Travis

Chapman

It’s been revealed that Chapman underwent shoulder surgery last month, so he’s not expected to be ready to resume playing until midseason. He’ll join Triple-A Omaha once healthy.

It’s still hard to believe the Tigers chose to keep Craig Paquette and give Chapman back to the Phillies.

A nice pickup. Chapman, a former Phillies prospect, missed most of 2004 following offseason shoulder surgery. He could compete for a bench job in spring training, but it’s very likely that he’ll open the year at Triple-A Louisville and act as insurance at third base.

The Phillies never gave any indication that they were interested in finding out what Chapman has to offer. He’ll be a solid bench player for another team.

Chapman is batting .304 with seven homers and an International League-leading 51 RBI this season. He could be Tigers property right now, but the team elected to return the Rule 5 pick to Philadelphia. It looked like a bad move in March, and it appears especially awful now.

Chapman should replace Tyler Houston as one of the team’s top pinch-hitters.

Chapman would have been a better use of a roster spot than any of Detroit’s Rule 5 pitchers, but he’ll go back to being buried in the Philadelphia organization.