Zach Miner Designated for Assignment

The Tigers made a roster move today to clear space for the newest Tiger, Victor Martinez. RHP Zach Miner, who missed all of 2010 with injuries, was designated for assignment today. The Tigers would have non-tendered Miner on Thursday, but with the need for an open spot, they made this move today. Miner will become a free agent, but can re-sign with Detroit.

What a grand off-season this has been for the Tigers. So far, they’ve parted ways with two of my favorite whipping boys in Eddie Bonine and now Miner. It’s as if Dave Dombrowski has been reading MCB on a daily basis.

When healthy, miner had the stuff to get batters out, especially via the ground ball. Though he seemed more comfortable when used as a starter, Jim Leyland always liked having the sinkerballer as a weapon in the bullpen. Weapon may be an odd choice of words there, however, as Miner rarely trusted his stuff enough to actually attack the strike zone on a regular basis. Often, to me anyway, he looked as if there were a thousand places he would rather be than on the mound. That might not be any kind of statistical evidence as to why this was a good move, but it’s my two cents.

If Miner is not brought back, and if he were it would only be on a minor league contract, the Tigers will still have a need for a long man in the bullpen. That job was held by Bonine last year and Miner in years prior. Alfredo Figaro might be an internal candidate for the job, but he hasn’t ever done anything at the major league level to inspire confidence either.

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