So we've talked about the exciting positions, the frightening positions, all sorts of stuff. What we haven't focused on is the less glamorous but certainly necessary position of relief pitcher. This is actually one of the positions you can have a lot of debate too, and not just because of the number of spots available. There's all sorts of risk-reward decisions to make, philosophical decisions. We could probably talk a lot about it and really get into the details.
And maybe I will. During spring training. Hey, a blogger's got to leave something for later, right?
But for now, how about cutting to the chase? Let's post who we think makes the Tigers bullpen.
My take:
Locks -- Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Perry, Brad Thomas
Likely -- Robbie Weinhardt, Daniel Schlereth
Possible long man -- Armando Galarraga, if Detroit acquires another starter; or maybe someone not on the 40-man roster currently.
Pretty long shots I'm including anyway -- Al Alburquerque, Bryan Villarreal, Charlie Furbush
Really long shot -- Zach Simons, who seems to have the stuff and numbers but doesn't seem to have the interest from the organization
Bullpens are definitely hard to predict and when you look at the Tigers system, it just seems like a lot of the prospects shouldn't be expected or rushed to the big leagues. I think there's enough room left in the offseason that someone who breaks spring training with the club isn't even a member of the Tigers organization yet.