Enrique Gonzalez NEWS

Tigers add Gonzalez, Lugo on Minor deals
Pitchers expected to add depth to rotation at Triple-A Toledo

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

01/11/10 2:17 PM EST

DETROIT -- The Tigers have a Minor League contract with well-traveled Veneuzelan right-hander Enrique Gonzalez, who is expected to provide depth in the Tigers' farm system while filling out the pitching staff at Triple-A Toledo.

The Tigers also have finalized their previously reported agreement to bring back Ruddy Lugo, who was a versatile part of the Mud Hens pitching staff last year.

FOXSports.com first reported the Gonzalez contract Monday morning.

The 27-year-old Gonzalez joins his fourth organization in as many years. He spent most of last season in the Red Sox at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he went 8-11 with a 5.12 ERA in 23 starts and three relief appearances.

Gonzalez also made two August appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen, both coming against the Yankees. He tossed two scoreless innings to finish out a 14-1 win at Fenway Park on August 22, two weeks after he gave up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium in a 5-0 loss.

Gonzalez spent the winter in the rotation for La Guaira of the Venezuelan League, where he went 3-3 with a 5.35 ERA in 14 starts and allowed 86 hits over 65 2/3 innings.

Lugo, who turns 30 in May, made 25 starts at Toledo, where he went 13-9 with a 4.07 ERA. Depending on what happens with other pitchers in the Tigers' system, he could be the veteran presence in a Mud Hens rotation that includes some expected promotions from Double-A Erie.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

2010 Season
Team League W_ L_ ERA. G .GS CG SHO SV IP___ H_ R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG
TOL ....INT____ 4_ 5 3.46 11 11. 1__ 1__ 0_ 65.0 68 29 25_ 9 16 53_ 0.84_ .264

Perry placed on DL; Gonzalez called up
Reliever suffering from right biceps tendinitis

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/10/10 12:24 AM ET

CHICAGO -- The Tigers lost another reliever to the disabled list Wednesday night, placing Ryan Perry on the 15-day DL with right biceps tendinitis. Detroit purchased the contract of right-hander Enrique Gonzalez from Triple-A Toledo to take his place.

The injury is not expected to be a serious one, not by Tigers officials, but it explains a lot about the recent struggles of Perry. The second-year right-hander opened the year setting up closer Jose Valverde, but gave up nine runs on 10 hits in just three innings over his last five outings.

Manager Jim Leyland said he began to suspect some sort of injury was the culprit, but kept hearing from Perry that he was fine. Not until "really recently," Leyland said, did Perry admit to being hurt.

"His control has not been good," Leyland said. "And normally when you see a guy that had real good control early in the season all of a sudden kind of lost that control, there's usually a red flag there. There's usually a message there that something's not quite right."

Perry visited team physician Dr. Stephen Lemos in Detroit for an MRI exam on Monday, according to head athletic trainer Kevin Rand. The results showed a mild impingement around the back of his rotator cuff and some mild tendinitis around his biceps.

Perry tried to throw a bullpen session Wednesday afternoon. Had he come through that OK, he might've been available out of the bullpen Wednesday night.

However, Rand said, "He felt it on a few of his throws."

That's when they made the decision to shelve him and put him on a medication program.

"I don't really think this is anything long or serious, I really don't," Leyland said. "But at the same time, you have a red flag when you see the control."

Leyland does not believe this puts any extra pressure on any particular reliever. He did say earlier Wednesday, however, that he plans on using Joel Zumaya in shorter outings, usually one inning or less, in hopes of having him available more often.

That said, he doesn't expect this to be a long-term loss.

"I don't really think it's anything to fret about, I really don't," Leyland said. "I don't think it's anything serious at all. It's just matter of taking care of it, getting it quieted down, going back out and pitching a little bit, and hopefully coming right back here."

Gonzalez made an impression on the Tigers' staff with a strong Spring Training, but has spent the season in the Mud Hens rotation. His performance there, though, earned him the recommendation from the Minor League staff ahead of others in the Hens' bullpen.

The 27-year-old Gonzalez, signed as a Minor League free agent last winter, owns a 4-5 record and 3.46 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 53 batters over 65 innings while giving up 68 hits. His last four starts, in particular, have been stellar: 27 2/3 innings, 19 hits, six earned runs and 23 strikeouts, including a complete-game shutout of Indianapolis May 23.

"I always use the guy they recommend, so that's the guy we take," Leyland said. "And he has been starting down there, so he should be able to give us some innings."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers Designate Enrique Gonzalez For Assignment
By Tim Dierkes [August 23 at 1:25pm CST]

The Tigers designated righty Enrique Gonzalez for assignment to make room for outfielder Casper Wells, according to the team.

