Andy Oliver and Casey Crosby in the mix for Number two left reliever spot – MLB News
According to detroitnews.com, Andy Oliver and Casey Crosby are expected to compete with Phil Coke for the available Number two left reliever spot. Both pitchers were given the opportunity for brief cameos in Detroit last season.
As of now, it seems the Tigers do not have any room in their starting rotation even if they do not bring back starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. It is likely the Tigers will stop their pursuit of Sanchez, who produced some magical performances in the last
season.
Several Major League Baseball teams including Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox have showed interest in the right hander. However, already on a very high payroll budget, the Tigers could find it extremely difficult to match offers
made by their American League rivals.
Coming back to Oliver and Crosby, the 25-year-old Oliver was a second round pick in 2009. He had a decent time on the plate on his 11 appearances at Triple A Toledo. Crosby, on the other hand, is a fifth round pick in 2007 and the Tigers provided him plenty
of opportunities in Spring Training.
"Some of our people still think he should start," Dombrowski said in an interview with a leading sports website. "But I would say coming into spring training, based upon how we're set up right now, he would come in as a bullpen guy. Some people think he'd
be really good in the bullpen right off the bat. Last year was a big development year for him."
"I can't tell you that we're close to getting anything done," Dombrowski said during his daily chat with the media. "We're not looking to do a whole bunch of big things, either.”
Some people think Crosby can be more productive right off the bat but Tigers’ General Manager Dave Dombrowski believes he brought considerable improvement in his game play the past season.
However, considering their experience, Duane Below and Darin Downs, who are the other two left relievers, are more likely to fill the spot. There are also rumours that Oliver could be traded during the four day Winter Meetings in Nashville.
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