Cotntinued roster speculation: Inge as backup catcher
posted in 2008 Spring Training |I did not seriously consider the thought Brandon Inge could be both a backup catcher and a superutility player everywhere else. I thought it sounded best to have a dedicated backup backstop, to allow Inge to concentrate on his other positions and hitting. But reading some stuff today makes me think my roster and Jim Leyland’s roster may not be perfectly aligned.
MLB.com beatwriter Jason Beck blogged:
Leyland left open the possibility something could change, but he plans on starting Brandon Inge in center field next Monday in place of injured Curtis Granderson. To further complicate things, Detroit’s starting center field will also be its backup catcher.
This makes Dane Sardinha the odd-man out. His bat is weak, but his catching skills are strong enough I figured he’d be carried north, especially with Inge playing center field.
It also means, for the first few weeks anyway, if Inge is playing catcher, you also have a backup in center field, such as Ryan Raburn, who now makes the roster. (Previously I suspected he was the 26th man.) And with Granderson going on the disabled list, it opens up a second spot for someone, either Timo Perez or Freddy Guzman. I have seen little of Guzman. I know he’s speedy. They’ve both had nice springs, statistically speaking. I don’t know how Leyland’s going to go on this one. He’d probably like the speed of Guzman. A nice late-inning pinch runner. But then there’s a Perez … Is it Neifi? Can he impersonate Neifi? Tough decision.
So my 13-man positional player roster looks like:
- Catcher: Pudge Rodriguez
- First base: Carlos Guillen
- Second base: Placido Polanco
- Third base: Miguel Cabrera
- Shortstop: Edgar Renteria
- LF (vs. RHP): Jacque Jones
- LF (vs. LHP): Marcus Thames
- CF: Brandon Inge
- RF: Magglio Ordonez
- DH: Gary Sheffield
- Utility 1: Ramon Santiago
- Utility 2: Ryan Raburn
- Utility 3: Freddy Guzman
