Tigers fans have been waiting all off-season for something big to happen, but this was not what we had in mind. The Tigers announced today that designated Victor Martinez tore his ACL during workouts and will likely miss the entire 2012 season. This is obviously a devastating blow to the Tigers, who already had holes to fill offensively.
They will almost surely get a replacement outside the organization. The first thought that comes to mind is free agent Prince Fielder, but that is highly unlikely. He has said that he does not want to be a designated hitter and he is also probably too expensive for the Tigers. So, I think we'll need to think about less exciting options.
One possibility would be signing Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to play left field and moving Delmon Young to designated hitter. I suspect that is the Tigers preferred plan, but a lot of teams are pursuing Cespedes.
If not Cespedes, then there are number of free agent hitters available. Possibilities include Johnny Damon, J.D. Drew and Carlos Pena. One good thing is that the Tigers probability have some flexibility financially since they will likely get half of Martinez's $13 million 2012 salary back through insurance.
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