Tigers closing in on new deal with Inge

The Detroit Tigers are close to signing third baseman Brandon Inge to a four-year contract extension.

The deal will be worth $24 million and could be announced within the coming week.

Inge, 29, made $3 million this year and probably would have made $4 million to $5 million in 2007, his final year of salary arbitration. He was scheduled to enter free agency next year but should remain a Tiger through the prime of his career. He's expected to remain at third base over the lifetime of the contract, rather than return to catcher, the position at which he broke into the major leagues.

The contract's average annual value falls between recent free-agent deals for third basemen Pedro Feliz (one year, $5.1 million with the Giants) and Aramis Ramirez (five years, $75.5 million with the Cubs).

The signing could reveal much about the manner in which the Tigers plan to retain players on the pennant-winning roster. It's believed the team will consider contract extensions for right-hander Jeremy Bonderman and shortstop Carlos Guillen before the end of this off-season. Guillen will be a free agent after next season, Bonderman after 2008.

Inge is coming off a year in which he established career highs with 27 home runs and 83 RBIs. His batting average dropped slightly (.261 to .253) compared to his 2005 numbers, but so did his strikeouts (140 to 128).

Of equal importance, he improved greatly as a third baseman. Although he committed 22 errors during the regular season, he also led all American League third basemen with 398 assists - evidence of his superior range. Manager Jim Leyland has consistently lauded his defense, saying this season: "I don't know anybody that throws it better than Brandon Inge."

Inge also performed well in the postseason, hitting .273 with one home run and four RBIs. His average increased with each series, culminating with a .353 clip (6-for-17) in the World Series, although he committed three errors in the five-game loss to St. Louis.

Inge would have been one of several prominent Tigers to enter free agency after the 2007 season. The others are Guillen, first baseman Sean Casey, and pitchers Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers. The team also has a $13-million option on catcher Pudge Rodriguez for 2008.

Bonderman, left-hander Mike Maroth and leftfielder Craig Monroe will be free agents after 2008.

"These are guys coming up for free agency a couple years from now, and, hey, I want them to max out their financial power," Leyland said Wednesday. "I hope it's with us."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16189233.htm

I like $6 million per year for him considering the inflated contracts being signed this winter. I'm also glad that they're taking care of some business ahead of time so that there aren't as many question marks going into the next couple offseasons. I would like to see them wrap up 3 or 4 more guys prior to this season. Guys normally play very well in the last year of their contract, but that just hikes the price for them too.

I would've liked to see Bonderman and Guillen signed to an extension first but Inge isn't a bad candidate.

Helluva glove for us at the corner.

If only he didn't throw it into the outfield every 5th game.

Inge is alright I suppose. Would anybody be that surprised if his production dropped back off again? I hope it wasn't a fluke (the power numbers, specifically).

I like Inge. People complain about his hitting a lot for someone hitting 9th in the order. How many teams have a 30 HR hitter at 9th? None I bet.

I like Inge. People complain about his hitting a lot for someone hitting 9th in the order. How many teams have a 30 HR hitter at 9th? None I bet.


Most teams don't have their 3rd baseman batting 9th.

Most teams don't have their 3rd baseman batting 9th.
who normally hits 9th?

their 2B, SS or Catcher? We have very good hitters there. Most teams have defensive guys at those positions that aren't very good hitters. We have better hitters at those spots than normal.

The average starting SS are hitting around .250.
The average starting 2B are hitting around .280.
The average starting C are hitting around .260.

Ours hit in the .290-.310 range at those positions.

Those guys hit 8th and 9th on most teams because they are usually the weakest hitters (unless you have Jeter or tejada or the elite ones). Our weak hitters are just at different positions.

And BTW, none of those 240-260 hitters are hitting 30 HR's either.

So because we have other good hitters, its ok for our 3rd baseman to be one of the bottom OPS guys at his position, because we can hide him @ 9th? I fail to see how the contibutions of other players in our lineup would raise Inge's stock. He is what he is, a slugging corner guy who's career year at the plate was still worse than 75% of comperable players.

You are correct that other players being better at their positions doesn't mean we shouldn't have the best we can at 3B.

