Thursday, July 11, 2013

Buy, sell or stay: Detroit Tigers

Time to move to the American League Central for today's "buy, sell or stay" entry. Let's take a look at the division-leading and defending AL champion Detroit Tigers, who are currently fending off a challenge to their penthouse view by the Cleveland Indians.

Strength: The best damn player in baseball, Miguel Cabrera. Miggy is at it again with a .366 batting average, 30 home runs and a whopping 94 RBI. Of course, he can't do it alone. He gets plenty of help from a lineup including Prince Fielder (16 home runs, 69 RBI), Torii Hunter (.307 average, 52 runs scored), Omar Infante (.309 average) and Austin Jackson (.284 average, 54 runs scored).

Weakness: Bullpen. Joaquin Benoit has finally resolved the issue of who should be the closer for this team. Since taking over the role in mid-June, Benoit has registered five saves and allowed one earned run in eight appearances. This is markedly better than what they got out of Jose Valverde (nine saves, three blown saves, 5.59 ERA) and Phil Coke (one save, two blown saves, 6.18 ERA). Still, a number of Detroit's set-up men are struggling with ERAs over 4.00.

Buy, sell or stay the course? You don't want to mess too much with a team that has 50 wins before the All-Star Break. That being said, the Tigers should look to get some help for the bullpen -- maybe not a closer, but someone who can maintain a lead in a tight game.

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