GM Dave Dombrowski announced that the Tigers will not pick up Magglio Ordonez's $15MM club option for 2011, reports Tom Gage of The Detroit News. Dombrowski did say that the team remains open-minded about bringing Ordonez back, however.
Meanwhile, Dombrowski also said the team wants to bring third baseman Brandon Inge back, and confirmed that the two sides have discussed a multi-year deal. Jhonny Peralta is another player they'd like to bring back according to Gage. The Tigers did however inform Johnny Damon and Gerald Laird that they will not be re-signed, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter). Dombrowski added that they "most likely" will choose not to pursue Jeremy Bonderman either.
Ordonez's option was likely to vest if not for a season ending-ankle injury in late-July. He hit .303/.378/.474 with more walks (40) than strikeouts (38) in 365 plate appearances before the injury, a nice rebound from a down 2009 campaign. Inge is in the final season of a four-year, $24MM deal, though his .247/.321/.392 batting line is the worst of any full season of his career. Thankfully his defense at the hot corner is strong, with a +10.3 UZR since 2008. A multi-year offer might be too good for Inge to pass up.
Peralta was acquired from the Indians at the trade deadline, and hit .254/.315/.399 in 238 plate appearances for Detroit. He played mostly shortstop after the trade, the most action he's gotten at the position since 2008. The Tigers hold a $7MM club option for his services next season, but they'll likely buy that out for $250K and attempt to negotiate a lower salary.
Damon hit .271/.355/.401 after signing a one-year, $8MM deal last offseason, while Laird mustered just a .218/.289/.313 batting line in his two seasons with Detroit. He's fantastic defensively though, having thrown out 72 of 189 potential base stealers (38.1%) during that time. The 27-year-old Bonderman stayed healthy for the first time since 2007 this year, though he posted a 5.53 ERA in 171 innings. He's just wrapping up a four-year, $38MM deal and will hit free agency for the first time.
I’m shocked.
Keep Inge. He lives in Detroit and is the heart and soul of the Tigers.
I guess my comment was deleted for whatever reason but this is why he is NOT the heart and soul of this team…
This is a guy who whined and whined about playing catcher until he got his way and was put back at third.
This is a guy who went and got two incredibly huge arm tattoos hours before a game with the Angels.
Inge is a selfish, over privileged player who has been put on a pedestal for far too long. If you like him so much, tell the Jays to sign him. Let him be “the heart and soul” for y’all.
Lol no thanks. Jays are fine without him.
You seriously know nothing about Brandon Inge. First of all, he never wanted to be a catcher in the first place. He was drafted as a shortstop, but the team asked him to move to catcher in the minors because of his arm. Then the Tigers went out and got Ivan Rodriguez. What did he do after they signed Pudge? He went up to Trammel and said put me anywhere on the field, I just want to play ball. That’s exactly what Tram did, and I’m pretty sure Inge played every position at least once that year. Then Inge EARNED an everyday job at third, and Inge loves playing third. Then the Tigers go out and get Cabby, and Inge gets displaced again. It’s a lot to ask a guy to give up his position twice. Especially when he’s established himself as a possible Gold Glove thirdbaseman. To complain about him getting tattoos is just petty, and to call Inge selfish is just uneducated.
To tackle the tattoo situation quickly, it’s not petty in the least bit. Getting the size of the tattoos he did on his arms will limit his mobility for days while it heals. To do it right before a series on a road trip? Are you serious? Get tattooed all you want. Do it in the offseason though.
I fully understand Inge’s position shuffle. I also understand though, when there is someone better to put at 3rd(Cabrera at the time), you swallow hard and play where they put you. If it’s catcher, left field, center field, wherever, you do it if you really want to play.
