spring started well for Inge, but soon enough he returned to 2011 form. In his 14 games this spring Inge has done little at the plate to justify earning a call up to the Tigers in April. In his 38 at-bats, Inge has only recorded seven hits - a .184 average. Well, on base percentage can save him right? Wrong, Inge has an OBP of .225 to go with his seven strikeouts.

As Leyland said, if his bat isn't there it will be hard to bring him up to Detroit. As good as a Ryan Raburn is doing this spring, he looks to have secured the starting job at second base but the debate is over the last roster spot. With the Tigers also carrying Ramon Santiago there is a need for another infielder that can prove to be versatile.

That player is Dannny Worth. Worth has played in 15 games, but has just 24 at-bats and has seven hits for a .295 average. His OBP is an impressive .357 with three walks and four strikeouts. With Worth, the Tigers also get a player that can play second, third and shortstop. His versatility is something that will come in handy for the Tigers this season.

The only problem with leaving Inge in the minors, or cutting him entirely, is that he is due $5.5 million this season and an additional $500,000 next season. That is a substantial amount of money to have in the minors or sitting on a couch somewhere.

While money should not be considered, the overall success and health of the team may come second to those greenbacks when camp breaks. General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Leyland may decide to give Inge 'one last shot' to turn it around in the majors and ship the deserving Worth back to Toledo.

If those men truly care about making a trip to the World Series this season they will break camp without Inge. He serves no purpose on this team and as such can only cost Detroit runs and wins in their attempt to win their first title since 1984.