OT: Jeremy Bonderman to Tigers; Evan Reed to Mudhens
Story speaks for itself
How do the MGoPeople feel about this? Can Bonderman be important for us? Or will he flop?
IMO, I think Bondo can be beneficial coming out of the bullpen, but I also don't think we will need to use him that often with Veras, especially considering how well our starters have been. However, if a starter gets in a jam, I could see Bondo coming in and I hope he can get some outs for us.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^
My guess is that he'll be used like Reed - no pressure situations, either in a blowout win or loss, to eat an inning or two.
So to answer your questions, I don't think it's important, and if he flops, it will likely mean an 8 run lead was cut to 4, or a 6 run deficit was upped to 10. The least stressful job in baseball if my guess is accurate.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
claim to be an expert - but had heard this AM that various scouts feel Reed is a stronger option now than Bondo - concerns me we are sending down a strong younger arm to bring up a potential "retread" - no matter how much I like Bondo - I don't want to stunt the growth of a younger pitcher - but maybe Bondo can recapture the magic of 2005.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^
He's not going to be asked to recapture any magic of '05. His role will be as the last pitcher out of the pen, ala Reed or Putkonen. I think it's safe to say we don't know how he'll perform, but it's a nice story and one with very limited to no negative repercussions. Reed has options so if Bondo fails, there's no issue calling him back up.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
Kinda the same reason you leave the top hitting prospect down and bring up a slightly more experienced guy, you want them to gain that experience. Reed will be better served in the long run getting quality innings in Toledo and right now Bondo can be a solid long relief guy and the front end. Maybe he's good maybe he isnt, it really isnt much risk.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^
Reed will likely get more work now with the Mudhens while the guy that needs less work (because he pretty much is what he is) will be the last guy in the bullpen or so. When the minors are done, I'd expect Reed to probably come back up if he's the stronger arm.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^
August 5th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
A couple years ago, we sent Max down to Toledo. After some work down there, he came back up and threw a 10+ strikeout game. And now we see where he is, so obviously sending him down worked very well
They get to see if he should have a place on the playoff roster. All things being nearly equal, I think his experience makes him a logical choice. If he doesn't work out, there's still plenty of time to bring someone else up.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:09 AM ^
I'm happy to see Bondo back in a Tigers uni. The guy helped claw this organization out of the abyss in the early to mid-00's. As long as his arm can help this team, I'm good with it. Sucks for Reed, though. It's strange to see a demotion that wasn't preceded by a Villareal-like implosion.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:16 AM ^
With young guys like Reed, it's important for them to get work in live game situations. With the consectutive quality starts and close games the Tigers have had the last few weeks, he has gotten very little work in. Same reason Garcia was sent down earlier in the year.
Good point. After a slightly disconcerting stretch by the starters a few weeks back, they have righted the ship. Long/spot relief duty with this starting pitching staff is kind of bad gig. Toledo will have innings for Reed.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:10 AM ^
August 5th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
He was actually half decent for the M's in a starting capacity, but the knock was that he just didn't have the stamina needed. So as a one or two inning low pressure reliever, I don't see the harm. He's done everything he could at Toledo - something like 11 scoreless innings - so you give the old vet a chance.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
August 5th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
Numbers are skewed by two terrible starts amongst his 7 overall. Had 3 quality starts in there as well....and the Toledo numbers were flawless.
But again, he is being brought in as an innings eater. No pressure. If he sucks, no harm. But if he's adequate, a good PR move.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
August 5th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
He only pitched in a handful of games in Seattle and one of those games was a 7 or 8 inning game where he gave up no runs and three hits. That doesn't sound bad to me
August 5th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^
What is frustrating is that the only thing keeping Phil Coke on the roster is that he is a left hander.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
P.s. leave your email and I will email you.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:32 PM ^
August 5th, 2013 at 12:45 PM ^
He'll be the long reliever, so frankly I hope to not see him pitch very often. That said I might dust off the old Bonderman shirt and continue to reminisce about his game 4 start of the ALDS against the Yanks.
...is that this is a smart move that will payoff. That is, until I remember this decision was made by the same people who decided Papa Grande deserved a second chance.
I think Bonderman is going to be a seldom used guy out the bullpen, but not in a bad way. I'd imagine he'll come in every so often when a starter gets pulled earlier and Smyly isn't available for one reason or another. It just may work, and besides, I'd rather Reed get some more work in Toledo so he's ready to go if we call up before the playoffs.
I think you're correct on the larger point, so I'm going to nitpick. Smyly isn't the designated long guy any more, Leyland said he's pitched well enough to be the 8th inning set-up man.