Michael

Hollimon

Hollimon figured to be one of the Twins’ first cuts, but with an 8-for-14 start, he’s making a case for a utility job. The 29-year-old was a solid prospect in the Tigers chain before injuries derailed his career. He was out of baseball in 2010 before coming back to hit .231/.326/.416 between Double- and Triple-A for the Twins last season. He’s not really a threat to have fantasy value, but it’d be a nice story if he won a job.

Hollimon, who skipped right over high-A Lakeland this year, is batting .279/.375/.473 for Erie. He is 25, so there’s only so much room for projection. However, he might be the Tigers’ best option at second base if Placido Polanco lands on the DL at any point during 2008. He projects as a very good utilityman.

Purely a procedural transaction, the move enables the Tigers to make room for infielder Brent Dlugach on the 40-man roster. Also, similar to what the Phillies did with pitcher John Ennis on Monday, it also gives the club some roster flexibility for the post-season.

The typical recovery time is six to nine months. Hollimon made his major league debut in June, batting .261 with a home run and two RBI over 11 games.

Hollimon played over the slumping Edgar Renteria. At this point, one wonders if the Tigers might not be better off with Hollimon at shortstop. He’s 6-for-23 with four extra-base hits since being called up. The Tigers at least might want to consider trading Renteria if they could get something else that would help them this year (A.J. Burnett? Derek Lowe?).

Hollimon has seven homers in his last eight games and is hitting .259/.355/.657 in 27 games since returning from a dislocated shoulder suffered during spring training. The switch-hitter turns 26 next month, so he’s probably not going to get a whole lot better than he is now. However, he might not need to in order to become a capable regular.

Hollimon is already 26 years old, but deserves a chance after hitting .274/.372/.507 in 376 career games in the minors. His bat is strong enough to make him an AL-only asset if allowed to play regularly, but for now he’ll merely replace Ramon Santiago as the Tigers’ switch-hitting infielder off the bench.

Hollimon hit .261 with a homer in 12 at-bats over 11 games for the Tigers. The Tigers haven’t activated Ramon Santiago yet, but he’s ready to return and Detroit likely wants Hollimon active for Toledo’s game on Monday night.

He’ll undergo an MRI on Tuesday to get a better idea on the extent of the injury. He was expected to start the season as a middle infielder at Triple-A, but his entire season could be in jeopardy. He hit .282 with 14 home runs and 76 RBI in Double-A last season.

The switch-hitting Holliman is batting .285/.391/.503 with 10 steals in 12 attempts, but he’s 24 and still stuck in the South Atlantic League. The Tigers haven’t gotten more aggressive with him because they also have shortstop prospects they like at higher levels. If Holliman can move up to Double-A next year and continue to put up good numbers, he might have a future as a utilityman.