At his Freep.com blog, WRIF's Jamie Samuelsen (my new Facebook friend!) thinks Ramon Santiago is a suitable stopgap at shortstop until Cale Iorg is ready for prime time:
The list of potential free agents doesn’t move me all that much. Omar Vizquel had his best seasons, what, EIGHT years ago? Orlando Cabrera is such a head case that he made Ozzie Guillen lose his mind in Chicago, and that is a tall task. Rafael Furcal made $13 million in the final year of his Dodgers contract. I’m guessing he won’t want too much of a pay cut, and his numbers just don’t support that salary. He is fast and is one of the few base-stealing threats left in baseball, but with Granderson and Polanco at the top of the Tigers' lineup, he doesn’t seem to fit there. And would you really want to pay $10 million-plus for a No. 8 or No. 9 hitter.
If Iorg is a year away, Samuelsen continues, committing multiple years to a veteran shortstop makes no sense. But that's presuming that Iorg is indeed one season from the majors.
In my fantasy world, I've actually become a bit enamored with Furcal, thinking he could give the Tigers a lot of what they currently lack - speed, a left-handed bat, great defense, and a leadoff hitter that would allow Curtis Granderson to move to a middle-of-the-order slot in the lineup.
And I certainly agree that a guy coming off back surgery (and played in only 36 games this season) isn't an ideal candidate to sign for at least $13 million a year. However, if he's looking for a team to play with for a year to prove that his back is healthy...
But I do think that Samuelsen reflects a general sentiment in Tiger Town, that Santiago would be good enough at shortstop next season. Or am I misreading that?