https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2016/02/24/detroit-tigers-bruce-rondon-has-much-to-prove/
It's time for Tigers' Rondon to stop wastinmg his talent.
Detroit Athletic
By adding the trio of Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe, and Justin Wilson to a bullpen that did more damage than good last year, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila has beefed up one of the team?s soft spots of vulnerability. There?s little doubt that the Tigers will be stronger in the late innings because of the three veteran pickups, but also because of the decision to jettison some of last year?s culprits, like Joba Chamberlain and Tom Gorzelanny. The bullpen could also show some improvement from within the organization. Principally, that could come in the form of Bruce Rondon, who has managed to transition himself from elite prospect to reclamation project within two short seasons.
When we last saw Rondon, the onetime pitching prize who was named after martial arts legend Bruce Lee, he was given the heave-ho by Tigers management, told to go home early because of a bad attitude. It was baseball?s equivalent to being sent to the principal?s office, but something rarely seen in the major leagues today. In today?s game, petulant players are coddled to no end; if there is punishment, it usually comes in the form of a minor league assignment, or a manufactured injury that allows the team to place the player on the disabled list in a face-saving maneuver. But Rondon?s behavior was apparently so bad that the Tigers simply told him to pack up his belongings and head home early for a long winter.
It?s also worth noting that not one single Tigers player came to Rondon?s defense. Not one publicly supported Rondon, and not one criticized the Tigers for their decision. In an era when players stick up for their fellow union brethren to a fault, the Tigers? unwillingness to take Rondon?s side speaks volumes about the situation.
On Friday, Rondon reported to the Tigers? spring training camp in Lakeland, along with the rest of the team?s pitchers and catchers. When asked about what happened last year, he said very little, instead offering cryptic answers filled with clich?s. ?In baseball, you learn small things every single day, and that was a difficult time,? he told sportswriter Chris Iott. ?I?m ready to keep learning.? Frankly, Rondon?s answer strikes me as weak. There was no admission of guilt, no willingness to discuss exactly what he did to anger manager Brad Ausmus and the Tigers front office. If the first step to redemption is a willingness to account for one?s shortcomings, Rondon failed on that measure.
Last year, Rondon returned to the Tigers after undergoing Tommy John surgery. It?s the kind of major arm surgery that requires a long period of rest and rehabilitation. If pitchers want to return from it, they have to put in long hours, go through regimented exercise, all part of the effort to regain the arm strength that a torn ligament once took away. Rondon was apparently unwilling to make that commitment, which was what exasperated the Tigers to no end.
In two of his last appearances, Rondon threw his fastball with such poor velocity that the Tigers wondered whether he was giving it his maximum effort. Shortly thereafter, the Tigers dismissed him from the club. Ausmus claimed the reason was ?effort level,? but wouldn?t expound much beyond the usual talking points.
There was also talk that Rondon had become aloof with teammates. In and of itself, that is no crime, but coupled with his poor conditioning and lackluster effort in games, the Tigers felt that he had behaved poorly enough to start his winter early.
Rondon?s winter has certainly been full of adventure. In an effort to build up his arm, the Tigers approved Rondon?s decision to pitch in the Venezuelan Winter League, but he became embroiled in controversy there, igniting a bench-clearing brawl. Rondon charged an opposing baserunner, pushing him and then throwing several wild swings in the player?s direction. Rondon and the baserunner both earned ejections for their involvement in the incident.
While in Venezuela, Rondon contacted a mosquito-transmitted disease known as the Chikungunya virus, which left him weak and set back some of his conditioning efforts. As a result, Rondon feels he will need two or three more bullpen sessions before he is 100 per cent and caught up to the rest of the Tigers? pitchers.
The question for Rondon is this: what does he need to do to regain his place as a prospect in the Tigers? thinking and prevent himself from taking the same career path as the enigmatic Chamberlain? First off, it would help if Rondon lost some additional weight. Last year, he pitched at 270 pounds. He looks thinner than that now, but it wouldn?t hurt him to lose another 15 pounds or so during the course of spring training. Second, he needs to show that he has recaptured some of the life on his fastball. When healthy, he threw in the high nineties, sometimes touching 100 miles an hour. He doesn?t need to match that velocity in 2016, but given his lack of a great slider or change-up, he probably needs to throw in the range of 94 to 95 miles per hour to be effective in the major leagues.
Realistically, the Tigers have two open spots in their 2016 bullpen. Rondon is competing for one of those spots, along with former New York Mets right-hander Bobby Parnell (who struggled badly in his comeback from Tommy John surgery last year), a rehabbing former starter Shane Greene (who underwent surgery for blood clots in his shoulder), right-handers Michael Fulmer and Buck Farmer, and left-handers Matt Boyd and Kyle Ryan. It?s a crowded field. At this point, Rondon is looking at longer odds than some of the others, if only because of the bad taste he left with the organization late last summer. If he doesn?t pitch exceptionally well in the spring, he will probably start the season at Triple-A Toledo.
Either way, it?s not too late for Rondon. He?s still only 25. It was only four years ago that former Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski called him a ?rare talent.? Let?s hope that Rondon gets in shape, find his fastball, and stops wasting that talent in 2016.
