My pleas have been addressed. The Detroit Tigers have had an initial meeting with free agent Magglio Ordonez. Reports indicate that owner Mike Ilitch, President/G.M. Dave Dombrowski and manager Alan Trammell all met with Ordonez yesterday.
Both regular readers of this blog know that I have campaigned for Ordonez all winter long. The Tigers are in desperate need of outfield help, with Bobby Higginson and Rondell White aging and in the last year of their contracts, and could use a middle-of-the-order type bat. A healthy Ordonez fills both those voids instantly.
Of course, I am very concerned about the health of Ordonez' knees (when was the last time someone went to Austria to have knee surgery?), but what other options for improvement remain? I won't go so far as to say it's Ordonez or bust, as Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press suggested today, but adding only Troy Percival won't significantly improve the Tigers chances in 2005.
With Carlos Delgado now in Florida, Scott Boras will turn all the spurned Delgado suitors towards Ordonez. Clearly, the Tigers will have some competition for Maggs' services, but Ilitch and company should be willing to do something close to the Ivan Rodriguez deal to land Ordonez. I might not offer four years, but I'd definitely pay (or overpay) Ordonez should he produce his pre-injury numbers.
There are risks with signing Ordonez, but my thought has always been that the Tigers can offset some of the risk by agreeing to an incentive driven, relatively short-term contract. Besides, weren't the risks nearly as big with Steve Finley (age) and Troy Glaus (injuries)?
Free agency is a risky business, but the Tigers appear like they are back in the business of fielding a competitive team. Adding Magglio Ordonez would be another step in that direction.
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