The Philadelphia Phillies have made it known that they are actively shopping the market for infield depth. Yesterday they were linked to two players, Detroit Tigers “second baseman” Brandon Inge and a familiar former prospect, Jason Donald of the Cleveland Indians. Beyond Inge and Donald, another player recently tied to the Phillies, Mike Fontenot, was released by the San Francisco Giants.
Yesterday afternoon, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Tigers “have tried hard to interest” the Phillies in veteran infielder Brandon Inge. Knobler said Detroit’s efforts have thus far been unsuccessful.
Inge has spent most of his time over the past several seasons manning third base for the Tigers. This season, Detroit has decided to try Inge out at second base. Philadelphia’s primary second baseman, Chase Utley, is set to start the season on their disabled list, and veteran third baseman Placido Polanco never seems far from a stint on the DL. Even so, the Phillies don’t appear to have interest in Inge, whose batting average finished below the Mendoza Line in 2011.
While the Phillies aren’t pursuing Inge, Knobler said that the club did attempt to acquire infielder Jason Donald back from the Indians. Philadelphia shipped Donald to Cleveland in 2009 in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Phillies. Donald has played short, second and third for the Indians, but Cleveland doesn’t appear interested in parting with the 27-year-old.
There’s now one player on the market who the Phillies won’t have to trade players for in order to acquire. After shopping him for at least the past week, the Giants have decided to cut veteran infielder Mike Fontenot.
The 31-year-old would seem to make a lot of sense for Philadelphia, as he’s played short, second and third throughout his career. Fontenot is also not a total waste at the plate, as he sports a career line of .263/.332/.406.
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