A year after finishing with a disappointing .500 record, the Tigers won 95 regular season games and have advanced to the American League Championship Series. With an aggressive approach in free agency and some successful midseason trades, GM Dave Dombrowski turned the the Tigers into a playoff team.
MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker offers a chronological look at the players Detroit has acquired in the last calendar year. The Tigers have acquired dozens of players since them, but we’re limiting our focus to those who made the ALDS roster:
New Additions
- Joaquin Benoit, three-year, $16.5MM signing, November 2010
- Al Alburquerque, minor league signing, November 2010
- Victor Martinez, four-year, $50MM signing, November 2010
- Brad Penny, one-year, $3MM signing, January 2011
- Wilson Betemit, acquired from Royals for Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez, July 2011
- Doug Fister, acquired from Mariners with David Pauley for Francisco Martinez, Charlie Furbush, Casper Wells and Chance Ruffin, July 2011
- Delmon Young, acquired from Twins for Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros, August 2011
Free Agents Who Re-signed
- Brandon Inge, two-year, $11.5MM signing, October 2010
- Jhonny Peralta, two-year, $11.25MM signing, November 2010
- Omir Santos, minor league signing, December 2010
- Magglio Ordonez, one-year, $10MM signing, December 2010
Dombrowski was one of the most pro-active general managers in baseball last offseason and had signed Benoit, Martinez, Peralta and Inge before many teams had started their winter shopping. Though the Tigers had to demote Inge to Triple-A Toledo earlier in the season, the three other deals could hardly be going better.
The Tigers’ midseason trades have also been critical to their success and there is no better example than last night. Fister allowed just one run in five innings and Young picked up two hits, including his third home run of the series. Without Fister’s emergence and Young’s late-season hot streak, it's doubtful that the Tigers would have advanced this far.
Here’s a look back at how the Rangers, the Tigers' ALCS opponents, adapted last year’s team.
Al-Al was on a major league deal.
Actually I think he was minor league we just brought him up early in the season, he was a minor league deal though if I remember right.
It was a major league contract, but he still had options, so the Tigers used one at the start of the season. Â
Yea. Its been pointed out many times that he signed a major league deal. I guess alot of teams were going after him so thats the only way they could get him.
Remember when Twins
– and M’s fans said Young
Is this one of those build a story together things?
🙂 Iphone app malfunction
🙂 Iphone app malfunction
Just about every major league free agent that Dave Dombrowski has signed has worked out very well for the Tigers.  Ordonez, Pudge, Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones, Victor Martinez, Valverde, Damon, Lyon, Benoit, etc have all been productive. The notable exception was Troy Percival who was injured for the duration of his two year deal, and apparently that contract was even insured.  The problem was that DD avoided free agents for a three year period following the 2006 season. Zero free agents signed to multi year deals, and zero position players on multi year deals over four years until last winter.
By contrast, just about every lucrative extension that DD has signed has blown up in his face. Willis, Sheffield, Inge (twice), Guillen, Bonderman, Robertson, Rogers extension, Jones extension, Magglio’s vesting option and his extension, Dmitri Young’s option, Pudge’s option- all failures. Polanco’s four year extension was the big exception. Peralta, Cabrera, and Verlander have extensions in progress that look promising. The point is that DD built a winner using various methods in 2006. When he got away from free agency and extended everyone in sight, it didn’t work. Back to plan A this past year, and the team is flying high. Lesson learned, I hope.Â
Yeah, but you know who I am impressed with the most? Jim Leyland. He did a great job.Â
Once Dombrowski gave him Delmon Young, he had to pull Magglio out of the 3 slot and sit him down. In a part time role, Maggs has been great.  Once DD got Betemit and took away Inge- another problem was solved.  Once DD got Fister and moved Coke back to the bullpen, Leyland was saved from his obsessive, pavlovian pitching changes based on lefty/ righty match ups regardless of who is pitching well and who obviously does not belong in high leverage situations.  I hasten to add that Leyland is a great leader. His players know exactly what their roles are and what is expected of them. They’ll go to the mat for him because he’ll go to the mat for them. Once DD removed the sharp objects from the roster, Leyland has been much better.  Now, if someone could explain the value of OBP at the top of the lineup, we’re all set!
But almost every pitching change he makes in high pressure situations backfires. Usually really badly.
I don’t see any of these other Al Central teams competing against the tigers over the next couple of years except the Royals and perhaps the Indians (Depends on Ubaldo).Â
How does that Doug Fister trade look now? When Detroit acquired him, I said all along that they got a special pitcher, the package ended up Casper Wells and Charlie Furbush, which doesn’t really pan out well to me, as a Seattle fan I really wanted a rotation of Felix, Pineda, and Fister, then Vargas and man if the cheap wads actually tried to keep Cliff Lee that would be a sick rotation, as it is, we have absolutely no bats, and the one piece not named Felix to trade did not get us anything we really needed, I hope we can get a bat, and I am really pulling for the Tigers so Doug can get his ring.