Don’t look now but the end of Spring Training is now in sight and the regular season is right around the corner for the Detroit Tigers. Since the end of Spring Training is on the horizon coaches, experts and even fans begin to take a look at the roster and find areas that the team can improve upon and areas the team can possibly trade off.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com cites a league scout that with the excess of young outfielders in the Tigers organization the team may look to deal one of them for a back of the rotation starter.
According to the report the Tigers will more than likely go with Ryan Rayburn in left, Austin Jackson in center and Magglio Ordonez in right. Brennan Boesch, Clete Thomas, Andy Dirks and Casper Wells will serve as the reserves.
Ken Rosenthal goes on to say that out of those four reserves Casper Wells would appear to be a lock to make the roster since he is the only right handed hitter in the group, he can play all three outfield positions and according to Jim Leyland is the second best defensive outfielder behind Austin Jackson.
Furthermore, one may think that having a left handed bat would serve a greater need since it seems like most teams out there are always looking for a left handed power bat. However in Detroit’s case the team will more than likely sit catcher Alex Avila against lefties, play Victor Martinez and use Magglio Ordonez as a DH.
As of right now I would almost like to see Casper Wells start at left in place of Ryan Rayburn. Ryan Rayburn is somewhat comparable to Brandon Inge at the plate and a defensive liability.
Ryan Rayburn is a player the Tigers should have traded away or a long time ago.
Update on the Phillies interest in Ramon Santiago
Tigers fans can probably forget about the idea that the Tigers could trade infielder Ramon Santiago to the Philadelphia Phillies due to the injury to start Chase Utley. The Phillies signed Luis Castillio who was recently released by the New York Mets. Now his position with the Mets isn’t guaranteed since he signed a minor league contract with the team. So it seems like there is still a possibility that the Phillies could be interested once again.
With some trade speculating surrounding Ramon Santiago, a lot of fans are probably wondering what the Tigers could get for the veteran infielder. Lee Panas of Tiger Tales: A Detroit Tigers Blog believes that the Tigers would probably only receive a fringe prospect.
Based on the fact that Santiago is a reserve infielder who doesn’t have a good batting average you would have to think that Panas is right in his prediction.
Source: Tiger Tales: A Detroit Tigers Blog, FOXSports.com, Mlive.com
