Addition of Ordonez should have Tigers competing in AL Central
DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers started their offseason by landing one All-Star free agent, then had to wait three months to nab another.
After Carl Pavano and Steve Finley spurned the Tigers' offers, Detroit signed Magglio Ordonez to go with closer Troy Percival.
"Well, it definitely shows the organization is committed to winning," Tigers designated hitter Dmitri Young said Sunday night in a telephone interview from Florida. "When guys chose to go elsewhere, our front office continued to be relentless in pursuit of top-notch talent."
Ordonez, the last remaining premier free agent of the offseason, and the Tigers agreed to a $75 million, five-year contract, a baseball source told the Associated Press on Saturday. The deal could be worth up to $105 million over seven seasons, the source said on the condition of anonymity.
The Tigers were expected to introduce the four-time All-Star outfielder at an afternoon news conference Monday, though team spokesman Brian Britten declined to say what the news conference was about.
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| Magglio Ordonez will be patrolling the spacious outfield at Comerica Park in 2005. (Getty Images) |
First, Ivan Rodriguez. Now, Ordonez.
"It's really going to boost our morale," Tigers pitcher Jason Johnson said.
After signing in 2004, Rodriguez helped the Tigers win 72 games. That was a 29-win improvement from the previous season, the second-best turnaround in the AL since it expanded in 1961.
With Ordonez's bat in the middle of the lineup, Detroit figures to improve its chances of competing in the AL Central.
"In our game, you go on track record, and he's been an All-Star and a .300 hitter who drives in well over 100 RBI a year," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said last month after he and team officials met with Ordonez and his agent in Miami.
The Chicago Cubs, Toronto and Texas backed out of talks recently and the New York Mets told Boras on Friday they were not prepared to move quickly and would first want to examine Ordonez. He made $14 million last year and the White Sox made no effort to re-sign him.
Ordonez hit .292 last season with nine homers and 37 RBI in 202 at-bats for the Chicago White Sox. A career .307 hitter with 187 homers, he missed 36 games after injuring his left knee May 19 -- an injury that required two operations -- then went on the disabled list for good on July 22 with bone marrow edema.
