Magglio Ordonez - Fantasy News & Updates
Magglio Ordonez - Fantasy News & Updates
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Realistically, the Tigers would have trouble dumping salary if they tried. The degree of difficulty on trading many of their big contracts -- Dontrelle Willis, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez -- would be high without eating a lot of money themselves. The two Tigers garnering the most reported interest on the trade block -- Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson -- have much more manageable salaries. Trading them won't reduce payroll much, but it could bring back young talent in return that would fill multiple needs on the roster. The real salary relief comes next winter, when contracts to Willis, Bonderman, Robertson and Brandon Inge expire and Ordonez has another option.
Uncharacteristically inconsistent for much of the season, Ordonez was among the hottest hitters of September, hitting .410 with six doubles. The late surge secured his fourth .300 average in the last five seasons. The question is whether his power will return. The .428 slugging percentage was his lowest since his rookie season of 1998, while his .795 OPS was his lowest since 2005.
Ordonez ends the year in a flurry, hitting safely in 12 consecutive games to post a .309 batting average. That number seemed unattainable on Aug. 1, when he was batting just .258, but Ordonez hit .405 to close out his final 48 games. He added eight homers, 48 RBIs, 52 runs and three steals to round out his 2009 stat line.
Ordonez extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his fourth multiple hit performance in six affairs. He's finally batting over .300 again -- he's hitting .303 -- which has helped salvage his drastic decline in other areas, which include seven home runs and just 47 RBIs.
Ordonez stretched his hitting streak to six games as he continues his march toward a .300 batting average. He's batted .353 since the All-Star break to become a valuable everyday option after a despondent first half. His .260 batting average before the All-Star break might have scared off most mixed-leaguers, but Ordonez has showed why owners need to keep an open mind before discarding players in the early months.
Talk of Ordonez being released has dissolved over the past couple of months, as the right fielder has rebounded from a letdown first half by batting .360 since the All-Star break. The option goes back to the contract he signed as a free agent in January 2005. Because Ordonez was coming off knee surgery performed overseas, correcting a problem that limited him to a half-season with the White Sox in 2004, the Tigers wanted to be protected in case Ordonez had more problems down the road, while Ordonez and agent Scott Boras wanted long-term security.
Mags might not be the run-producing machine he was as recently as last year when he drove in 103 runners, but the veteran raker is ripping at a white-hot .500 clip in September (17-for-34) with six multi-hit efforts and six runs scored. As long as you don't count on him to post the kind of lofty RBI totals that he has in the past, Mags could still help out AL-only squads.
Though his power production has been lacking most of the year, Ordonez has made strides when it comes to simply putting the bat on the ball. Look no further than his .500 average during September (12-for-24), or his .349 average since the All-Star break.
Detroit skipper Jim Leyland wants to get as many left-handed hitters into his lineup as he can against Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona. That means Alex Avila will get the start behind the plate, as will Clete Thomas in right field, Carlos Guillen in left and Aubrey Huff at DH.
Although Maggs still can't seem to find his home run stroke, the good news is he's making plenty of contact. The veteran outfielder sports a sizzling .368 average since the start of August, and the protection of superstar slugger Miguel Cabrera ensures plenty of pitches to hit moving forward. All in all, Ordonez is hitting .281 with seven homers, 17 doubles and 40 RBIs over 374 at-bats.
As has been the case for most of the year, Ordonez was ice cold for seven games heading into Saturday. He attained just three hits in 16 at-bats (.188) to continue a trend of hitless games for the career .310 hitter. His .276 batting average is a career-low mark.
Ordonez continues his resurgent month of August, batting .357 (25-for-70) in his past 19 games after a disappointing first half (.260 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBIs).
Ordonez has moved into a fairly straight platoon with the left-handed hitting Clete Thomas, but there was little doubt that the veteran slugger would be in the lineup Sunday, as Ordonez is 7-for-19 in his career off Royals' starter Kyle Davies. Mags has excelled in his new, limited role, hitting .317 with a .495 slugging percentage against southpaws this season.
The dog days of August appear to be bringing out the best in Ordonez, who has collected multiple hits in each of his last three games to give him a .406 average for the month. His season numbers (.273-6-35) still look pedestrain, but owners should remember that he owns a career .310 average and .512 slugging percentage. Maggs' best days are behind him, but he could deliver a few more games like this one during the stretch run.
Maggs is hitting .333 (8-for-24) in August, which is reason enough to show optimism going forward. It's increasingly obvious that Ordonez doesn't have the pop in his bat that he's shown for most of his 13-year career, but it doesn't mean the outfielder can't be a dependable mixed league option. Owners simply need to re-adjust their expectations and realize comfort in his ability to greatly improve his .264 batting average.
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