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-