No one seemed shocked yesterday when the Detroit Tigers sent starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis to Single A Lakeland. In fact, most seemed relieved.
I don’t know that I have ever seen a wilder pitcher than Willis since he joined the Tigers this spring. Even Jason Grilli could get the ball over the plate. Willis seems unable to purposely throw a strike. Is that what $29 million gets you these days?
It’s too bad the Tigers made a three-year commitment to Willis before they realized he can’t pitch. Meanwhile, Andrew Miller is 4-5 with a 5.77 ERA and 53 strike outs for the Florida Marlins and Jair Jurrjens is 6-3 with a 3.77 ERA and 55 strike outs for Atlanta (traded for Edgar Renteria).
It would be tempting to make the argument that Willis was just a throw-in for the Miguel Cabrera trade, but the $29 million three-year contract makes that hard to believe. The Tigers screwed up plain and simple.
Here’s hoping that Willis is able to turn things around in Lakeland. But I wouldn’t bet $29 million on it.
