Maybe this time next when the Tigers are selling again, the Yanks will need a second baseman and we’ll take him off of your hands.

Probably not, but you never know.

Is this supposed to be funny somehow?

About Infante. remember that Polanco can play third, so perhaps they’re betting that they only want one of Inge and Infante around next year. And remember, Guillen is no lock to play 150 games a year.

Unfortunately for the Tiger fans, it isn’t a joke. Sorry Joey.

Wild idea… What if Infante can cover center field? I’d at least give him a shot at it in spring training… If he’s at least passable in the OF, maybe he could take on that Tony Phillips-type role, playing different positions, but being in the lineup far more often than not.

It’s not a wild idea Jeff, it’s actually a good one. Infante played five games in center last year. We had let our other Andres Torres go, so we used Infante fill in out there. Then when Vina went down, he became the second baseman. But he did well enough out there to keep him on the roster early in the season.

I’d just as soon bring Granderson along and have him be the full time starter, with Infante basically being a backup.

Should have proofed my comment. What a mess. Hopefully everyone could make sense of it. Torres was let go and Infante filled in until Vina went down. If I remember right, Infante made the team specifically because he “could” play CF.

I’d just as soon bring Granderson along and have him be the full time starter, with Infante basically being a backup.

Joe,

That’s probably more realistic. Granderson, while I still think they’re worried about his skills in center, would be the more likely candidate. Then we can use Infante like we did Inge last year.

OK, so a list of guys that we have that can play around the infield and maybe handle some CF:

Infante (2B/SS/3B/CF, bonus: primary back-up SS)
Inge (3B/CF, bonus: emergency catcher, maybe emergency SS, too)
Polanco (2B/3B… hasn’t played SS since with the Cards, has played just a touch of OF earlier this year with the Phils)

Guys who we have that are fair-to-above-average CF’ers for 2006, we think:

Curtis Granderson
Nook Logan

I smell an off-season trade. Too many guys for too few spots.

Lest we forget, last year Inge’s primary value to the Tigers was his ability to play as capable backup in so many different positions. He’s found his niche at 3B, but Detroit still has a need for a super-utility man and that is what I see for Infante in the near term. And with Inge looking a bit average at the plate sometimes, and Guillen probably always going to be missing 20+ games a year, Infante will have a guaranteed role with this team for the forseeable future. His ability to play a backup CF makes me think we should look at dealing Logan, because I am convinced that Granderson will be a better overall CF.

Jeff: I think Inge could probably very easily be an emergency SS because he played that position when he was drafted, which explains his ability to play 3B. And I think Infante could probably play 3B if need be. Does Guillen have the ability to play 3B? If so, we have a very flexible infield with the ability to constantly rotate and keep guys fresh, which also gets Infante some playing time.

My question now becomes, do we look at giving Pena another shot and perhaps have Shelton DH? Or should Pena be dealt?

Joe, I meant to say something in there about the Tony Phillips-type role for Infante… Looks like I got distracted and forgot to get back to that topic. But, yeah, I can see Infante getting 350-500 ABs next year, playing a number of games at 4 different positions, and possibly some DH here and there, as well…

By the way, you may recall that Guillen came to the big leagues as a Mariner, and they had this guy named Alex Rodriguez playing SS, so Carlos did play some 3B back then. And he also stated in the press he was willing to go to 3B if the Tigs had signed Renteria…