Alright, Tuesday is the arbitration and the Tigers, as highlighted by Lynn Henning, have some decisions to make. Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon are all eligible and if the Tigers offer and they sign with someone else, then the Tigers get some draft picks. Polanco, as a Type A free agent, is particularly juicy. The problem is, one more of these guys, as Henning mentions, might rather take there chances with the Tigers then test what’s going to be a rough free agent market.
Polanco is the most interesting and in my opinion, is the guy we have the least to lose on. If he takes up our offer, it means Scott Sizemore gets another year of seasoning and we have Polanco’s reliable bat and glove back at second base. I can live with that. Of course if he declines, then we’ll get a couple of nice draft picks out of the deal.
Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon are in similar boats. I can live with both guys coming back for another year, so I agree with Hennings prediction. You offer arbitration and then take your chances. Of course I’m not the one paying the guys so a player like Rodney might get entirely cut loose because he has the whole closer tag attached to him.
To me, it should be a no-brainer to offer Polanco arbitration. He’s looking for a multi-year deal, and I doubt he accepts arbitration. At least the Tigers would get a couple high draft picks out of the deal. Worse case scenario is he decides to come back to Detroit for one more year, which wouldn’t be bad at all.
The other Tiger free agents of note are all Plan B free agents. I’m not sure if arbitration is required to get the sandwich picks. Would appreciate any feedback from someone who knows.
--Posted by Randy from Royal Oak on November 29th, 2009 at 6:43 pm