With arguably the biggest off-season move, the Tigers added LHP Dontrelle Willis and third baseman Miguel Cabrera in a trade with the Florida Marlins.
Both of these guys should have huge roles for the team this season.
Willis should end up being the third starter in a rotation that has been very promising this spring. The way it looks now, Justin Verlander will be at the top followed by either Jeremy Bonderman or Willis. The last two spots belong to Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson.
Jim Leyland has expressed his gratitude for having this rotation nailed down early on in the spring so that he has not had to worry about figuring it out at all.
The Tigers lineup is the most dangerous lineup in the Majors. Leyland has not said what his starting lineup will be yet, but I have a feeling it will look something like this:
Curtis Granderson CF
Placido Polanco 2nd
Miguel Cabrera 3rd
Gary Sheffield DH
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen 1st
Edgar Renteria SS
Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames LF
Pudge Rodriguez C
The 3-7 hitters could all be switched around with each other since they are all capable of driving in lots of runs.
My favorite part of the lineup is having a future first ballot Hall of Famer batting ninth. Most of the time that spot is used for a defensive specialist who does not bat very well. In Detroit's case, we have a .300 hitter setting up the top of the order.
There are no weak spots in the lineup.
The one problem area is the bullpen.
Joel Zumaya is going to miss a lot of this season, and he was expected to have a vital role as the set up man for the ever-shaky Todd Jones. The man who was going to take over for Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, is also injured to start the season. Denny Bautista has looked very good in the spring and he should be able to give some valuable innings to start the year.
The Tigers still have Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, and Tim Byrdak who all pitched extensively last season.
If the bullpen is able to hold on to leads, this could be a very good season for the Tigers.
It is expected that they will score around six runs per game, which will take a huge amount of pressure off of the starting pitching.
The team has made some fantastic moves and look poised to make a run at the World Series.
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