Feb 23, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Dontrelle Willis signs autographs before a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
You could say he was the other half of the Miguel Cabrera deal that just didn’t work out. Injury both physical and mental derailed any chances that Dontrelle Willis ever had of working out with the Detroit Tigers. He fell out of the spotlight after Detroit and he was knocked around to 11 teams, which two were independent leagues. Yet last week Willis is getting another chance at the big leagues.
Willis signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Willis himself says that he was “very excited and very eager,”. He was also surprised that after he told his agent that he felt good and healthy that teams showed any interest at all in the once highly touted lefty. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything.” Willis said.
Before Willis found himself in Detroit he was on the young Miami Marlins team who won the 2003 World Series. That same year he won National League Rookie of the Year award. He played five seasons with the Marlins before he was packaged with Cabrera to the Tigers in the 2007 off season. Less than a week after the trade General Manager Dave Dombrowski signed Willis to a 3-year $29 million dollar contract.
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However at the start of the season things didn’t go so well. In his first game as a Tiger he only went five innings and gave up three earned runs. In Willis next start he injured his knee and was put on the disabled list only a short time into the season. In early June he was sent down to the Tigers single-A affiliate team after another bad outing that saw him give up eight runs in a little under two innings. He was called back up, but again didn’t produce for the Tigers.
At the start of the 2009 season Willis was put on the DL for what was labeled as an “anxiety disorder”. He returned in May, but yet again poor results were all he got. He ended the season with 1–4 record and a 7.49 ERA and many thought he might be released by the Tigers in the offseason.
Yet he wasn’t, in fact Willis made the Tigers rotation for the 2010 season. After an April start that wasn’t as bad as his previous. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction for Willis, but, in April the Tigers designated him for assignment. Willis played in 24 games his record was 2–8 and had an ERA of 6.86 in 101 innings pitched for the Tigers.
Motor City Bengals
From there Willis spent time in the systems for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels. Most teams he went around to he was signed to a minor league contract, mostly one year deals that never seemed to really work out for him.
He also pitched in the Independent Atlantic league. He saw time with the Long Island Ducks and Bridgeport Bluefish. Now he is back to MLB with the Brewers on a minor league contract. Scouts for the Brewers gave Willis favorable reviews saying it looked as if he had a shortened delivery.
It will be interesting to see if Dontrelle “D-train” Willis can make a comeback. His time in Detroit wasn’t the more pleasant, but I always remember him being a super nice person and had some of the best interviews. Here is to hoping the 33 year-old lefty makes a comeback.
What do you think of Willis getting another shot? Did you like him when he was in Detroit? Let us know below.