Brandon Inge cleared waivers on Tuesday despite some late interest by the Florida Marlins.
He has been outrighted to the Tigers’ Triple A affiliate in Toledo and made his debut on Tuesday. It went quite well: Inge belted a three-run home run and a double during a 3-for-4, four RBI night. Toledo won the game, 7-4. His second game didn’t go so well, as Inge went 0-for-2 and struck out, but he did have two walks and an RBI.
If Inge can produce consistently then he can dramatically improve his chances to be called up when teams are allowed to expand their rosters to 40 players in September. Wilson Betemit has been doing well since the Tigers acquired him from Kansas City, but the closest thing Detroit has to a backup at third base is Don Kelly. While Kelly is a serviceable third baseman, manager Jim Leyland likes to move him around the field a lot.
It’s early, but here’s hoping Inge can turn it around.