Bruce Rondon -- closer?

[Moonlight J]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/09/the-tigers-are-going-to-go-with-bruce-rondon-as-their-closer/

Have him for $1 in my league -- woot!

[BuckyBuckner]

Control doesn't seem to be that good.

[joncarlos]

yeah but with Dotel and Benoit backing him up, even if he does start the year with the job, that will be a VERY short leash

[Don Quixote]

If you have him for a dollar, even one month as the closer is good.

[Vecmizer]

I do not think he starts the year as the closer, but I do think he will finish the year as the closer and end up with the bulk of the saves. The Tigers have no problem rushing the younglings and I expect he will be given every opportunity to make the club out of ST. The Tigers love power arms especially at the back of the bullpen. He has an electric arm and legitimately throws 100 mph. Of course with power comes control problems. This is the reason I think he will not start out as closer. I think they put him in the pen and use him in some easier spots to get his feet wet and grow his confidence.

Right now the Tigers bullpen scares the hell out of me. Benoit cannot stay away from the gopher ball. Coke can be good or horrible. Albuquerque is a guy who could close but you have to worry about his elbow. Villareal is another power arm and has stretches where he is very good and then loses it for awhile. In Auctions I expect Benoit and Rondon go for the bigger dollars, but in bigger leagues if you can stash Albuquerque I would not hesitate to spend a buck on him.

[revo]

Rondon already on shaky ground: 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 BB. I don't think there's any way this guy is the closer anytime soon.

[Big Tymer]

Problem is that Leyland is likely to go to closer by committee so nobody wins. While normally I'd say these committees don't stick, with him I'm not so sure I'd pencil in anyone for more than 15 saves. Should make bidding on Coke, Albuquerque, Dotel & Benoit interesting.

[Hornsby]

Problem is that Leyland is likely to go to closer by committee so nobody wins. While normally I'd say these committees don't stick, with him I'm not so sure I'd pencil in anyone for more than 15 saves. Should make bidding on Coke, Albuquerque, Dotel & Benoit interesting.

I think that Albuquerque probably has the best stuff at this point, but the least experience, so he's likely to be bypassed, IMO. Dotel has spit the bit in the past, and Leyland has said that he doesn't want to use Benoit in the role, because he can't do back to back days well. Coke is the lefty, so he most likely won't get the full time job. Bottom line is that I can see a full blown closer by committee scenario where none of the guys are worth rostering in a shallow league.

[revo]

CBS Sports' Danny Knobler reports that the Tigers are "pushing hard" to trade for a closer.
The Tigers were hoping that hard-throwing rookie Bruce Rondon would take control of the job, but it's already obvious that he could be overmatched, especially for a club that is built to win right now. It's not clear who the Tigers have spoken with, but Knobler notes that the Nationals aren't interested in moving any of their late-inning relievers (Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard). Meanwhile, the Tigers haven't contacted the Red Sox about the availability of Andrew Bailey. If the team can't find a fit outside the organization, they could rely on a closer-by-committee.
Source: CBS Sports Mar 5 - 12:18 PM

[schlesinj]

Porcello closer?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130305&content_id=42310164&notebook_id=42310928&vkey=notebook_det&c_id=det