Gonzalez, 28, posted a 3.81 ERA, 4.5 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 with four home runs allowed in 26 relief innings for the Tigers this year. He was signed to a minor league deal in January and made 11 decent Triple A starts before getting the call in June. Gonzalez has logged time with four organizations in the last four years, pitching for the Tigers, Red Sox, Padres, and Diamondbacks.

GONZALEZ OUTRIGHTED TO TOLEDO: The Tigers today announced that righthanded pitcher Enrique Gonzalez has been outrighted to Triple A Toledo. Gonzalez was designated for assignment on August 23.

Minor League Transactions: Oct. 3-9

Posted Oct. 12, 2010 4:38 pm by Matt Eddy
Filed under: Transactions

This time: Oct. 3-9

The first wave of minor league free agents is upon us. If you're so inclined, follow @eddymk on Twitter for complementary free agent info.

Detroit Tigers
Released: OF Alexis Espinoza, OF Chao-Ting Tang
Granted free agency: RHP Casey Fien, RHP Enrique Gonzalez

Minor Deals: Jesus Guzman, Enrique Gonzalez, LaHair
By Tim Dierkes [November 20 at 12:32pm CST]

The Tigers re-signed righty Enrique Gonzalez to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. Gonzalez, 28, posted a 3.41 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.2 HR/9 in 66 Triple-A innings across eleven starts this year, also racking up 26 big league relief frames. He'd been designated for assignment in August and outrighted shortly
thereafter.

01/10/2011 11:15 AM ET
Tigers invite 18 players to Major League Camp

DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers today announced the following 18 players have been invited to major league camp this spring in Lakeland, FL:

____Pitchers____ ___Catchers___ ____Infielders____ _Outfielders_

John Bale	Rob Brantly	Argenis Diaz	Andy Dirks
Enrique Gonzalez	Bryan Holaday	Brandon Douglas	Avisail Garcia
Fu-Te Ni	Patrick Leyland	Scott Thorman	Ben Guez
Chris Oxspring	John Murrian
Adam Wilk	Omir Santos
Brendan Wise	Max St. Pierre

Additionally, the following staff members will be in uniform at major league camp this spring: Kevin Bradshaw, Ray Burris, George Carlo, Manny Crespo, Chris Cron, Joe DePastino, Leon "Bull" Durham, Toby Harrah, Jerry Martin, Jon Matlack, Phil Nevin, Dave Owen, Brian Peterson, Scott Pickens, Mike Rojas, Gene Roof and A.J. Sager. Additionally, both Willie Horton and Al Kaline will be in uniform this spring. Dustin Campbell, Matt Rankin and Chris McDonald will assist the major league training staff this spring, while Chris Walter and Steve Chase will both once again work with the Tigers strength and conditioning coordinator Javair Gillett.

The first pitchers and catchers work-out in Lakeland will be on February 14, while the first full squad work-out will be on February 19.

A complete roster detailing the non-roster invitees follows this release.

Tigers set roster with final spring cuts
Boesch, Wells make club as extra outfielders
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 03/26/11 4:30 PM ET

LAKELAND, Fla. -- In the end, the impression that so many young Tigers made in 2010 stood for something when it came time to decide who breaks camp with the club in 2011.

Brennan Boesch and Casper Wells will head north as Detroit's extra outfielders, both of whom manager Jim Leyland will try to keep fresh with a diet of at-bats. Enrique Gonzalez, the relief candidate from which Leyland knew what to expect, will get the first chance as a long reliever.

Danny Worth, Andy Dirks and Adam Wilk, meanwhile, will head to Triple-A Toledo and wait for their shot. With their cuts from camp Saturday morning -- Worth was optioned to Toledo, while Dirks and Wilk were assigned to Minor League camp -- the Tigers' 25-man roster is complete. Unless Detroit makes a trade or waiver pickup in the next few days -- and Leyland said they have "nothing going on" at the moment -- this is the group that will take on the Yankees next Thursday in the Bronx.

The one player going there without a Major League game to his credit is reliever Brayan Villarreal, who essentially gets his chance with Joel Zumaya opening the season on the disabled list.

"I have a couple concerns, obviously, but I really like our team," Leyland said. "And if guys do characteristically what they've done over their career, and I'm speaking more about the veteran guys that we have, we're going to be pretty good."

If Boesch and Wells can find their best forms from 2010 -- Boesch's form coming in the first half of the year, Wells' more during the stretch run -- they could be better. That played no small part in Leyland's decision.

