With Magglio Ordonez Earning His Playing Time, The Option Issue Is Dead

The hand-wringing has begun all over again.

Unless he has an injury in the next few weeks, Magglio Ordonez will collect $18 million from the Detroit Tigers in 2010.

If that happens, nine players will account for $100 million in payroll, and neither Justin Verlander nor Edwin Jackson is among them.

This obviously was a concern for many, as it should have been.

Fretting about Ordonez's contract situation peaked in June, when there was still time to do something about it.

However, it should not be a concern now. Ordonez has hit his way out of his slump, and made the issue a moot point.

The time to release Ordonez was in early-to-mid July. His average had fallen—with his on-base-percentage-plus-slugging at a paltry .663 at one point in July—and his extra-base power had all but fallen off the table. He was best-suited as a platoon with Clete Thomas in right field, so that's where manager Jim Leyland put him.

He wasn't particularly impressive in that role, either.

So at that point, with Ordonez essentially a worthless cog for the Tigers, when looked at from a baseball perspective, he should have been issued his release. Detroit would have owed him $3 million next year, but no harm, no foul. A pretty good argument from the Tigers could be made that the move was made for baseball reasons.

Taken from a ticket-sales perspective, Ordonez remains one of the most popular players on the team, and to release him could have had greater repercussions. You never hear that point made.

But a funny thing happened with Ordonez in a platoon: He started to get his swing back.

When outfielder Josh Anderson was designated for assignment—and later traded to the Royals—on July 25, the platoon ended. Ordonez saw his playing time increase greatly, and he started to see right-handed pitching again.

Recipe for disaster, right? He hurts the team, and he writes himself a nice paycheck for 2010.

It turns out, no.

Only July 26, Ordonez had his second multi-hit game of the month. Since then, he has had six in 18 games.

His average in the month of August is .373, with an OPS of 1.026, comprised of a .418 OBP and .608 SLG. Among regular batters, he leads the team in all three categories this month. (Only rookie Alex Avila is ahead Ordonez, but with half the at-bats.)

And, oh yes, the Tigers are holding a narrow 2-1/2 game lead over the Chicago White Sox in what has become a knock-down, drag-out fight.

You don't owe Ordonez playing time. His contract didn't require playing time for a corner outfielder whose game more resembled a light-hitting shortstop.

But remind me again why Leyland is expected to keep Ordonez's bat out of the lineup when he's hitting like he is today.

Something about 2010?

“We'll get 'em next year!” is the solace of fans whose teams are losing. The Tigers are winning.

Given the mess next season is already shaping up to become, the present looks a whole lot better than the future. I'll take the division lead with just a quarter of the season left to be played, thank you.

So will the Tigers, even if costs them an extra $15 million.

But that's OK, they'll start earning some of it back in added playoff revenue, if Ordonez helps them hold onto that division lead for the next six weeks.

Like it or not, Ordonez is going to be around next year.

It's time for the hand-wringing to end.