The Tigers non-tendered Aquilino Lopez last night. This is not a big surprise, as he was among the league's worst in keeping inherited runners from scoring. Turning 34 in April, Lopez was not likely to improve, so keeping him around didn't serve much of a purpose. Before people start complaining about losing Skelton while a roster spot was going to be opened, bear in mind that the Tigers may be signing 2-3 more free agents, so the open roster spot is a bit misleading at this point. If Eddie Bonine survives the offseason, complaints are valid.
Mlbtraderumors has a list of the non-tenders. Some pitchers (a lot of which are recovering from injuries) on the list include:
Daniel Cabrera
Joe Nelson
Takashi Saito
Chris Capuano
Scott Proctor
Tyler Johnson
Chris Britton
Gary Majewski
Chuck James
And former Tigers:
Denny Bautista
Wilfredo Ledezma
Jason Smith
One really interesting player non-tendered was Jairo Cuevas, who has had an eventful offseason. Claimed off waivers from the Braves by the Royals on October 24, he was claimed back by Atlanta on November 26 before Kansas City claimed him back this Wednesday. Now Cuevas has been non-tendered, and is a free agent, presumably so that Kansas City can bypass the waiver process, but interesting nonetheless.
Sometime next week I'll go through some of these non-tenders. Odds are that at least one of them will end up on the Tigers roster next year.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
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3 comments:
I don't think that the decision to leave Skelton unprotected was made due to finding a spot on the roster.
I think that the Tiger brass is thinking that there is no way that he is MLB ready THIS year. So there was a slim chance that he would even be picked ... and if he was picked, he would be returned.
If my understanding is correct, this would basically save an option year (thus making him eligible for arbitration a year later) for Skelton as he wouldn't be on the 40 this year.
Now he was selected, but I still agree that chances are pretty good that he is returned.
There is no chance that Alfredo Figaro is Major League ready this year, but that didn't stop them. I don't believe the saved option year played into the decision.
Risk losing somebody in three years if he bounces between the majors and minors.
OR
Risk losing somebody now.
I'd prefer to use the option year, frankly, and it's not even close.
But pitchers are MUCH easier to hide on a roster than a catcher. RPs are actually probably the easiest, because someone needs to pitch in long relief/blowout games. Alfredo Figaro could easily be hidden for a portion of the season like Bierd was.
Unless you carry three catchers (and waste another roster spot), backup catchers have to play (probably start) at least once a week.
Carrying three catchers is rare these days.
By not including Skelton on the 40, not only does it save that option year, but it allows more flexibility with the roster.
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