Leyland's first positional choice was whether to take two outfielders or go with one along with Worth. That was apparently decided earlier in the week.

"He kind of let me know a couple days ago," Worth said Saturday. "So I wasn't surprised."

Once that was decided, the Tigers had to weigh Dirks' torrid spring against what Boesch and Wells showed last season, as well as this spring. Since Wells bats right-handed, he had the advantage of fitting into the lineup against left-handed pitching, when Victor Martinez would likely catch and Magglio Ordonez could shift to designated hitter.

Boesch has the advantage of left-handed power.

"When you start making the case for [Will] Rhymes -- because when he got the opportunity, he took advantage of it -- I think even though the second half wasn't good at all, you still have to make the case for Boesch," Leyland said. "He had 14 home runs with 67 RBIs as a rookie."

If Leyland didn't think he could find at-bats for Boesch, he said, he wouldn't have taken him. As it is, he'll get some at-bats in left field, mixed in with Ryan Raburn.

Dirks, whose prospect status rose with a breakthrough season last year at Double-A, hit his way into serious consideration for a reserve outfield spot. He entered Saturday tied for the team lead in hits and third in at-bats, going 19-for-57 with four doubles, three triples, a home run and nine RBIs. He'll head to Toledo in a similar position Boesch had last year before an injury to Carlos Guillen created an opportunity in mid-April.

"Now I have to carry it into the season," Dirks said. "[Spring] doesn't mean anything [unless he keeps hitting at Toledo]."

Dirks could potentially play at all three outfield spots at Toledo.

Worth batted .333 (12-for-36) with six doubles, a triple and seven RBIs. He hit his way into the mix for the Tigers' second-base opening that Rhymes will fill starting out the season. Ramon Santiago will back up at second, while Don Kelly has the capability of playing there, too. Worth, meanwhile, is expected to play several infield spots at Toledo, with a good amount of games at third base.

After missing most of last season's second half with a heel injury, though, Worth still proved something out of this camp. He's generally regarded as the best defensive middle infielder they have, a point he reinforced this spring.

"I think there was a lot of question whether I'd come in healthy, ready to play," Worth said. "I think I showed them I'm ready."

Wilk had built an impressive case for himself as a potential third left-hander in the Tigers' bullpen, having allowed only one run over 12 2/3 innings before Friday night. Leyland said he had made his roster choices before Friday, which would mean Wilk's four-run, three-inning start against the Braves on Friday night would've had no impact on his chances.

"To come so close to making the big league roster and then to get called in and hear they're sending you to the Minors, it's a tough feeling," Wilk said. "It's tough to hear that."

Wilk's situation was part of the challenge facing Leyland in filling out his bullpen without Zumaya, who will open the season on the disabled list with no current timetable for a return.

"You have to remember that Zumaya was a void, so somebody had to take that spot," Leyland said, "and it probably ended up being Villarreal."

Villarreal owns just eight games of experience above Class A ball, all of them starts, but his aggressive pitching and mid-90s fastball made an immediate impression on Leyland.

"He's got a real quick arm, he's very athletic and he's not scared," Leyland said. "The true test will be, when they rough him up, how does he respond? But I think he's a tough nut. I like him a lot."

Gonzalez will make the Opening Day roster after bouncing back and forth between Detroit and Toledo last season. After a strong spring in which he tossed 11 1/3 scoreless innings, he pitched his way onto the club in a potentially underrated role.

"Don't sell somebody like Gonzalez short, his importance," Leyland said. "Because hopefully, we feel that we might be a team that's able to come back and score some runs and play a little catch-up. So that [reliever is] going to be very important."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Perry's return gives Tigers options in bullpen
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 04/20/11 4:01 PM ET

SEATTLE -- Ryan Perry is back in the Tigers' bullpen, having been activated from the 15-day disabled list as expected Wednesday morning. Alberto Alburquerque, the reliever indirectly replacing him for the past week or so, did not go back. Instead, long reliever Enrique Gonzalez was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo.

The result: Manager Jim Leyland has some mixing and matching he can do to get through the seventh inning with a lead without potentially burning his young, untested arms.

"Maybe we can set some of the kids in a little different order, break them in a little bit different. Perry, obviously, we're hoping can be a big help to us later on in the game, in that seventh-inning situation probably, which will take a little stress off a couple of kids. They'll be able to do it sometimes, but hopefully that's the way it'll work out."

It's a little unusual to think of the 24-year-old reliever as the experienced arm, but after the better part of two seasons and 115 appearances in the Tigers' bullpen, Perry qualifies. Of Detroit's current relievers, only closer Jose Valverde and setup man Joaquin Benoit have more Major League appearances.

