Here comes Cruceta!

Finally! Visa approved for Tigers reliever to join team
April 9, 2008

BOSTON -- At last, here comes Francisco Cruceta. The Tigers right-handed reliever has had his visa approved to enter the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, the club said today.

Cruceta will report to the Tigers’ training base in Lakeland, Fla. In 30 days, the club must either put him on the big-league roster or try to get him through waivers to send him to the minors.

Cruceta, signed as a free agent in the off- season, was expected to contend for a bullpen spot in spring training. But for reasons that haven’t been made public, he couldn’t get the visa in time to report to spring training. He is now on the restricted list.

By John Lowe

Can he be worse that Grilli?
Bring him up!

I hope he can show what he's capable of and will be a reinforcement for our bullpen!

GO TIGS!!!

Knobler on WDFN: Don't be surprised to see Cruceta in a week
by MLive.com staff
Thursday April 10, 2008, 3:15 PM

Although there's no real history of major-league success, there's reason to believe that Francisco Cruceta can help the Tigers' bullpen almost immediately according to Danny Knober in an interview with Jamie Samuelson of WDFN-AM Detroit.

Knobler says the Tigers weren't alone in their pursuit of Cruceta this offseason, as the reliever also drew interest from the New York Yankees. The scout that recommended him to the Tigers, really liked what Cruceta had to offer, and believed he could contribute in the bullpen even before Fernando Rodney went down.

Cruceta will start out in Lakeland where he'll probably throw a bullpen session or two before moving on to a minor-league affiliate, but his stay in the minors won't likely be long. Knobler suggests we might see Cruceta in a Tigers uniform in a week.

The expected addition of Cruceta combined with the eventual return of Fernando Rodney puts pressure on the rest of the bullpen to perform. Jim Leyland has said if the pitchers don't perform they won't be here, and Wednesday's game may be a sign on who the coach feels comfortable with in the bullpen right now.

With the Tigers seeking to protect the lead and secure their first win of the season, the Tigers turned to Bobby Seay and Francis Beltran, not Jason Grilli or Zach Miner.

good thing he didnt give the ball to grilli

it would be win

we'll give him a party when he arrives!

As long as they keep Denny Bautista! He has done everything they have asked of him, plus more!

BAUTISTA
• Last Game Pitched: 4/9 @BOS
• Last Five Outings: 0-1, 1.80 ERA (5.0IP/1ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 3 SO (4 G)
• Is on an Opening Day roster at the major league level for the third
time in his career (also, 2005-06 with Kansas City).
• Acquired by the Tigers in a two-player deal with Colorado on
12/4/07, he previously pitched with Baltimore (2004), Kansas City
(2004-06) and Colorado (2007).

he did pretty good last night!

Update:

-- Francisco Cruceta will report to Toledo on Tuesday. Cruceta could stay at Toledo for as long as 16 days, but it's doubtful he'll remain there that long.

Hate to count too heavily on one unknown such as Cruceta, but we coud sure use another LIVE arm!!

Is it just me....or is everyone else sick and tired of seeing Miner completely choke on the mound and throw BP to the other teams? Cruceta.....git yer ass in Motown RIGHT THIS MINUTE! LOL

Oh....btw....am I the only one that is completely impressed with Galarraga? WOW! His stuff is just the shot in the arm this team has needed! 2-0 and a miniscule 1.5 ERA! His ERA is lower than Jones'!!!

We're all diggin' Armando!

We also all dug Miner in 2006!!

hmmm...well maybe history won't repeat itself!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Minor league report
Tigers' Cruceta nears arrival, so who gets the boot?
Right-handers Miner, Grilli top the short list of relievers who could be sent down to make room.
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

What is clear as the number 25 is that the Tigers will be making a roster move within the next 10 days.

They will be adding right-handed reliever Francisco Cruceta, now warming up at Triple-A Toledo. He has been devastating since he emerged last week from two months of visa problems to begin his big league tuneup.

Cruceta's first inning with the Mud Hens was, uh, impressive: He struck out the side on 10 pitches. He struck out six in his three-inning stint and never allowed a ball out of the infield.

In three appearances for the Mud Hens, Cruceta has pitched seven innings, struck out 15, allowed two hits and walked three. He has a fastball that he can spot at 94-95 mph, a slider that is not much fun and a malevolent split-finger, his out-pitch, the pitch he has developed during the past 18 months that has made a 26-year-old former minor leaguer a definite big league addition.

