Placido Polanco – The One That Got Away

It all became official earlier today when Placido Polanco signed on the dotted line with the Philadelphia Phillies, but his departure from the Tigers has been but a formality since seasons end really. When the Tigers elected not to offer him arbitration earlier this week it was a precursor to the inevitable. So today Polly returns to Philadelphia, and to third base, with a three year $18 Million contract. The Tigers on the other hand will need to find a new second baseman.

Scott Sizemore will be 25 years old in Spring Training of 2010, and it seems the heir apparent to the now vacant 2B lineup spot. After all he has arguably been the most talked about position prospect in the Tigers organization for a couple of years now. He hit .308 with an .889 OPS in 2009, split between AA Erie and AAA Toledo. He’s nursing a leg injury these days but should be fine come February when the gang gets together down in Lakeland.

All told over 378 career minor league games Sizemore (no relation to Grady in case you were wondering) holds a .296/.383/.441/.824 career split (Average/OB %/SLG %/OPS). He showed power this past season with 17 bombs in 130 games, and has stolen double digit bags three years running. By most accounts he is a promising hitter who needs to demonstrate he can play at the next level.

The big question for me is can he play second base with the big boys. In 118 games at second base in 2009 he committed 21 errors. That record on the heels of eight errors in 51 games at Lakeland in 2008 and 15 miscues in 116 games at West Michigan the year before. Placido Polanco he is not.

But he is young, more than 10 times cheaper and the likely starter barring a roster edition via free agency or trade. Could the Tigers dabble in available veteran talent to fill the position for another year? Sure, but they won’t. A veteran backup to spell the kid and provide some insurance is certainly possible, perhaps a Jamey Carroll, a Ron Belliard or even a David Eckstein – but even that seems unlikely. Ultimately it could depend on the decision the Tigers make on the other end of second base.

If Ramon Santiago finds himself in the starting lineup everyday at shortstop than he wouldn’t be the backup plan at second base. If Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland tap Brent Dlugach or Cale Iorg as the new shortstop then Ramon could conceivably back up both positions. It’s too early to say for sure. Adam Everett could return, although that also seems unlikely. There will be a few dirt cheap, one year free agent options available for both positions, which is about all the Tigers can afford by most reports.

I won’t write the depressing and obligatory paragraph about the crippled economy of Detroit and its’ impact on sports teams like the Tigers – not because it isn’t true but because frankly I’m tired of hearing it. Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean that’s all you are. I will say however that financial issues are the primary reason Placido Polanco will be playing elsewhere next year. Those issues have less to do with the current state of affairs around town and more to do with the fat, bloated, awful contracts Dave Dombrowski has saddled this organization with in recent years.

If it were not for the millions upon millions of wasted dollars handed out to Gary Sheffield, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and others there might have been (would have been) more than enough in the tank to keep Placido Polanco where he belonged. He should be here. He should be here until he no longer wants to play. And he could have been here…..but ifs and buts as we all know are not candy and nuts.

It’s a cruel twist of fate that this organization has pissed away far more in the last three years than it would have taken to keep Polly here for the next three. And now it is time for penance. So instead of a perennial .300 hitter who was born to hit 2nd (and in the clutch) while playing gold glove, record setting defense this team will either cross its’ fingers on a 25 year old rookie or waddle through 2010 with a bargain bin has been veteran plucked from the bottom of the free agent pool.

Please don’t mistake my vitriol on this issue as a statement that I believe Scott Sizemore is doomed to fail, for I don’t believe that. I think, based on the limited game action I’ve seen him in and the volume of stats and scouting reports, that he could become a good second basemen. He of course also could be working at Dairy Queen in three years, I don’t know. What I do know is that the best second baseman the Tigers have had since Lou Whitaker just left town, and the Tigers did nothing to stop it.

Perhaps Scott Sizemore will hit 25 home runs next year and every fantasy baseball owner and his brother will sing his praises….but he isn’t going to be nearly the ballplayer Placido is. Polly does all the little things well, all the veteran things, all the things that players and coaches and baseball people who know this game love. He does them quietly, comes through in big ball games and did it for four and a half years in Detroit at a discount.

He took less money and committed to this team when he could have bolted for a bigger paycheck. He played hurt, he played hard and he played the game the right way. His reward for all of this? The Detroit Tigers didn’t even bother to make an effort to keep him. Business is business I suppose, but this one seems to be bad business to me.

Some will argue that his age (34) was the prime factor in the Tigers decision to non-tender him. Perhaps it was, but I believe that would be a short-sighted look at the issue. While power numbers and stolen bases typically decline with age neither of these are the stalwarts of his game. He’s a contact hitter with good eyes, good instincts and good health. Could he break down in two years and be another Carlos Guillen? Maybe, but I highly doubt it. I have a feeling that at age 37 he might get another multi-year deal, and would deserve it. He is the type of player that seems capable of performing at a high level well into his late 30’s if not beyond.

It is what it is, and we had better get used to it. Placido isn’t the first player to leave before he should have, and he won’t be the last. He might be however the one that gives Dave Dombrowski the most heartburn come next summer, and for a few summers to come.

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