Perry missed two weeks with a left eye infection, but his arm was perfectly fine. He could throw in the bullpen and on the side; he just didn't have the eyesight to pitch in games until he was cleared to wear his contact lenses again last week. Once that happened, he basically just had to work back into game condition during his two rehab outings for Triple-A Toledo.

Perry said he felt fine with his pitches.

"I was able to work on my mechanics, do some extra work," Perry said. "For me, pitching is a lot of muscle memory, and I was able to work on all my stuff."

If he can shore up the seventh inning, he should allow Alburquerque and fellow rookie Brayan Villarreal some room to work on their stuff in more select situations.

Gonzalez had to clear waivers before being outrighted, which means the Tigers had pegged him before he walked four batters while retiring five Tuesday night. The 28-year-old right-hander was somewhat of a surprise pick for the Opening Day bullpen before giving up seven runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings, with six walks and two strikeouts.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers option Villarreal, recall Gonzalez
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 05/22/11 7:34 PM ET

PITTSBURGH -- When Tigers manager Jim Leyland talked about sorting out his bullpen Sunday morning, he hinted at the ability of veteran relievers to sometimes handle long stretches of inactivity better than youngsters. It turned out to be a forecast for a postgame move.

Once the Tigers wrapped up their road trip on Sunday afternoon by beating the Pirates, they optioned rookie right-hander Brayan Villarreal to Triple-A Toledo. That opened a spot for the return of veteran long reliever Enrique Gonzalez, back after being outrighted to Toledo a month ago.

Both pitchers made the Opening Day roster, but neither put up particularly strong numbers. Villarreal allowed 11 runs on 19 hits over 15 1/3 innings, with five of those runs coming in his past three games. He walked seven and struck out 14.

It probably wasn't a coincidence that Villarreal's worst struggles coincided with a lighter workload. After pitching in eight of Detroit's first 17 games and 11 of the first 28, he had made just three appearances since May 2. Saturday's appearance was his first since May 10.

"Villarreal's not quite ready yet," Leyland said, "and the way we were using him, he wasn't getting enough work."

Gonzalez gave up seven runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in five appearances, then took over closing duties in Toledo, where he posted six saves and 15 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings and 10 appearances.

To make room for Gonzalez on the 40-man roster, the Tigers transferred Carlos Guillen from the 15- to 60-day disabled list. It's mainly a procedural move, since Guillen had already been on the 15-day DL since the Tigers broke camp in late March, and is still a ways removed from a Minor League rehab assignment.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Ordonez to come off DL, rejoin Tigers Monday
By Chris Vannini and Jason Beck / MLB.com | 06/12/11 6:00 PM ET

DETROIT -- Magglio Ordonez will be activated and rejoin the Tigers roster Monday and reliever Enrique Gonzalez's contract will be outrighted to Triple-A Toledo, Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski announced Sunday.

Ordonez went on the 15-day disabled list on May 11 with right ankle weakness and went through a nine-game rehab stint in Toledo, where he hit 11-for-39 (.282) with two home runs.

"His health has been fine. He has felt good, he has not had any problems whatsoever," Dombrowski said. "He really continued to stay down there himself because he wanted to get his timing down. When we sent him out on injury rehab, we told him take whatever time he needed and let us know when he was ready.

"Of course, he was 3-for-5 and hit a home run [in] the last two games and really was swinging the bat better. [He] felt he could push off the back with his ankle and feels he's ready to come up here and contribute."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he was still unsure if Ordonez would be in tomorrow's lineup. Andy Dirks, who was called up when Ordonez went on the DL and has mostly started in Ordonez's absence, hit .281 (9-for-32) in May, but has struggled in June, going 5-for-30.

Assuming Ordonez is healthy and effective, Dirks could join Casper Wells as a part-time player and defensive replacement while Ordonez, Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch will likely be the starters.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

"Experience, a great bat and we really need a guy like him in the clubhouse and to be with us," said designated hitter Victor Martinez when asked what Ordonez brings. "He's been around a long time in the game so it's always good having a guy like Magglio back."

Martinez was not worried that Ordonez could disrupt a Tigers offense that has been one of the best in the Majors in June with a .322 batting average and 60 runs scored.

"What Magglio has done for this organization is something that, for me as a player, you have to respect that a lot," Martinez said. "If somebody is saying something like that, I don't really know what they're thinking. All he's bringing is experience, [he's] a great player, ... he has a lot of baseball left in his career. It's going to help us a lot."