He also is out of minor league options, which leaves the Tigers to add him or do the unthinkable: put him on the waiver wire next week when his status on the 30-day restricted list expires.

So, which pitcher disappears when Cruceta comes aboard to likely fortify a bullpen that so far has been surprisingly strong?

There aren't a lot of great choices.

Right-hander Zach Miner has a minor league option remaining, which is at least one way to get by the mathematical problem the Tigers face. But Miner has pitched well of late, can pitch multiple innings, and would be in no danger if it were not for the pinch in which Cruceta has happily placed the Tigers.

Right-hander Jason Grilli would be the fans' choice to pitch elsewhere, which you can bet would be the case once a right-hander who is out of options hits the waiver wire. Grilli, though, has likewise straightened out and is useful because of his ability to pitch long relief, short relief or anything in between.

The Tigers likely will allow themselves time. The bullpen is functioning capably, and Cruceta probably can benefit from a few more days of conditioning and fine-tuning at Toledo.
Meanwhile, Detroit, if it so chooses, can use this week's series against New York, followed by a weekend journey to Minnesota, to evaluate the Miner-Grilli matter.
But one way or another, Cruceta will soon be bringing his splitter and the rest of his entertaining repertoire to Comerica Park.

This guy sounds promising! I hope he can bring his stuff to the big league!

Ohios#1TigerFan wrote:

Is it just me....or is everyone else sick and tired of seeing Miner completely choke on the mound and throw BP to the other teams? Cruceta.....git yer ass in Motown RIGHT THIS MINUTE! LOL

Oh....btw....am I the only one that is completely impressed with Galarraga? WOW! His stuff is just the shot in the arm this team has needed! 2-0 and a miniscule 1.5 ERA! His ERA is lower than Jones'!!!

I caught some flak on the mlb boards for this and still feel the same. he had the stuff to get out of a jam and should have gotten a CG Saturday.

As much as I hate to say this and catbox if you're reading I know you won't agree but Verlanders just doing time here his hearts not in it I took some pics of him practicing on the field and he is just so darn arrogant looking.
Hopefully that last unfortunate loss will duly humble him so he can be the competetitor we have come to expect.

I realize he's young and these things happen but something ain't right I think he's sandbagging personally.

Ohios#1TigerFan wrote:

Is it just me....or is everyone else sick and tired of seeing Miner completely choke on the mound and throw BP to the other teams? Cruceta.....git yer ass in Motown RIGHT THIS MINUTE! LOL

Oh....btw....am I the only one that is completely impressed with Galarraga? WOW! His stuff is just the shot in the arm this team has needed! 2-0 and a miniscule 1.5 ERA! His ERA is lower than Jones'!!!

Please dont make comparisons to Jones lol jk, but I think we should boot Miner down.

Tigers to decide on Cruceta's role in bullpen
by Danny Knobler
Thursday May 01, 2008, 12:25 AM

NEW YORK -- Francisco Cruceta took Jason Grilli's job in the Detroit Tigers bullpen.

The next question is whose role Cruceta takes.

Cruceta, who was the mystery man when he missed all of spring training with visa problems, becomes very real when he joins the Tigers in time for tonight's game at New York. The Tigers announced the move before Wednesday's 6-2 win, when they made room for Cruceta on the roster by trading Grilli to Colorado for Class A pitcher Zach Simons.

Grilli had pitched himself into being the last man in the Tigers' seven-man bullpen. He was the choice to go, and the Tigers were happy to find a team willing to trade for him.

"We needed to create a roster spot," general manager Dave Dombrowski said.

They had to make a move soon, because Cruceta's allotted time at Triple-A Toledo was running out. They wanted to make a move, quite simply, because they want Cruceta here.

"We're very excited," Dombrowski said. "He's thrown the ball very well. We think he's ready to help us."

Yes, but in what role? Could Cruceta end up pitching the eighth inning in place of Denny Bautista?

Perhaps not yet, because manager Jim Leyland remains committed to Bautista. But Bautista has walked 12 batters in 12 innings so far, and he couldn't finish the eighth inning Tuesday night, so a change could be coming.

"I worry about anybody that walks people," Leyland said. "Anybody. That's something that can't be tolerated at the big-league level. I like what I've seen of Bautista. He can be a big help to the ballclub. But he's walked too many people this season."

Not a fan favorite
Grilli had become the least favorite Tiger for many fans, a point he addressed after the deal was announced.

"I think I did a good job for what my role was," he said. "I know a lot of people might think differently. But to those people I just say thank you, too, because I'm a bigger person than someone who doesn't like me because of my eyebrows or the way I pitch.

