The Tigers have added a few modestly priced veteran free agents to a team that lost 114 games and easily finished last in the majors a season ago. At this point, Detroit’s not expecting any more acquisitions before the season, general manager Al Avila suggested Thursday (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic).
“I would say so,” Avila said when asked if Detroit’s Wednesday signing of outfielder Cameron Maybin would be its last notable pickup.
The Tigers have looked like speculative fits for outfielder Yasiel Puig, who’s still without a job, but it officially appears he’ll have to look elsewhere. Avila already shot down a potential Puig signing weeks ago. Now, between the reunion with the ex-Tiger Maybin and Avila’s comments, they can probably be scratched off Puig’s list of possible employers. They’re instead counting on Maybin, whom they reeled in for $1.5MM, to enjoy a second straight successful campaign and perhaps take on an everyday role, as Stavenhagen writes (subscription link).
The 32-year-old Maybin has bounced around since the Tigers took him 10th overall in the 2005 draft, enduring his share of ups and downs along the way. He had to settle for minor league deals with the Giants and Indians before last season, but an April trade to the Yankees may have revived his career. Maybin was an unsung hero on an injury-riddled New York club, as a more fly ball-oriented approach helped him to a .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs in 269 plate appearances.
Maybin became the fifth veteran to join the Tigers on a one-year contract since last season ended. The club previously signed first baseman C.J. Cron, second baseman Jonathan Schoop, catcher Austin Romine and right-hander Ivan Nova. There may not be a world-beater in the bunch, but those stopgaps should at least make Detroit more competitive this season. And the team does have a few talented starters (some of whom aren’t yet in the majors but could be soon) who could combine to give the club a decent rotation. Matt Boyd, Spencer Turnbull and Daniel Norris are on hand at the MLB level; Michael Fulmer should make it back from Tommy John surgery in the summer; Nova’s an acceptable back-end innings-eater; and Casey Mize and Matt Manning are two of the top prospects in the game. With all of that said, the Tigers should be a tougher out in 2020.
No Puig means he isn’t even trying to win yet.
puig is a psycopath. he’d be such a cancer in the locker room. theres a reason why nobody signed him.
Especially on a young team.
Agree! Not worth the risk.
No it means no drama. He’s not worth the 6 to 10 million
agreed.. I dont know why we cant add decent players while waiting on the kids to show up… this outfield right now is low AAA..
Puig is not a guy they need around young developing players.
I’m not familiar with the Tigers or their farm… When are they hoping to field a competitive team? Serious question…
As soon as people get tired of paying big league prices to watch a glorified AAA team.
I wont buy tickets this year. Avila is a bum
Weed I’ve been a Tiger fan my whole life, win or lose. That’s what true fans do.
that unfortunately will never happen. I’m a tigers fan living in Pittsburgh, Nutting has been running a AAA team for 25 years and people are still dumb enough to buy tix.
2022.
2020 will still be a bad year, but 2021 and 2022 should see a lot of the young arms come up. So 2023 at the earliest for a truly competitive team.
Serious answer from looooong time TIgers fan. Of course, I’d be open to other’s opinions.
Not this year, for sure. The Tigers pitching is ahead of it’s hitting/defense. There isn’t a rush to bring Mize or Manning…or Skubal to the majors but I expect all of them to see some time in Detroit towards the end of the season. I’s like to see Zimmerman pitch half way decently this, his final, season in D and maybe give the Tigers a deadline trading piece. Maybe Fulmer comes back and is effective. That would be nice. If Boyd has a terriffic first half…please…get something for him. If the Tigers can get under 100 losses this year I’d consider that progress. Let’s go with 65-97.
2021, with money freed from Zimmerman’s departure the Tigers might go at the FA market and look for a meaningful bat. Mookie Betts, 10/$400 mil. will get him. I can hope. Doubtful, but putting Betts in RF would establish the core for the rest of the decade. Now our young pitchers start to show up and we might flirt with .500 team. To me, Victor Reyes is the prospect who needs to become a star. He could. If he does, with a FA bat in the lineup with him and Miguel Cabrera settling into a .280 hitter with a .850 OPS we could have some consistent offense and chance to compete.
