Magglio Ordonez’s contract has been a topic of discussion for Tigers’ fans in 2009. But his surge of hitting has relieved the stress of giving him a hefty pay check in 2010.

So much for benching and platooning, Magglio Ordonez has just played way to good in the second half. So good that the Tigers can’t imagine him not getting the majority of playing time in right field the rest of the way.

The first and second half of the season has seemed to be a tale of two different players. Magglio hit just .260 in the first half of the year, and is now posting a .353 average in the second half. But not only has his average raised, his OPS has shot through the roof, improving over 200 points to .901.

A main key to his mid-season transformation may have been the ability to stay out of the double play. He hit into 13 double plays in the first half of the year, but has only bounced into six in the second half.

While the 2009 season moved into late July the Major League Baseball trade deadline loomed. Detroit shopped Ordonez around, but couldn’t find a possible suitor with a common interest. Most likely because of his huge contract that is nearly 14% of the Tigers, approximately $140 million, salary.

Magglio Ordonez’s 2010 vesting option was widely publicized earlier this season. The details were if he started 135 games, or had 540 plate appearances in 2009, the option would vest. Also, a combined 270 starts or 1,080 plate appearances over the span of 2008 and 2009, the option would vest as well.

Might not seem like that big of deal, but if the option vested Ordonez would be awarded $18 million in 2010, if it didn’t, just $3 million. So this was a huge focal point for the Detroit Tigers.

The option of releasing Ordonez fell threw when he began to produce like he had in years past. Plus, if Detroit were to release him, it would most likely result in a grievance filed from agent, Scott Boras.

Also, from a fans perspective, how would the release of Ordonez affect the Tigers following and ticket sales? Since Maggs is one of the fan’s favorite players in the Olde English D uniform.

His big contract and discouraging stats ruled out the idea of trading Magglio away, nor would any team in their right mind claim him off of waivers.

Sure Detroit will pay him $15 million more then what they wanted to spend, but it may be worth it if the team can play deep into October and have a shot at a World Series ring.

Ordonez also has a 2011 vesting option which is similar to his 2010 option. Since Detroit has limited his plate appearances so far this season, they shouldn’t struggle to keep his numbers down. If he reaches the vesting option for 2011 he would earn $15 million.

It seems as if Magglio Ordonez will stay with the Tigers for a few more years, unless another team wants to make a trade for him in the off-season and renegotiate his contract.

The marriage between Ordonez and the Tigers is a roller coaster of emotions and money. Magglio still has the ability to save the marriage though, just keep producing like he did in August.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 27th, 2009 at 10:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.