The Tigers have trimmed six more players. Optioned to Toledo are Nook Logan, Don Kelly, and Mark Woodyard. Assigned to minor league camp are Hector Mercado, Alexis Gomez, and Mike Hessman.
That leaves 29 players “in camp” but two of those are technically Troy Percival and Craig Dingman who are destined for the 60 day DL.
This means that the Tiger position players are set and the bench will consist of Ramon Santiago, Omar Infante, Vance Wilson, and Marcus Thames. I never thought I’d be thrilled to see Thames make the team, but given the way things were shaping up I am definitely happy.
The Tigers needed a viable bat on the bench, and Thames will provide that. Also, he was out of options so that if he didn’t make the 25 man roster his Tiger career would have been over. On the other hand, Nook Logan had an option left so he could be sent to Toledo.
I still think that Santiago and Infante are redundant. I understand the need for Santiago if Infante’s shoulder precludes him from playing in the infield, but in that case maybe Infante needs to be on the DL. The fact they were testing him at first is definitely a concern, especially because the Tigers just cut a player that could play first.
As for the last bullpen spot, it apparently is down to Bobby Seay, Roman Colon, Franklyn German, and possibly Jason Grilli. I still think that Grilli makes the team because like Thames, he is out of options. I also think German is still in camp only because the Tigers are still trying to deal him. German is also out of options, but hasn’t really shown much in the last several years or this spring.
My feeling is that the Tigers will keep Bobby Seay to provide the second lefty. This will also allow for Roman Colon, who still has an option, to work as a starter at Toledo. The Tigers have a log jam of potential starters/long relievers and I don’t see the need to have Colon given that Grilli and Zumaya will be filling similar roles.
Definitely like the idea of Thames. Unfortunately it just add another right handed bat, would be nice if they had a good lefthanded stick to bring in late in the game when they’ll have a run of 4-5 righties in a row. Obviously German has had his chances here and in MLB is nothing more than a mop-up man at this point, but I do agree that Colon could use the early season innings in Toledo, and would be a nice option to bring up if one of the regulars gets off to a slow start or there’s an injury. Santiago and Infante are redundant, to bad Dmitri couldn’t play a competent third and you could keep a guy like Josh Phelps, again would rather have the offense off the bench.