Romine in mix to replace Iglesias for Tigers

Tigers officials say they will replace injured shortstop Jose Iglesias in-house -- which now includes newly acquired infielder Andrew Romine.

The Tigers shipped spot starting lefty Jose Alvarez to the Los Angeles Angels on March 21 for Romine with the expectation the infielder will be part of a shortstop platoon.

"We talked about having a shortstop that can catch the ball and run a little bit," general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "He fits the description.

"We look for him to be on our big-league club and part of the (shortstop) mix. How else we'll go, I'm not sure at this point."

In addition to learning that Iglesias will be out for most, if not all, of this season due to stress fractures in both shins, Detroit got a double-dose of bad injury news when it announced March 21 that erstwhile setup man Bruce Rondon will miss the season due to impending Tommy John surgery.

Romine was acquired in part because he is a switch-hitter, which means he would be a left-handed batting alternative to either Danny Worth or Hernan Perez. There is little doubt the Tigers will be watching to see if teams want to shed other shortstops as Spring Training winds down.

"You're always open to anything," Dombrowski said. "We'll continue to see what other options are out there. If we can get better, we will."

Dombrowski's indication that the Tigers will carry two players to cover shortstop means the team is out of the market for a left-handed bat to replace injured Andy Dirks, who underwent back surgery earlier in March and will be out 12 weeks. Don Kelly will be the left-handed bat in the outfield when manager Brad Ausmus needs one, along with utility man Steve Lombardozzi.

Iglesias will miss 4-6 months, during which he'll be limited to swimming and light bicycle riding for conditioning. He will be re-examined in four months to determine whether he can resume baseball work, after which it would be about another month (deep into August) before he can return to the Tigers.

"That late into the year, my thought process is that it would be more unlikely than likely (that Iglesias will play again this season)," Dombrowski said. "My understanding, though, is that he will be fine for next season."

Howls immediately went out that Detroit should sign free agent Stephen Drew or trade for a high-profile shortstop.

But the Tigers are not inclined to send a first-round draft choice to league rival Boston, the cost for signing Drew, for a relatively short-term replacement. No. 1 draft choices are prized too highly, and missing three No. 1s in a row (prior to last June) has left the farm system thin of prospects other teams might accept for a one-season replacement.

Detroit's top organizational replacements before the acquisition of Romine were Worth, Perez or Eugenio Suarez, the latter being regarded as a long shot.

The Tigers will watch as Spring Training nears its end to see which, if any, shortstops become available. If any are shopped, the Tigers could end up dealing a low-level prospect and/or paying a fraction of a salary.

Worth has as much Major League experience as Romine, but an indication of his status with the Tigers was that he was designated for assignment during the winter.

He is out of options and must be designated for assignment or released if he does not make the team. Worth has seen action over several seasons with Detroit as a utility infielder but is regarded as a capable shortstop who might hit .250. Romine is a similar type hitter.

Getting Worth back on the roster would not be a problem since Detroit could shift Dirks to the 60-day disabled list.

Perez is seen as a better second baseman than shortstop, and until Iglesias became sidelined he was destined to play second for Triple-A Toledo. Perez has not hit in brief opportunities because he chases breaking pitches off the plate and was not hitting this spring either.

Suarez spent most of last season in Double-A and his ability to hit Major League pitching is questionable. He was slated to open this season as the shortstop at Toledo.

"We're not going to find anyone to play defense as well as Jose Iglesias. He's an important member of our club," Dombrowski said. "However, I want to emphasize the defensive aspect of replacing him. It'll be someone who can play solid defense. That's more important to us than someone who would give us more offense. We feel we have someone who can catch the ball."

Dombrowski said he didn't see Romine as an everyday shortstop.

"We don't project him to be," Dombrowski said. "Could he be? Perhaps, but we look at him more as a guy who can play 3-4 days a week."

NOTES, QUOTES:

--RHP Bruce Rondon, who just seemed to be emerging as the kind of late-inning force Detroit hoped he would be last spring, will be lost to the Tigers this season due to an elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery soon. Rondon recently complained of elbow soreness, and an exam showed he will need to have the ligament in his right elbow replaced. Rondon had a 1.29 ERA in seven spring appearances. "We've had a lot of injury issues this spring," GM Dave Dombrowski said, "but that's why you try to build depth if you possibly can. We have some guys who will have to step up." Dombrowski indicated the Tigers will try to fill Rondon's projected role as the setup man internally. It could open the way for RHP Evan Reed, who is out of options and is having a good spring, to make the roster. "(Rondon) just came in one day and said he was a little tender," Dombrowski said. "At that point, we figured he should see a doctor. Before that, he hadn't complained of any problems at all. Our goal at this time is to handle it (the replacement) internally."

--SS Jose Iglesias is out for 4-6 months with stress fractures in both shins, and Detroit is anticipating the flashy shortstop won't be able to play all season. "Jose's activity will be limited to non-weight-bearing conditioning, such as biking and swimming, for the next 4-6 months," GM Dave Dombrowski said. "He will be reevaluated at the four-month mark." Even if he is cleared to resume baseball after four months, it will be at least another month before he is ready to resume his position with the Tigers. "That late into the year, my thought process is that it would be more unlikely than likely (that Iglesias will play again this season)," Dombrowski said. "My understanding, though, is that he will be fine for next season." Iglesias played with shin splints most of last season but was able to play just one exhibition game before getting shut down.

