11th December 2006

Tigers ink Mesa. Tigers nation goes: ?!?

posted in 2006-07 offseason, roster moves |

I didn’t want to report this ESPN.com report until it was a confirmed signing. Mostly because I was trying to deny it as best I could.

Anyway, Detroit signed 40-year-old reliever Jose Mesa for $2.5 million for one season.

(AP): “He brings a veteran presence and a wealth of experience in a variety of roles to help strengthen our bullpen,” Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said.

What is the reaction across Tigers nation? Confusion mainly. I don’t like the deal. I don’t see the point in paying $2.5M for an older guy who is not as good as the younger, cheaper guys we already have. It doesn’t make much sense. Unless there is a trade in the makings. I’ll reserve judgement until all facts are known, but gut-reaction was basically what the heck?!

Bilfer agrees, although he uses more words. All the people in his comments agree too, and there’s some trade speculation to read.

So does Daily Fungo Mike have no idea what is up with this.

Lee at Tiger Tales says we could see some improvement from Mesa but he calls it a surprise move.

Update: MLB.com Tigers beat writer Jason Beck weighs in with a head scratching, as well.

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 6:55 pm and is filed under 2006-07 offseason, roster moves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

There are currently 3 responses to “Tigers ink Mesa. Tigers nation goes: ?!?”

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  1. 1 On December 12th, 2006, Lee Panas said:

    When I wrote it, I was trying to look at this move in a positive light (after trashing Sean Casey last month) but I really don’t understand it.

  2. 2 On December 12th, 2006, Jamie said:

    I don’t really see anything positive about this move. I thought if anything, they’d bring in a lefty reliever to replace Walker.

  3. 3 On March 6th, 2007, Maroth cements rotation spot; LOOGY a blur » Mack Avenue Tigers : A Detroit Tigers Blog said:

    [...] Jones had two(!) strikeouts(!).  Earlier, Jose Mesa struck out two of the three batters he faced. I wasn’t really sure why the Tigers signed him, but if he does that in the regular season, I’ll be happy to admit I was [...]