Why the Tigers Should Free The Beard
The Detroit Tigers are preparing to open the season with Bruce Rondon as their closer. The Tigers already noted that they wouldn’t just hand him the role on a silver platter however, as noted earlier in the spring by GM Dave Dombronski. Throughout all of spring training he struggled and the Tigers even took him out for a week to work on his game. Rondon stand 6’3” and weighs 255, he just plain looks like he throws smoke and he does. He’s a right hander with a fastball that sits in the 98-102 mph range. He also has a change-up and slider in his repertoire but neither rare as affective as his heater. The Tigers are hoping they have landed another Craig Kimbrel but Rondon lacks the nasty slider that Kimbrel has.
Jim Leyland has already noted that his other relievers (Dotel, Coke, Albuquerque, and Benoit) haven’t proven themselves as solid closers and it seems that this idea hasn’t changed yet. Late Spring rumors have suggested that the Tigers were shopping around for a closer but there is much for them to trade, Porcello doesn’t seem to be a good fit anywhere else at the moment. The fact of the matter stands that the Tigers need someone who has experience in late innings. Two elite free agent closers still left are Jose Valverde [who because of his complete meltdown in the postseason has left him a free agent] which isn’t likely considering the Tigers released him. The second option is Fransico Rodriguez whom seems just as unlikely of a choice to be signed by the Tigers. There does remain another option in the free agency for the Tigers-Brian Wilson, yes Brian Wilson. Offering him a one year contract would give the Tigers minimal risk and huge reward potential. It would allow Rondon to transition to the Majors and it would give Wilson the second opportunity he so badly wants.
Consider this:
Wilson is only 30, still young enough to come back from his second Tommy John surgery. He has a solid 3.21 career ERA and a stacked resume as a closer. During his 2008-2012 tenure as the closer for the Giants he was a 3-time All-Star, and was part of two World Series Championships. His career save percentage is 87.2% (171 of 196 save opportunities), that’s only 2% behind Mariano Rivera, arguably one of the greatest closers in MLB history. It was rumored the Mets wanted off Wilson a minor league contract, but the Tigers would be smart to give him the trip to the show he wants. Wilson was also consistently one of the top 10 closers during his tenure.
While Rondon may be the next Craig Kimbrel the Tigers need a closer who can make saves. In recent years they have had solid closers from Fernando Rodney to Jose Valverde, both of whom are elite closers. It’s hard to argue that Rondon won’t be an elite closer, but the Tigers need to #freethebeard and solidify an already championship caliber team, giving both parties what the need for not only the short term but arguably maybe even the long term.
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