2022 would be the 1st year I’d think we compete for a playoff spot…maybe no more than a wild card. The AL Central has a rising White Sox. The Tribe are fading. KC is further away than us. The Twins don’t have the pitching prospects we do, but should remain the team to beat for several years.
Playoffs in ’22. Division winner ’23, Maybe a WS appearance by ’24.
I agree and disagree. I think now is the time to extend Boyd. I’m confident in the guy. Sign him now on an economical contract with options. I honestly think if there is one thing to learn out of the last decade it’s DET cannot outspend NY’s BOS LA’s Cubs and TX’s teams. Mookie would be a great addition on any team. But, I would rather have Pederson and Rizzo for close to the same price than 1 man in Mookie. Signing the big FA like Miggy and (kinda) Zimmerman has hurt this team’s future tremendously.
Cubs want to trade Rizzo but have another $16.5 mil. option on him for ’21…and can try to trade him again. May not be available FA until ’22. He’ll be 31 y/o then.
Pederson, younger and cheaper and available as ’21 FA. But, I don’t see him as a cornerstone of a championship team. I think a comparable player can be grown internally, or picked up on the cheap via trade/FA.
Tigers will need a superstar to be a winner. Name a WS caliber team without one. I’d love for the Tigers to take a swing at Mookie. That would send a message.
12, 14, 16 Giants. 15 Royals. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to have mookie on the Tigers!
I think it’s way too early. Look at CLE teams the last 4 years, they had the best pitching staff, Franky, and Jose. And they still couldn’t win the WS. Who even knows if these young pitchers will be ready in 3-4 years? I think DET needs the foundation of young position core before signing the big FA. Signing the 1 big FA (in this case) is to volatile and to early IMO. But, I would love to have Mookie, if it meant opening up the wallet for more.
There isn’t a chance in hill that Mookie would sign with the Tigers. What are you smoking? I want some.
Warnbeeb, the 15 Royals.
Betts and the money he would cost wouldn’t be worth it. I’d rather see the Tigers spread the money around than spend that much on 1 player.
Hey, they had Omar Infante!
2022
The Tigers solidified some positions this off season. Key will be when younger players deliver solid play. Zimmerman & Prince Fielder contracts go off the books after 2020. I wouldn’t predict a win total for 2020, almost every player could have a break out season. Lots of potential on the field, and in the minors
Their position player prospects are greatly lacking. Parades could be decent. Others (Greene, De La Cruz, etc) are years away. When Mize, Manning, Skubal, Faedo, Wentz, etc are ready they’ll need to jump into FA for several position players, and ownership might not go there.
You can’t really set a timeline on prospects. In 2006 two minor league players made the squad. Their names were Verlander & Zumaya. They were invited to spring training, nobody expected them to go North with the team. They made a big contribution to the team, which resulted in a World Series run.
The 2005-2006 off-season, however, was the 3rd straight off-season Dave Dombrowski and team-owner Mike Illitch added considerably to the team through free-agency and trades. It wasn’t just the rookies that carried them to the World Series. The big-money deals to Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez, the under-the-radar signings of Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones, and the trades that stole Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen the past three seasons and off-seasons were just as important as Verlander and Zumaya.
There was also home-grown offensive talent ready to contribute.
This current team is a long, long way off. They need to hit on multiple offensive talents in the upcoming drafts.
One of the biggest road blocks for young talent? Openings at the major league level. There’s lots of openings in Detroit. We will have to see if the young players can take advantage.
The Ordonez signing was risky because of his injury. Kenny Rogers was solid but not a superstar. Nor were Polanco or Guillen. You don’t have to pay the top dollar for the Top Free Agent to build a solid team.. Mookie will be too expensive for one player. Spreading it out is a better play. Some of the young pitching can be moved for offense.
Saint it was a mixture of both that got them there. To much has to go right for that to happen. Not impossible but very unlikely it happens that fast.
Sty you read my mind, that’s the best way to build a team.
Steve they could also trade some of the pitching talent they have in the minors, and they have more than enough.
They’re gonna be bad next year! 100 losses without an issue.
does not matter one way or the other tigers are rebuilding and not making the post season
they should sign puig but they will not
no way. he’d destroy that locker room. theres a reason he’s not signed.
You must be a Bobby Higginson fan boy.
You must be a Yasiel Puig fan boy.
