Tiger Geist

So Will Rhymes’ tenure as a Tiger is essentially done.  When Jim Leyland trotted Ryan Raburn out at second base last night — by all accounts the fourth worst defensive second baseman on Detroit’s roster — it has spelled the end of Rhymes***.  Victor Martinez has a bad groin, and Detroit now needs a catcher.  We’ll know in the next 2-36 hours how they’ll respond, but either Victor Martinez will go on the DL or Rhymes will be demoted quickly.  A catcher of some sort will take the roster spot, and Scott Sizemore will return to Detroit when Martinez is healthy enough to catch again.

I don’t want to say “a move has to happen because X sucks” but Leyland’s actions indicated the move is coming.  You can’t have Raburn play over Rhymes, who has no other position.  Either a move is coming, or Leyland grasping for straws this early in the season, which would be concerning.  Worrisome that they are trying to kick-start the offense with a guy batting .226.

Detroit needs to keep Martinez and Magglio Ordonez healthy.  I’d sit both for a 15 day DL stint; if these injuries drag into the summer, the playoffs will be out of the question.  Its possible that either could still hit while injured, but they don’t have roster room for both.

Kudos last night to the offense, who worked the starting pitcher out of the game and hit Seattle’s bullpen, and to Max Scherzer for keeping the game close.

*** — Going with a second base order of Rhymes / Santiago / Don Kelly over Raburn in terms of defensive ability.  Mix and match the first three.