Daily Fungo Mike’s Questions: Part 3
posted in 2008 season |- Would they deal Magglio Ordonez as some suggest?
I think if the right deal came up, they might deal Maggs. But I find it extremely unlikely, because the front office and team owner are likely aware and sensitive to public perception of the team. And the Tigers can’t afford to look like they’re punting the 2009 season, even if it makes them better in the long run. So unless a real exciting, major-league ready prospect comes back in return (which I doubt) Maggs is probably a Tiger in 2009 and beyond.
- How does Jeremy Bonderman recover?
Just based on the comparisons to Kenny Rogers, and recent news that Bonderman is coming along well, I think we can expect to see JB back in the Tigers rotation next April. And based on how Rogers recovered from a similar procedure, at an older age, I think Bonderman should be able to get back to some form of pre-injury ability. As much as we like to joke about the changeup, Bonderman was pretty effective without it. The Tigers may watn to give up on it and just let Bonderman be Bonderman. Maybe he’ll never be a true staff ace, but he did pretty good.
- Is Clete Thomas on the big club to stay?
Clete Thomas just strikes me as a tweener. Or a AAAA guy as some would say. He’s good enough to contribute at the major league level, but not good enough to hold his own year-in and year-out. He’s a decent role player with his play in the field, at least.
Sphere It
Clete Thomas is an intriguing player. However, we don’t really have a spot for him next year. Also, he doesn’t have the power of Matt Joyce, which makes Joyce the more viable player over the long term. I think Clete has some skills, though.
Agree about Magglio. He still has a lot of production left in him. Unless you were to get some can’t miss guys, it wouldn’t be worth a trade.