Brandon Inge

There's been some Brandon Inge rumblings around the blog lately. Inge has been starting at the hot corner for the Tigers the last few years but with the acquisition of Miggy Cabrera, he is beyond expendable. Combine that with the sad situation at third for the Phillies, and Inge seems like a natural fit. But is he? Let's take a closer look at what Inge would give the Phillies.

Offense: Inge is not a good hitter. He hit .287 in '04 and knocked 27 out of the park in '06, but otherwise his offensive statistics are nothing to be excited about. After the .287 in '04, his average has decreased every year, with a very poor .236 average last year. And the three years before the .287, he hit .202, .203, and .180. That puts his career average at .240, far below acceptable for an everyday thirdbaseman, especially considering he is unlikely to hit more than a dozen or so dingers.

Defense: Given Inge's pitiful offensive skills, he better be a damn good defender. And he is. He has a strong arm and a wide range at third. He led the majors in Range Factor in '06 and was ninth in '07. He gets to more balls than George Michael, and so he's had more assists from third base than any other player in the majors over the last three years. Of course, no AL third baseman has made as many errors as Inge, either. But he has a decent fielding percentage and the two (assists, errors) kind of go hand in hand.

Cost: Inge is scheduled to make $6.2 million next year, $6.3 million in '09, and then $6.6 million in '10. That's a total of $19.1 million.

Acquisition Cost: Should be essentially nothing. A lot would depend on how much money the Tigers contribute to his salary. He is practically useless to Detroit, so I would think they would give him away (journeyman minorleaguer, future considerations, etc.) if the accepting team would pay half to two thirds of his salary.

WSBGM's Take: Brandon Inge is Abraham Nunez plus a dozen homeruns and a handful of doubles plus an emergency catcher minus the ability to slot in at second or short. By my math, that doesn't come close to adding up to $19 million dollars. Carson said in yesterday's comment section that he would "take Inge if the Tigers gave us salary relief of 2-3 mil per season." That would mean paying Inge $4 million in '10. I'm not down with that. The Phils are paying $3 million this year for the Helms/Dobbs platoon and adding at least another $3 million per year for a marginal upgrade that ensures three more years of substandard third base play doesn't make much sense.

The Tigers need to get rid of Inge, his high socks, and his salary, and in the next few months they will try to convince some poor club to take him. I just hope it isn't the Phils. Luckily, it seems the Phils have little interest in Inge.

Corey