That being said, who can we get that fields like Inge and hits better? I'd like to get a better 3B myself, and move Inge to SS and Guillen to 1B. I just don't know who we can get.

keeping him was a good move, imo. 1) hes a rediculous athlete, i wouldnt at all be surprised to see him improve alot as a fielder. i would be surprised, however, if last year's success was due to his contract status.

2) i believe brandon inge is the next starting catcher in this organization. important to keep him around.

iirc, our entire team has a problem with ops.

b-did, if he starts at catcher, we are hurting, not that he is a bad catcher, but once you move a guy out of that position (he wasn't even a catcher in college) you don't move him back. That to me would be a complete failiure of a GM for finding a catcher if you need one.

Our catching prospects are slim to none. Which is why we drafted 8 in last years draft. The draftees won't be ready for Pudge's replacement, but we should be able to find a 1 or 2 year replacement. Wilson would prolly work, even though I don't like him that much.

The contract is fine and I don't think Inge had power because of his contract status. He wasn't a free agent this year he was just eligible for arbitration therefore next season would have been a FA year, and his 07 year would have meant more, if it were about cash he would have waited to see how 07 went.

However I think Inge does need to put together a season where he plays to his best in all three areas (Hitting, Fielding and Power). Inge has a lot of ability but he lacks the mental focus to be a premiere 3B or player. He ends up having a lot of errors on routine plays, he falls into a lot of hitting slumps. If I were Leyland I would have Inge and the hitting coach go over film from 04, if he could bat like he did in 04 he would be the best two-way 3b in all of baseball. I think his fielding suffers from his thinking about his at bats.

I think Chris is correct though if a better 3B was available I would go for it and move Inge to SS. Inge has great range and a great arm, plus he played SS coming up so the left side of the infield would be better off.

I think the contract's about perfect. Enough to keep him here and happy but not so much that we can't still look to go in a different direction if one comes available. He's not a stud but I think he's clearly more an asset than a detriment.

I would be surprised if Ingo topped last year's power numbers this year. I think we should expect about 24 HR this season. And that's plenty for my liking. What I really need to see, however, is an average closer to .265 or better. I want to see fewer than 115 strikeouts. I want to see more than 60 walks. If more of his outs are put in play, and he can get gappers and bloop hits to replace some strikeouts, while drawing more walks as well, I would be very happy. With the enormous strides in his fielding last season I think we'll be seeing gold glove activity there in the future. That really impresses me. I remember a year or two ago the Inge conversation was based on his brutal defense. I give him tons of credit for turning that around in a huge way. As for his work at the plate, we've all seen him work counts and foul off 6 or 7 pitches. He can make contact no problem. He just needs a tad more discipline on taking some pitches and he'll be a much better hitter statistically.

"I think we should expect about 24 HR this season."

What do you base that on? Just seems so random.

I agree he needs to improve his K's and average, but he's still young enough where he can improve all around.

I picked a number that was a slight, but not dramatic dropoff from the 27 he had this year - which was the first season he has hit more than 16.

It's probably close to the time that we stop referring to Inge as young. Sure, a number of guys are playing into their 40's or close to it, but Inge has been viewed as young for several years now. Next season will be his 7th in the majors and shortly into it he'll be 30. We don't consider Polanco or Guillen young and they're 31. Casey is often considered old and he, like Magglio, is 32. Those guys are all considered veterans and I think it's time we consider Inge a veteran too.

I didn't say he was young, nor did I say he wasn't a vet. I mean to say he possesses skills that still seem raw enough for improvement, and still had years where those skills can improve.

I agree with that assessment. I compare it on a lesser scale to a guy like Jermaine Dye. He turns 33 next week and just finished a career year in which his HR total was 13 higher than the previos year, 21 more than the year before that. His BA was .41 higher than the previous season and .50 higher than the season before that. He had shown hitting ability for average earlier in his career (.321 in 2000) but his career average heading into the year was around .270. He had shown some pop, hitting 30+ twice and 20+ 4 other times, but he blew up last year with 44 when his previous high had been 33.
So that's a player that pulled it together at age 32 in his 11th season.
Inge showed his ability to hit for average a couple years ago when he hit .287 with an OBP of .340. If he can get back to some of that while maintaining all or most of his power ability then he'll be a huge asset to this offense. As others have said, he's already the best #9 hitter in baseball, but we all know he could be better. He's capable of putting together a #5 hitter type season. But I think we all might believe he could actually hit .245 as well. That's the scary part.