--SS Danny Worth, in camp on a non-roster invitation, is a leading candidate to replace injured SS Jose Iglesias for the Tigers. Worth, 28, has had a career marked by aliments and injuries and was removed from the 40-man roster during the winter to make room for LF Rajai Davis. Worth has a .242 batting average in 115 games with Detroit and is a career .248 hitter in the minors. "He's got the most experience playing at the big league level, played shortstop at the big league level," manager Brad Ausmus said. "He probably wouldn't be as star struck by the big stage." "It's not a different feel (from last spring, when he was cut at the end of camp)," Worth said. "If anything, I feel less of it from last year, just because I know all the stuff that can happen. I don't read too much into it or think about it too much. I'm just trying to get ready for the year. There's still a lot of spring left. Anything can happen."

--IF Andrew Romine, 28, was acquired by Detroit on March 21 from the Los Angeles Angels in return for LHP Jose Alvarez. The switch-hitting Romine is a .250 career hitter with no home runs and 11 RBIs in 152 Major League at-bats, 108 coming last year for the Angels. The intention now is to have Romine combine with another shortstop to fill in for injured SS Jose Iglesias. "We talked about having a shortstop that can catch the ball and run a little bit," GM Dave Dombrowski said. "He fits the description. We look for him to be on our big-league club and part of the (shortstop) mix. How else we'll go, I'm not sure at this point. We feel comfortable this is a good solution for us with the mix of other guys we have. It gives us a left-handed hitter, so he fits what we need for our ball club." Dombrowski added he did not feel Romine is an everyday shortstop. "Could he be? Perhaps, but we look at him more as a guy who can play 3-4 days a week," Dombrowski said.

--2B/SS Hernan Perez could play shortstop if Detroit decided to use him as part of the replacement mix for injured SS Jose Iglesias, out at least 4-6 months with shin stress fractures. Perez has filled in for Detroit briefly over the last two seasons but has had problems breaching .200 at the plate. The Tigers see him more as a second baseman, if he can cure his tendency to chase outside breaking balls.

--SS Eugenio Suarez might be the best defensive candidate to replace injured SS Jose Iglesias if Detroit decides to take the best pure defensive player in its organization. But GM Dave Dombrowski indicated following the acquisition of IF Andrew Romine that Suarez was a long shot to make the team. Suarez blossomed at the plate at high Class A Lakeland last season (.311) but slipped to .253 when promoted to Double-A Erie. He was slated to play shortstop this year at Triple-A Toledo, with 2B Hernan Perez beside him. Suarez had not made much of an impression at the plate in Spring Training.

--RHP Anibal Sanchez missed a start March 18 with some soreness in the back of his right shoulder, the same ailment that shut him down for three weeks last summer. Sanchez received a cortisone injection to calm the inflammation and felt fine throwing a bullpen March 20. He was scheduled to start March 24 in a game at minor league camp. "If everything goes according to plan," manager Brad Ausmus said, "we can still get him up to around 100 pitches in his last (spring) start."

--RHP Luke Putkonen seemed to be securing his spot in the Tigers' bullpen even before Detroit announced RHP Bruce Rondon was finished for the season with Tommy John surgery impending. Putkonen entered March 22 with a streak of 10 1/3 scoreless spring innings. His slider has been better this spring, enhancing his mid-90s fastball and split-finger.

--RHP Justin Verlander will pitch Detroit's first game for the seventh straight season, new manager Brad Ausmus revealed after the pitcher made his second strong start of the spring. Verlander threw five innings of one-hit, one-walk pitching in a March 17 start and followed with five shutout frames March 21 against Atlanta. "I'm always grateful for starting on Opening Day," said Verlander, who was competing with defending Cy Young Award winner RHP Max Scherzer for the honor. "I never take it for granted. Of course I would have understood (if Scherzer had been chosen). I've said that. The guy won the Cy Young. Any other team in baseball and he's the Opening Day starter. There was not a doubt in my mind that I would be ready. But whether I would start it or not was up to Brad." Verlander underwent sports hernia surgery on both legs in January. He feels that condition might have been responsible for his sub-par 2013 season. "I want to pitch like I'm supposed to pitch. I hold myself to a higher standard than I think anybody could, and I expect to pitch up to that standard. Last year I didn't," he said about his 13-12 record and 3.46 ERA. "What caused that I don't know. It was not as easy for me as in the past. But that just gives me something to prove." He had allowed just seven hits and struck out 10, with four walks, in his first 13 2/3 spring innings.

--RHP Evan Reed has a stronger chance to make the Tigers with the news that RHP Bruce Rondon is out for season, needing Tommy John surgery. Reed got four outs March 21 without giving up a run to lower his spring ERA to 1.59, having given up just two earned runs in nine games. Reed is out of options and likely to be claimed if Detroit were to place him on waivers.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You're always open to anything. I guess we'll continue to see what other options are out there, but we pursued a lot of options, talked to a lot of clubs, had a lot of internal discussions about other alternatives, and we like Andrew. If we can get better, we will. But we feel comfortable with this being a good solution for us with the mix of the guys that we have." - GM Dave Dombrowski, following the March 21 acquisition of IF Andrew Romine, on how the Tigers will address the loss of SS Jose Iglesias for most, if not all, of the 2014 season. Romine is not seen as a full-time shortstop.