Nate Robertson got moved to Florida, a Right-handed heavy starting rotation, for Lefty Reliever Jay Voss and cash consideration equaling around $1m. The Tigers had only recently established that Robertson was the lead contender for the five-spot in their rotation.
Nate Robertson pitching last season. Photo MLB.com
Now it appears that Dontrelle Willis is the only real option to fill that five spot. While Willis has begun resembling a major league caliber pitcher again this spring, he isn’t anywhere near the ace-quality hurler he once was.
As things appear (now that Robertson is gone) the Tigers rotation will be:
Justin Verlander – Cy Young runner-up and one of the true aces in Major League Baseball. Agreed to an extension of five-years valued at over $80m in the offseason.
Rick Porcello – A 20 year-old phenom who won 14 games in his rookie season. He finished number three in Rookie of the year voting in 2009.
Max Scherzer – Fire-balling young Righty who came over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the three team trade that moved Edwin Jackson to the desert and Curtis Granderson to the Bronx.
Jeremy Bonderman – Made one start in mid-June (2009) before being sent back to the Minors to work on his velocity. He came back in a relief role in September. He has had a decent spring, though his numbers don’t look all too impressive.
Dontrelle Willis – He returned to the Tigers in May and June in 2009 and threw two quality starts. However, when his control started to falter he was sent down to the minors for more development. This spring he has been making waves with two wins and a sub-4 ERA in nearly 20 innings. His worst start came today (3/30) when he allowed five earned runs in four and one-third innings.
If this was the 2006 season I’d be psyched… In 2006 Willis and Bonderman both had their last impressive seasons and rookie, Justin Verlander also led the Tigers to the World Series. However, this is not 2006 and the Tigers rotation may have now become the worst in the AL Central.
With Eddie Bonine starting the season on the Disabled List and Armando Galarraga regressing to utter mediocrity, the Tigers don’t have many options behind their current situation.
Even though Nate Robertson has never pretended to be Warren Spahn he is a versatile young southpaw who can be a viable option in the starting rotation and bullpen throughout the year. And, when he’s healthy, he always gave the Tigers a chance to win.
Hopefully GM Dave Dombrowski has something in mind when it comes to the million dollars he just got from Florida…
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Correction - David Ginsburg of the Associated Press reports that Dontrelle Willis will move all the way up to the three sport in the Detroit rotation. That would seemingly move Max Scherzer and Jeremy Bonderman dow a spot… Personally I wouldnt be surprised to see Scherzer move all the way down to the five spot.
