Infinite Dia(b)logue

According to a little piece in the Detroit papers over the weekend, the Tigers have expressed some interest in Cubs reliever, Will Ohman. I’ve been pretty unenthusiastic about the Tigers giving up much of anything for a lefty reliever, but this is a rumor that at least has me intrigued. You see, this Ohman guy, he has this certain quality I find intriguing for members of the ballclub. He’s good. I don’t mean “Scott Schoeneweis, he’s the best free agent left” good…he’s legitimately good. Observe.

Ohman	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
Overall	4.13	65.1	51	6	34	74
v.LHB	0.93	29	16	2	13	42

He clearly was one of the Cubs' first options out of the pen, and that would not need to be the case if he were a Tiger. He would be able to take more advantage of those nasty splits against lefties. I'd be a little nervous about having another pitcher in the pen who walks batters about half the time. Still, looking at his other numbers we could probably live with it.

Here’s the thing, though. If we’re talking about a trade, he’s going to cost the Tigers something, and it may not be something we as fans are all that interested in giving up. The Cubs already have more outfielders than they know what to do with, so we’re not talking about letting Marcus Thames go (not that I’m for that, but at least we kind of expect it). Ohman would most likely cost something along the lines of one of the starters in the minors I’ve talked so much about during the offseason. If that means Virgil Vasquez or another fringy prospect, I could get behind such a move. If it creeps any further up the organizational depth chart or even involves more than one player, the Cubs can keep him and the Tigers can see how Campusano’s big AA numbers translate to the bigs.

It’s nothing to get too excited about at this point, one way or the other. The Tigers appear to be willing to go into Spring Training with the staff they currently have and will revisit trades if there appears to be a need to do so (according to the link). At least that’s what they’re saying. If they’re just keeping their cards close to the vest, Ohman is the most intriguing pot I’ve heard discussed (as far as lefty relievers) this offseason.

Labels: roster, trade