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Where the Tigers really went wrong in re-signing Magglio Ordonez
The reaction when the Tigers re-signed Magglio Ordonez during the off season was mixed. On one hand, he did have a pretty good season in 2010 before he broke his ankle sliding into home plate.
On the other, it was a fairly severe injury and Ordonez is 37 - an age when it is often difficult to gauge whether a player is in the midst of a slump or has hit the inevitable wall in his career.
There was also the cost factor. Ordonez got a high salary - $10 million.
It hasn't turned out well. Not only did Ordonez spent considerable time on the disabled list, but his bat has fizzled in August after he'd shown some life in June and July. The Tigers traded for Delmon Young. Ordonez is on the bench.
Did the Tigers have other options for Ordonez role in the off season? They did.
One was Lance Berkman. Coming off a subpar season, and a less-than-stellar late-season stint with the Yankees, he was a free agent. He signed with the Cardinals for a year and $8 million. Berkman had a monster first half of the season, and is still doing well (.292 with 28 home runs and 76 RBI). He's also been a tremendous postseason performer (.320, 1.001 OPS). And he's OK in the outfield compared to Ordonez. Berkman is 35.
Another option for the Tigers was Hideki Matsui. He had only been a DH for the Angels in 2010, but had a pretty good season statistically (.274-21-84). Like Ordonez, he is 37. The A's signed him for $4.6 million. He got off to a terrible start this season, but has roared back lately. He hit .369 in July and has hit .309 so far in August. And he's another proven postseason performer (.933 OPS). Matsui isn't much of an outfielder, but he has played 17 games in left field. He was a lot cheaper than Ordonez. And it's not like fielding is a strength for Ordonez at this point.
On the other, it was a fairly severe injury and Ordonez is 37 - an age when it is often difficult to gauge whether a player is in the midst of a slump or has hit the inevitable wall in his career.
There was also the cost factor. Ordonez got a high salary - $10 million.
It hasn't turned out well. Not only did Ordonez spent considerable time on the disabled list, but his bat has fizzled in August after he'd shown some life in June and July. The Tigers traded for Delmon Young. Ordonez is on the bench.
Did the Tigers have other options for Ordonez role in the off season? They did.
One was Lance Berkman. Coming off a subpar season, and a less-than-stellar late-season stint with the Yankees, he was a free agent. He signed with the Cardinals for a year and $8 million. Berkman had a monster first half of the season, and is still doing well (.292 with 28 home runs and 76 RBI). He's also been a tremendous postseason performer (.320, 1.001 OPS). And he's OK in the outfield compared to Ordonez. Berkman is 35.
Another option for the Tigers was Hideki Matsui. He had only been a DH for the Angels in 2010, but had a pretty good season statistically (.274-21-84). Like Ordonez, he is 37. The A's signed him for $4.6 million. He got off to a terrible start this season, but has roared back lately. He hit .369 in July and has hit .309 so far in August. And he's another proven postseason performer (.933 OPS). Matsui isn't much of an outfielder, but he has played 17 games in left field. He was a lot cheaper than Ordonez. And it's not like fielding is a strength for Ordonez at this point.
posted by Pat Caputo at
11:22 AM
2 Comments:
The sad truth is, it's getting hard to find any real good moves the Tigers have made lately, other than overpaying on prospects.
Pat, Tigers are always getting burn the second time around with players or old players. The list is long from Maggs, Renteria, Sheffield, K Rogers, TJones, BInge and so on. They pay a lot of money for this too.
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