Ben

Petrick

The Tigers don’t want Petrick to catch Jeremy Bonderman tonight, but will have Mike Maroth throw to him Tuesday. The Tigers don’t view Petrick as an everyday catcher, but as more of a utility player who can give other catchers a day off.

Has it gotten this bad in Detroit? Not even Triple-A Colorado Springs had to do something like this. Petrick highly doubts the move is permanent, though he did go 1-for-3 yesterday.

Petrick doesn’t believe the medical problem affected his physical ability but said he faced a mental battle. It would seem to explain how he so suddenly went from decent to poor behind the plate. When Petrick first reached the majors in 1999, it looked like he would have a long career as an offensive-minded catcher. It never materialized, and though Petrick remained a pretty good hitter, he wasn’t able to stick as a bench player. The 27-year-old said he intends to go to college and get into coaching at the high school or college level. We wish him the best of luck.

Trammell wants to find out if Petrick, who will make his Tiger debut in the outfield tonight, ''can really help us’’ at catcher or if he will be a utility player at catcher, in the outfield and at first. Bet on the latter, which may be enough to give Petrick eligibility at catcher in many leagues. Petrick’s acquisition, however, may end all talk of moving Eric Munson to catcher.

Petrick is batting .282 with 7 HR, 29 RBI and a 946 OPS for Colorado Springs. He’s getting most of his time in the outfield, but he’s also playing first base and catching. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’s anything he can do to put himself back into Colorado’s plans.

If he makes the Rockies as a reserve outfielder, Petrick will act as the team’s No. 3 catcher. It’s very unlikely that he’ll ever get a start at the position.

Petrick is still capable of helping a team, but we won’t complain about the Tigers dropping him as long as they keep Rule 5 pick Chris Shelton. Jason Smith had moved ahead of Abernathy and Ozuna in the competition for a spot as a utility infielder.

Both players were designated for assignment on Wednesday.

Even the lowly Tigers wouldn’t give Petrick too much of an opportunity after trading for him last season, but he didn’t force them to do so by hitting just .225 in 43 games. The best that Petrick can hope for this winter is that someone will sign him to play against lefties. No team is going to consider him as a regular, though at age 26, he still has a chance to become one later on.

Petrick deserves a lucky break or two, but he might need three or four in order to play a meaningful role on the Tigers this year. He’ll likely start off with Triple-A Toledo. If he tears the cover off the ball for a couple of months, the Tigers might give him another chance.