Vance Wilson is hardly a world beater, and I figured they’d try for a left hander, but not a bad move. It looks like he had surgery on his wrist last year, and he was limited to 75 games. But 2004 was his best season, where he hit .274/.335/.427, which was good for an OPS+ of 97. If he can repeat those stats in 2005, we’ll have a solid backup.

Which means Brandon Inge, as expected, is the Tigers new third basemen. Barring an injury, he shouldn’t have to play behind the plate at all, although having him on the roster gives Tram a ton of flexibilty.

I read over at Reds Daily that the Tigers might be looking at a deal with the Reds for Austin Kearns. So far Kearns has disappointed, mostly because of injury, but he was a blue chip prospect and could come up this year like Adam Dunn did last year. As much as I like Mike Maroth, I’d jump at the chance of trading him for Kearns.

Finally, it’s been reported that the Tigers are out of the running for Carlos Beltran. Not a big surprise, but it could also be a smokescreen. Who knows?

If everything goes as planned, you’ll be able to read part two of my column on the Montreal Expos move to Washington over at the Hardball Times tomorrow.

Permalink | Posted in 2005 Tigers