The Tigers let Placido Polanco leave as a free agent and the reason is because they are confident that 25-year old righty swinging Scott Sizemore is ready to replace him. Sizemore played in 130 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 160 for 520 (.308 avg, .889 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 17 homers, 66 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. They think that Sizemore will be a solid hitter in 2010 but they are a little bit worried about his mitt as he made 21 errors in only 118 games at 2B in 2009.

30-year old switch-hitting Ramon Santiago will be Sizemore’s top back-up at 2B. He played in 29 error-free games at 2B while showing good range there. Look for Santiago to replace Sizemore a lot of times late in games as a defensive replacement.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C-

Righty starting pitcher Dan Petry always played second fiddle to Jack Morris in his time with the Tigers but he was a solid pitcher. He pitched in 306 games (274 starts) in his 11 years with the Tigers and he was 119-93 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Despite being a solid pitcher Petry only made the All-Star team one time. That was in 1985 when Petry pitched in 34 games (all starts) in which he was 15-13 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Petry finished 9th in 1982 in the Cy Young Award voting and he was #5 in 1984.

26-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter on the Tigers without a doubt. He played in 160 games for the Tigers last season and he was 198 for 611 (.324 avg, .943 OPS) with 96 runs scored, 34 homers, 103 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. In his first six full seasons in the majors, Cabrera is averaging 98.5 runs scored, 32.8 homers and 115.2 RBIs per season so he is very consistent. Cabrera made 7 errors in 153 games at 1B for the Tigers last season so he’s not the best defender around. Still, the Tigers will put up with some lapses in the field as long as Cabrera continues to rake (and he will).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A

30-year old righty swinging catcher Gerald Laird will be the starter behind the plate for the Tigers again in 2010. They are hoping that he will hit a little better this season. He played in 135 games for the Tigers last season and he was 93 for 413 (.225 avg, .626 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 4 homers, 33 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Laird’s game is defense. He made only 3 errors but he had 9 passed balls in 135 games behind the plate last season. Laird has a threw out 40% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Tigers’ pitchers had a 4.23 ERA throwing to him. Laird’s defense more than makes up for his below average bat.

22-year old lefty swinging catcher Alex Avila will likely back-up Laird in 2010 if he has a solid spring. Avila played in 29 games as a rookie for the Tigers last seasson and he was 17 for 61 (.279 avg, .965 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 14 RBIs. Avila didn’t make any errors in 25 games for the Tigers last season but he did have 4 passed balls which is way too many. Avila threw out 27% of the runners trying to steal on him but Tigers’ pitchers had a 5.52 ERA throwing to him. Avila has a lot of potential but he has a couple of things on defense to work on.

26-year old righty swinging Robinzon Diaz will compete with Avila for the back-up catcher job in 2010. Diaz played in 41 games for the Pirates last season and he was 39 for 149 (.262 avg, .657 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 19 RBIs. Diaz will need to improve on defense if he’s going to continue his major league career. He made 2 errors and he had 7 passed balls in only 33 games behind the plate and that won’t be tolerated in the future. Diaz threw out 18% of the runners trying to steal against him last season and Pirates’ pitchers had a 4.04 ERA with him behind the plate. Pirates’ pitchers liked throwing to Diaz and that is something he can build on.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: C

The Tigers have signed 30-year old righty reliever Jose Valverde to a 2-year, $14 million dollar contract with a option for a third year. Valverde pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 4-2 with 25 saves, a 2.33 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has now pitched in 379 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 19-19 with 167 saves, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Valverde has only allowed 296 hits in 386 innings in his major league career while whiffing 470 batters showing just how nasty his stuff is. This was a great signing for the Tigers who have really built a nice pitching staff. He will be the kind of lights out closer that they need.