MVN - Most Valuable Network

Active day in Tiger organization

Okay, now I remember why I laid off the roster projections after taking a stab at them earlier this winter. At this point, they change very quickly and no matter how well you have your finger on the pulse of the organization - not that I do - you can’t necessarily predict the shuffling that takes place these last few days.

For example, this morning I said Clete Thomas making the Tigers out of camp would probably leave the Mud Hens with an outfield rotation of Timo Perez, Brent Clevlen, Matt Joyce and Jason Perry. Well, according to TigsTown that isn’t accurate as Jason Perry was one of the players released today by the Tigers.

The linked article says he was one of seven players trimmed from the organization, joining catchers Craig Maddox and Kris Rochelle, upper level utility man Chris Maples, and pitchers Chris Homer, Collin Mahoney and Eleazar Aponte. In addition to the cuts, Kyle Sleeth announced his retirement.

My initial reaction to Perry’s release was to wonder if that opened a space for Clete Thomas, thinking perhaps he didn’t make the team after all. Eddie B of Tigers Thoughts is of the opinion that it opens a DH door to Toledo for Jackson Melian and he could very well be right.

The mention of Melian, an Eastern League All Star last year, leads nicely into the next example of spring’s unpredictable nature. To help out with their outfield depth, the Tigers have apparently signed a former prospect of theirs, Jeff Frazier, to a minor league deal. I would imagine he will help fill out the roster should Lakeland or Erie need a little outfield depth. It will be interesting to see if he sticks around after Wilkin Ramirez comes back.

The final roster move I’ll mention was one of the more predictable variety, Mike Hessman’s being outrighted to Toledo. Unless something really notable happens, I’ll probably leave the roster talk alone until the minor league teams starting announcing their Opening Day rosters.

Finally, I always feel it necessary to mention how bad I feel for the cut players. It must be terrible to know what’s coming when they call you in the office and worse to actually hear the words. Here’s hoping they catch on and find some success elsewhere.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 6:52 pm and is filed under jackson melian, chris maples, eleazar aponte, kyle sleeth, jeff frazier, jason perry, wilkin ramirez, timo perez, mike hessman, matt joyce, clete thomas, kris rochelle, brent clevlen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.