Not many considered the Tigers bringing back catcher Gerald Laird, but that's what Dave Dombrowski did the other day, officially announcing that the light-hitting Laird, who is fresh off of winning a World Series as a backup in St. Louis, would be signing a one-year deal to back up Alex Avila in 2012.
Dave Dombrowski is pleased that Laird will be back:
"Gerald is a veteran catcher that is familiar with both our pitching staff and organization," Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said today in a release. "As a right-handed hitter, he is the solid complement to Alex Avila as our backup catcher for the 2012 season."
I was probably one of the few Tigers fans who would've been fine had the Tigers re-signed Laird after the 2010 season, knowing that Victor Martinez wasn't going to hold up behind the plate. The Tigers corrected that mistake with this signing. Martinez will now be the full-time DH and the defensively sound Laird will spell Avila when necessary so that he doesn't have to catch 18 straight games ever again.