After six-and-a-half seasons as the Tigers' regular third baseman, Brandon Inge is heading back to the minors to find his batting stroke (such as it was). Shawn Windsor (via the Detroit Free Press):
Brandon Inge Heads Back To The Minors
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The Tigers outrighted Brandon Inge to Triple-A Toledo today, meaning Detroit’s longtime third baseman is eligible to join the Mud Hens.
When Inge was designated for assignment last week, he vowed he would report to Toledo, work himself out of his slump and return to the Tigers.You probably think that’s funny, but it’s actually not crazy to think Inge still has some pretty good baseball left in him.
No, he's not going to be worth anywhere near the $5.5 million he's getting paid this season. And yes, the Tigers would be thrilled if they didn't owe him another $5.5 million. After all, this season he's been so awful -- .177 batting average, et cetera -- that management's felt compelled to a) trade for Wilson Betemit, and 2) send Inge to Toledo after seven full seasons with the big club.
Is Inge really this awful, though? While he hasn’t been a good hitter since way back in 2004, when he was 27, Inge has since then been decent, usually, for a catcher-turned-third-baseman with solid defensive performances. In fact, according to FanGraphs he’s been worth an average of (roughly) $8 million per season over the last three seasons ... which is to say he’s actually been somewhat underpaid.
Of course, he’s been so terrible this season that it’s now roughly even over the last four seasons (including this one). But Inge’s contract has not been a real negative, yet. If he’s worthless (as a player) next season again, then it’ll look like a pretty terrible contract. But given that Inge was worth around $8 million just last season, there’s good reason to think he’ll be worth at least $5.5 million next season, if given a chance to play to play regularly.
It’s not clear that he’ll get that chance, though a good August in Toledo and a few big hits in September would certainly help his cause. If the Tigers are thrilled with Betemit and bring him back in 2012, there should be at least a small trade market for Inge this winter, if he seems to have shaken this four-months slump.
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