Well this surprised me. It's not like I didn't know the Tigers were looking to move Gary just to release him right now just stunned me.
Good move though. Does Thames becomes our DH? He should. And with the Tigers getting Josh Anderson form Atlanta... that could've been the motivation for finding a role for Marcus.
That fit will squeeze out many of the outfielders who spent Spring Training fighting for a role. Brent Clevlen, Clete Thomas, Ryan Raburn and non-roster invitee Timo Perez were in competition for a spot on Detroit's bench, along with corner infielder and outfielder Jeff Larish. Of that group, Clevlen and Perez are the only ones out of Minor League options. The Tigers could conceivably lose Clevlen to a waiver claim, but that's nowhere near a certainty.
What this means for another Tigers reserve outfielder, Marcus Thames, remains to be seen. Though Dombrowski said Anderson will definitely open the season on the team, he indicated that it filled one of the last two spots on the positional roster, not the last, and that they still have some final decisions to make. With backup catcher Matt Treanor and utility infielder Ramon Santiago set by all accounts, that would seemingly leave Thames, Larish and possibly others in play for a spot.
Though Anderson provides a left-handed bat, that won't necessarily make him the Tigers' left-handed pinch-hitter. Leyland said he could use Anderson to pinch-hit leading off an inning, but a situation calling for power might be different. Anderson has just 22 home runs in his six pro seasons. That could still leave a need for Larish if the Tigers wanted a lefty power bat.
Despite the abundance of outfielders in camp now, Dombrowski deemed the chances of a follow-up trade sending out a Tigers outfielder as "possible, but not likely."
Poor Clete Thomas. Dude just goes out there and makes play after play and he still gets shafted.
