Phil Dumatrait

Dumatrait wasn't right in spring training and looked worse when he came back from shoulder surgery in August 2008. Last season, deadline deals left Pittsburgh without a lefty in the bullpen. As a result, Dumatrait tried his luck in that role with little success. He threw in 15 games after Sept. 7 and compiled a 6.92 ERA and 1.846 WHIP in 13 innings. He was non-tendered by the Pirates last fall and will have a hard time winning a major league job with Detroit since he'll battle several lefties for a bullpen role.

Shortly after taking the Pirates' open pitching coach position in November, Joe Kerrigan remarked that he thought he could help Pittsburgh's starting pitching, singling out Dumatrait. Good luck. While Kerrigan's lofty aspirations for the entire staff may be unattainable, there's reason to believe he can help Dumatrait. The lefty showed signs of serving as a reliable starter before being shut down with shoulder bursitis in July. Dumatrait registered a 3.44 ERA through 65.1 innings before first hurting his arm. Taken off the Cincinnati scrap heap a year earlier, the 27-year-old hurler has good velocity from the left side and could settle into a No. 3 starter's role in 2009. From a fantasy perspective, it would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with him.

Credit Dumatrait for making it up to the major leagues after missing all of 2004 and much of 2005 recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he was clearly not ready for the promotion, getting cuffed around in his six starts. The Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Reds in October, but he is just as likely to begin the season in Triple-A for them as he would have with the Reds. He just doesn't miss enough bats at this point to be considered a viable option.

Dumatrait, once a first-round pick of the Red Sox, finally made it up to Triple-A midway through 2006, with fairly mediocre results. He'll contend for the fifth starter's job out of spring training, but he's not really ready yet and will probably get to know Louisville really well over the next year-and-a-half.

Dumatrait spent the 2005 season working his way back from Tommy John surgery with decent results at Double-A Chattanooga. While his walk rate was high, remember that it takes a pitcher a while to regain his command when recovering from such a procedure, even if he makes it back to action within a year of the surgery.

Dumatrait, acquired from the Red Sox in the Scott Williamson trade, has fit in just nicely in the Reds farm system - he underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in April and was lost for the season.

Dumatrait was the primary haul in the Scott Williamson deal. A first-round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2000, he's taken awhile to advance through the levels, but had a fairly successful year at two high Single-A stops in 2003. He'll need to improve his control in the Reds system while avoiding any erosion in his strikeout rate to succeed at Double-A Chattanooga, where he's likely to begin in 2004.