If Puig is so fantastic why hasn’t any team signed him yet??
Rudy, Puig is nothing but a problem to his team, a big distraction, a man who seems hungry for attention. Not a good person to have on such a young team. Talented player but comes with to much baggage.
Hey it makes the team worth watching and better. I have a hard time paying money to see triple a player’s
…see a triple a player’s what? complete your thoughts.
Then don’t. No one is forcing you. Tiger fans are loyal, but they didn’t buy a lot of tickets last year and probably won’t this year. When the team plays better ticket sales go up.
Being a fan is a choice always remember that.
Not sure who the guy in the pic is, but the look on his face is like he is sitting front row at a strip club and liking it
That’s the tigers gm Al Avila
Yes, they will be a tougher out, but not that tough. If all goes well this year this club could avoid 100 losses.
Just like their Red Wings
I’m an optimist Tiger fan. I know there are quite a few question marks throughout the entire board, but seeing Skubal, Mize, Manning, and Wentz blossom, has been fun to watch. Who knows maybe Turnbull progresses and Burrows or Funk emerge as a serious arm? I think now is a great time to lock up Boyd. I think a reasonable 4 yr $36-45 year deal w options is on par. Next year I hope DET attacks the DFA board hard, I think Cesar Hernandez was an excellent pick up by the Tribe. As far as this coming draft I hope we draft the best player and not on team trends/depth. If it’s another SP so be it, we can assess a trade later on!
With the first pick in the 2020 mlb draft the tigers select 1B Spencer Torkelson from Arizona state.
If they don’t end up picking torkelson they made a mistake
Haha, I’m all about Tork too! As long as he keeps up the pace. Emerson had a hell of a year in the SEC though. 2021 has a MI boy projected in the top 5, SS Luke Leto. Next Jeter?!?
A right handed power bat? Just what COPA needs. Take the best player available, and work a trade for an OF bat when the time comes.
MCB ran a story about a Dodger waiver, OF Kyle Garlick. What does anyone think of this guy? Sounds like the type of player we could build around, not a super star, but solid and better than what we have seen.
I agree with the author that he could easily displace more than one on the roster.
I agree! He has a pretty good track record of hitting the long ball.
I’ll be back when an effort to put a decent team on the field is back. Call me a fair-weather fan if you wish, but I have better things to do than watch repetitive ineptitude masquerading as a major league team.
Personally I see the tigers looking to add some payroll next year. Zimmerman, Feilder, Verlander payments are done now after 2020. It won’t be a huge name like Betts but there will be a push for someone like Joc Peterson to come in an provide some lefty pop in a lineup that needs it at a corner OF spot. Another idea is that all these pitching prospects not named Manning, Mike, or Skubal will become trade pieces for a tools guy who can play in the OF or a middle infield spot. I like the idea of Conforto from the Mets but is his health history worth the risk of moving these prospects.
The other issue in Detroit is their lack of depth in the system of quality relief arms. Lots of groomed starters to convert to relievers.
Whatever happened to the “prize” of the Verlander trade, Franklin Perez? No one is mentioning his name. Suppose to be highly regarded. Dad Cameron? Jake Rodgers? What’s the scoop on these guys?
Not looking good. Rogers was hard to watch last year! Perez has been on the DL more than Zimmerman. Idk, maybe Daz can surprise us this year?
Bob has a sack of man o waiting for Brandon Inge
Perez is younger than Mize, the verdict is not in yet.
I have been following the Tigers this spring. So far, I have to admit, they look like the best team in the history of baseball. I will be surprised if they lose a game. I now understand why the seats are so far back at Comerica. Fans would run onto the field and give the players hugs and gifts for their efforts. Go Tigers
Wow, neat stuff. I’ll be surprised if you could ever top that comment in the history of MLBTR comments. Go tigers? Shoot, go Joefriday14! Neat stuff. It’s still winter, but neat stuff.
Why is this ignorant clown still the GM? Single-handedly destroyed the team (got nothing for Verlander or JD). Like to see him go after Andy Pages; kid was part of the ill-fated Joc Pedersen trade. I’m sure Avila has never heard of him. Let’s see him take another pitcher w/the top pick in the draft. Will we even see Manning Mize Burrows Faedo Funkhouser et al THIS year? No—keep signing worthless stopgaps.