Worth optioned to Toledo, Tigers roster set

Worth optioned to Toledo, Tigers roster set
BECK'S BLOG
Posted on March 28, 2013 at 4:27 pm

The final roster move to set the Tigers roster was the move everyone was kind of expecting: Infielder Danny Worth will open the season at Triple-A Toledo.

The Tigers announced the move after Thursday’s loss to the Astros at Osceola County Stadium. Worth, who finished the game at third base, headed back on the team bus and will head over to minor-league camp on Friday.

Worth shuttled five different times between Detroit and Toledo last year alone, so no one knows better than him that this isn’t a long-term banishment. Still, the fact that the move was the last of camp, and it came at almost the very end, had to have hurt.

“It was a good conversation, because he’s such a respectful kid. It wasn’t a fun conversation,” manager Jim Leyland said. “I’m not going to elaborate, but I can tell you that in reality, we had 27 guy this year that we tried to fit on a 25-man squad, and we just couldn’t do it. Because he deserves to be on the team. But at this time, that did not work out. With [Quintin Berry] and Danny Worth, we had two guys that probably deserved to be on the team.
“He played great. He’s hitting better than I’ve ever seen him. He’s playing better than I’ve seen him. He looked like a big leaguer and he is a big leaguer, but that’s not much consolation for him today.”

Though Worth was initially thought to be in competition for the final spot on the 25-man roster, he stuck around on the chance of winning the utility infield spot held by Ramon Santiago for the past several years. Santiago signed a two-year contract before last season to fill it, but the Tigers were by all indications checking the market to see if there was trade interest. Santiago will make $2.1 million guaranteed this season, so the Tigers would’ve had to eat a bulk of that salary to facilitate a deal.

Much like last year’s Winter Meetings, when Santiago’s name first popped up in trade rumors, any interest was limited by the contract. Thus, Worth is a Mud Hen again.