Tigers offer contract to Jeremy Bonderman, according to report

The Detroit Tigers have reportedly extended a contract offer to 30-year-old pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. The right-handed hurler pitched eight seasons for the Tigers, but he hasn't appeared in any games since 2010. The former-Tiger underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery after the 2010 season, and he has been out of Major League Baseball for two years. Here is the report about the contract offer, via Jon Morosi:

#Tigers have offered a contract to Jeremy Bonderman, sources tell FOXSports.com. @mlbonfox

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 9, 2012

Bonderman never really lived up to his status as a first-round draft pick during his time with the Tigers. He lost 19 games as a rookie in 2003, and then proceeded to post a 61-58 record over the next seven seasons. Bonderman owns a career ERA of 4.89 over 1176.0 innings, along with a 1.402 WHIP and a 2.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He signed a four-year, $38 million extension with the Tigers back in 2006, and then proceeded to post four of the worst seasons of his career.

Bonderman's new contract offer from the Tigers will certainly be on a different scale than the extension from 2006, so perhaps David Dombrowski sees the pitcher as a low-risk investment that could pay off in a small way.