Tuesday, January 22, 2013

What do the Tigers do with Brennan Boesch?

Boesch: What's next?
Any way you slice the opening day Tigers' roster, Brennan Boesch is not part of it. Andy Dirks is going to play left. If there is an extra outfielder, who hits from the left side of the plate, it would be more logical to use Quintin Berry because of his speed, and he is a better late-inning defender than Boesch. Or perhaps Don Kelly, who can also play infield, is a better defensive outfielder than Boesch, and he runs well (although not the base stealing threat Berry is).
Do the Tigers just release Boesch? It would seem like wasting a player they have invested three years in, and who has, despite his many struggles, displayed stretches of an upside as a hitter.
At $2.3 million, has Boesch (he was eligible for arbitration this winter) been priced off the trade market? If the Tigers don't move Boesch before the start of spring training, he will be the most-scouted player on their roster this spring. It's difficult at this stage to see a scenario where he could play himself onto the roster short of injuries.

4 Comments:

Blogger Barry said...

Pat, I would like to see D Kelly or equivalent make the team because he can play the corner infield spots. Fielder and even Cabrera playing a full 9 innings when they have a lead has to go. Pitchers would like the idea. I think the 5th spot will probably go to Boesch because he can lefties except for last year. I would trade him for good prospect even at the lower levels. Then we find out for sure if Dirks is an everyday player. He should be given every chance due to his left handed bat and decent D.Q Berry has a niche because of a 4 slow runners in the line-up and he usually swipe his base. Even though his stats do not show it but his D should hurt you. Guez should also be look at, unless his D is bad, because he is a right handed bat is only projected to be only 4 or 5th outfielder. Garcia and Nick need to play everyday and that spells AAA.

4:38 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agree, Boesch's stats are not good. He hits 0.240 with only a 0.286 OBA, MLB average is about 0.330. His OPS is 0.659, not hardly impressive. Too bad, he looks like a good hitter but the stats don't show it. He's the kind of guy that drives GMs crazy, he could be a diamond in the ruff. Too expensive now, though.

6:12 PM 
Anonymous Michael C said...

Dombrowski would've cut Boesch if he didn't think he could make the team and had no trade value.

I could easily see both Berry and Boesch making the team. Cabrera and Fielder play every day, so it makes more sense to have a 5th outfielder than to have a 5th infielder.

I don't expect Kelly to make the team. He's minor league depth in case of injuries.

10:06 AM 
Blogger Fred Brill said...

I think all the comments are right on the money here - and I can only add that Boesch may appear weak - but the Tigers wikll likely try to showcase him - maybe Kelly too - in grapefruit season or maybe into April - to see if they can get something back.

I've always liked Boesch myself - but I can't disagree that Hunter coming makes Brennan a tough peice to keep.

Although knowing Leyland, Hunter will likely not play on Sundays. Maybe Boesch makes Leyland's Sunday roster? I'm only half kidding.

12:42 PM 

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