"You should be pulling for your team, no matter what. ... My teammates know what I gave, and that's what matters most."

Odds & ends
Leyland said there were several reasons he didn't start Curtis Granderson Wednesday night, including Granderson's career 0-for-7 record against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. But Leyland also said that he expects Granderson to play against most left-handers. "When you've got a guy who's going good, and there's a pitcher that's been really nasty on him, that's the time to get him a night off," Leyland said. ... Leyland said that Brandon Inge will catch tonight, and said there's a chance that Inge also will catch Sunday in Minnesota. ... The Tigers made it official that Dontrelle Willis will make a rehabilitation start Friday for Triple-A Toledo.

05/01/2008 8:37 PM ET
Cruceta arrives as piece in Tigers 'pen
Righty puts visa issues behind him, ready to provide relief
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Francisco Cruceta arrived in the visiting clubhouse on Thursday with a smile no one could wipe off of his face. With all he had to go through to get here, he deserved to wear it.

He admitted that he wondered if his chance had come and gone as he sat in his native Dominican Republic, waiting week after week for his work visa to be approved while Spring Training continued without him. His pitching over the last few weeks made up for lost time.

"I'm so glad to be here, man," he said on Thursday afternoon, seemingly with a sense of relief in his voice. "I'm so happy right now to play the game, try to compete."

He understandably could feel some relief. The Tigers can't wait to see some actual relief with him on the mound.

"If he can pitch, he'll be good," said manager Jim Leyland, who jokingly asked him where the heck he'd been. "If he can't, he'll just be a nice-looking kid with a good smile."

The last week and a half at Triple-A Toledo have seemingly proven he can pitch. Now, he has to do it at the Major League level.

He was almost like a myth in Spring Training, an empty locker with his name on it and his jersey hanging in the front. That sense seemed to heighten the last couple weeks during his rehab stint at Triple-A Toledo, where he struck out 15 batters over 15 innings of one-run ball with just two hits allowed.

Cruceta made it sound relatively mundane, a credit to throwing every day at the Tigers' Dominican academy while he was stuck at home and a credit to some mechanical adjustments he made last season in his first year as primarily a relief pitcher. His mid-90s fastball became easier to locate, setting up hitters for his power slider.

Cruceta confirmed that he understood the delay in his visa was related to his 50-game suspension last summer for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He spent that suspension last summer throwing on his own in Oklahoma City, where the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate is based.

"I threw in the street," he said.

He came back off the street, onto the field and dominated.

"I was hungry," Cruceta said. "I came from a 50-game suspension. I had to do better. I had to do well, because I had a lot of people behind me who wanted to get my spot."

He finished last season with 38 hits allowed over 65 2/3 innings to go with 40 walks and 70 strikeouts. When he took that form into winter ball in the Dominican League, several big league clubs came calling. While the Tigers were willing to offer Cruceta a Major League contract, it was also the presence of Ramon Perez as the Tigers' Dominican operations director that helped draw Cruceta to Detroit.

"He's like a father to me," Cruceta said.

The Tigers signed Cruceta with the idea of making him their seventh-inning setup man behind Fernando Rodney and closer Todd Jones. Now, with Rodney joining Joel Zumaya on the disabled list and fellow Dominican Denny Bautista working eighth innings for now, Cruceta's role isn't really defined. All Leyland will say publicly about it is that he's in the bullpen.

But at least he's in the bullpen in the Major Leagues. His waiting game is over.

"When I was waiting," Cruceta said, "I was thinking this was my big chance in the big leagues, and they don't want me to go. I was so worried."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

he was doin' a Jonesy last night!

I'm sure he had a good case of pressure & nerves, 1st game for his new club and at Yankee stadium, no less. Hopefully things go better next time.

he got the job done though...the main thing.

Yeah, I wasn't too impressed with him either, but there's some benefit of the doubt to be given: against the Yankees on their turf, looking for a sweep, first game for us...

At least he didn't pull a Mesa.

....and there goes Jason Grilli!!

Won't miss ya too much, Grillmeister!!

Amazing that somebody actually TRADED something for him.

Class A Rockies pitching prospect.

Colorado got ripped!!

Awww, I'm going to miss Grilli... mostly because I liked looking at him, but still...

they consulted with Saint before the trade!

laprimamirala wrote:

they consulted with Saint before the trade!

Must have...

Do you think they'd of traded him to me for a pack of Oreos?