Nice to know You, Son of Steve

It was only a matter of time before the Tigers made a roster move to make room for Francisco Cruceta. That move came today, as Jason (Son of Steve) Grilli was shipped off to pitching hell (Colorado) for relief prospect Zach Simons. This marks the end of a frustrating era, but one that may ultimately pay off. If the Tigers' perception of faith in Grilli led to getting a decent prospect in return, could it be worth all of the unjustified high leverage innings and stubborn patience with him? Probably not. Unfortunately, this deal comes right after I find a great nickname for him. How many times did we hear "Son of former Tigers' reliever Steve Grilli" in reference to Jason? I can understand if his dad was John Hiller or Mickey Lolich, but Steve Grilli went down in history as Jason will, a dime-a-dozen relief pitcher.

Simons, 22, was a second round pick in 2005. He struggled as a starter his first two seasons before starting to put up decent numbers in relief last season. In 13.1 innings in High-A Modesto, Simons has 14 strikeouts, 9 walks, and a 2.70 ERA. I'll work on finding a scouting report for him. Just based on his numbers and other pitchers Dave Dombrowski has acquired, I'm guessing he's a hard thrower with command problems, who has had problems developing an off-speed pitch to get hitters out over the course of a game.