Inge comes across like the Tigers OWE him something, when in reality, he would have been let go, sent down, or traded by any other team in baseball over the years. This organization needs to chill out on their hard-on for him and realize, he is FAR from the best option at third base next year, or in the future.
do you know what those tatoos say?? ITS HIS KIDS NAME he just did it to show them how much he loves them
Resigning someone because he is the “heart and soul” of a team is specious reasoning. No doubt someone else would fill the perceived void if Inge isn’t brought back and who knows, it might be someone who’s actually good at baseball. Inge is what he is, a mediocre baseball player, there’s no reason to keep him around by inventing some imaginary reason why he’s so important to the team. You could make the case that Neifi Perez was the heart and soul of the Cubs a few years back but trust me, the Cubs were much better off when Neifi was traded and removed from tempting Dusty to write his name in the lineup.
inge sucks. terrible early decision by dd. get someone who can hit to replace this guy
Too early to call this good or bad, depends on what the Tigers do to fill the other holes in the lineup.
Inge is the definition of a year-to-year guy. His career OPS is .701 which is not very good. His D might be great but for a 3B you want someone who can give you a bit of an offencive spark. He barely gets on 30% of the time. Not worth multi-years.
Good call on Ordonez. Inge should be paid like a utility guy if he’s brought back. Bonderman should be allowed to walk unless he’s willing to come back on a $1-2 million dollar, make good type contract, maybe something with incentives that could increase it’s value. Damon could help some teams, seems strange that the Tigers wouldn’t conside at least offering him a contract at a significant pay cut just to see if he’d accept considering he spurned Boston and made a point of saying he wanted to stay in Detroit. Peralta is descent enough and the Tigers don’t have anything in the pipeline good enough to replace him so it makes sense to keep him.
Damon is a nice spark plug in the locker room, but someone is probably going to overpay for him again this offseason, and I’m glad it won’t be the Tigers. I think his bat is done….
Might wait and see if Oakland non tenders Kouzmanoff before doing anything with Inge. He is younger, better on defense and still hits at least as well.
The Tigers spending has helped them quite a bit as they are still competitive and worth attending
But it must be tough spending that much in that city AND not making the playoffs again
Then again, it must be better than not contending at all and spending little
I don’t believe that Dombrowski and co. actually need to worry about declining the option on Ordonez, as it was a vesting option that won’t vest(as mentioned in the article). There’s no buyout attached, as per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, so it was strictly a matter of it not vesting as far as I can see.
Ladies and gentlemen, your starting LF in Atlanta, 2011: Magglio Ordonez!
He’s going to be 38 and coming off a nasty injury–there is no way he goes to the national league and if he does he won’t be worth the contract he signs. Mags time in the field is over and he knows it and on top of that he has said multiple times that he hates the low strike zone that comes with the NL. The only way he goes to Atlanta is if the national league adopts the DH this offseason.
Wren will be shopping for a RH hitter to play LF. Several AL hitters who looked washed up have done much better when they switched leagues (Burrell and Huff come to mind; Hinske did a nice job as a part-timer this year, too). Maggs may have no interest, of course, and he won’t command a huge contract, but stranger things have happened.
I hear you and do believe maglio will bat .300 no matter what league he is in but you are wrong about his price tag-mags will get 10 mil at a minimum and Wren isn’t about to spend that on a guy who can’t run or throw. I have no doubt he would do well offensively but coming off this ankle surgery I’m going to guarantee that he’s not goig to go anywhere that might make him end his career by playing defense. If mags goes to DH exclusively he could play another 3-5 years but anywhere that makes him put on a glove could ruin him.
He has been hurt most of his career and there is no way he does anything but swing lumber for the last of his years.
If Maggs insists on $10 mill/year, then you’re right — he ain’t going to Atlanta!
Inge Sucks he’s never earned a extension..
the only reason tigers arent picking up the option is becuz the dont want to pay something like 17 million for him next year. they will go back and sign him for 10 million
For some reason I see Jayson Werth signing with Detroit.
They like Crawford better for his defense but I wouldnt be surprised if they both end up in Motown next year seeing as boesch bombed off at the end and they need both left and right field filled.