Carlos Guillen’s slower-than-expected recovery from knee surgery forced the Tigers to consider other options at second base and after giving some thought to sacrificing defense for offense with Ryan Raburn manager Jim Leyland has settled on Will Rhymes.
Rhymes actually led the Tigers in second base starts last season with 46 and in giving him the job until Guillen returns they also sent last year’s Opening Day second baseman, Scott Sizemore, back to Triple-A.
Sizemore is in danger of falling out of the Tigers’ plans less than a year after looking like their long-term answer at second base, as injuries derailed him and he failed to turn heads in the minors.
Rhymes hit well in 54 games as a 27-year-old rookie, but based on his modest track record he’s probably not a long-term answer either. He is on Twitter, though.
