We Hit Dingers: MLB Offseason Preview

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Detroit Tigers

American League	Central Division
86-75	8.0 GB of Division Lead
Manager: Brad Ausmus	GM: Al Avila
AAA Affiliate Toledo Mud Hens	AA Affiliate Erie SeaWolves

POS.	Name	Level
P	Matt Manning	Rookie

Justin Verlander continued his rebirth as one of the game's elite pitchers for the second consecutive season after he had a poor year in 2014. He once again threw more than 200 innings, proving to be one of baseball's most durable pitchers, and led the league in strikeouts and WHIP. This all culminated in Verlander finishing runner-up in Cy Young voting, despite receiving more first place votes than the winner, Rick Porcello. Verlander was a great steadying presence in a rather weak rotation apart from rookie of the year, Michael Fulmer, and looks to be the ace of the staff for seasons to come. I think that if Verlander can put together three more highly productive seasons he will find himself enshrined in Cooperstown someday.

Failure - The 2016 Tigers were a failure sheerly based on the reasoning that a $200 million payroll needs to make the playoffs. They spent big last offseason, bringing in outfielder Justin Upton and starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, both of whom had lackluster seasons. They made every effort to solidify themselves as a World Series candidate and they still almost made the playoffs, despite poor seasons from key contributors throughout their roster. The Tigers were a team that had good seasons from the top end of their roster but had very little depth to make them a serious contender. Detroit's rotation surprisingly came together to an extent, with great seasons from Verlander and rookie of the year, Michael Fulmer, yet it greatly dropped off after them. They had a fairly productive lineup led by Ian Kinsler and future hall-of-fame Miguel Cabrera, who is just so consistent. They failed, however, to get good production out of key positions, including third base, shortstop, and center field.

I think that the Tigers should keep their core together and try again to win the World Series in 2017. They have a good rotation that should see Jordan Zimmermann bounce back to his career averages. They also have a good lineup that could be a great one if the front office added some depth and addressed needs at a few positions. Despite this, word is that the Tigers' front office is intent on reducing payroll for next season down from the roughly $200 million it is projected to be. General Manager Al Avila has made it known that no one is off limits to be traded, including Cabrera and Verlander. There have been talks that perhaps the Houston Astros will try and acquire Cabrera, as they have a need at first base and Cabrera could transition into a DH as he ages. If the Tigers do try and trade Verlander, the Dodgers could be a good place for him to land, as they have a need in their rotation behind Clayton Kershaw. JD Martinez is another Tiger who has drawn attention and it seems that there is a strong possibility that he will be dealt this offseason, with the Dodgers once again being strong suitors. The Dodgers have also been in on second baseman Ian Kinsler, who had a good season and the Dodgers desperately need someone at the position. In their current state, the Tigers are still good enough to compete for the playoffs next season so it will be interesting to see what the team does going forward.

*All stats and information come from baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, rosterresource.com, baseballamerica.com, and spotrac.com