Detroit Tigers: Decision to sell looms as end of June nears
The Detroit Tigers (30-32) once again find themselves on the verge of mediocrity, which could result in selling at the trade deadline.
The Detroit Tigers, to put it in baseball terms, are in a pickle.
That pickle? Teetering the line of a complete rebuild, and deciding whether or not to blow it all up come the July 31 trade deadline.
The verdict to sell and start over is one that would be hard to swallow for everyone. This core group of guys – Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Victor Martinez – is, on paper at least, too good for this. Too good to be sub-.500 in mid-June.
But realistically, they’re not. The notion of a fire sale isn’t below this team at all. It’s simply inevitable.
If the Tigers are under the .500 mark after June, they will accept the fact of a summer sale, as reported by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
If #Tigers are still under .500 by end of June, sources say they'll revert to stance from November: All veterans will be available in trade.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 26, 2017
That’s right. All veterans will reportedly be available via trade. That means Kinsler and J.D., both free agents at the conclusion of the season and Upton, too, who can opt out of his contract with the team this winter.
Miggy and Verlander too? The poster boys of the franchise for the last decade? All veterans will be available, according to Morosi. As they should be.
Detroit is essentially in the same position it was two summers ago. They were walking the line of mediocrity all summer, and finally decided to pull the trigger to sell at the deadline. They didn’t classify it as a rebuild, but more along the lines of a reboot. They wanted to start fresh next spring, hoping to play into October once again.
They parted ways with David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria in the span of several days, bringing in young talent and bolstering their minor league system instantaneously. In return, the Tigers received Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Michael Fulmer and JaCoby Jones, along with several other prospects. All four were on the Opening Day roster to begin the 2017 campaign.
After their so-called reboot, the Tigers mustered their way to a 74-87 record and a fifth place finish in the American League Central. The following season they missed the Wild Card by just 2.5 games. Coming into this year, there was belief that the Tigers had the right pieces to contend in the postseason once again.
Fast forward two years from the reboot and here the Tigers are again; good, but maybe not good enough. They bit the bullet in ’15, traded a handful of stars and found themselves competing again the following summer.
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If the Tigers decide to go down that path again, it would be another long summer without playoff baseball, but it wouldn’t count out competing two to three years later. Deciding to hang on to Kinsler, J.D. and Upton runs the risk of them walking this winter without getting anything in return.
Trading them, on the other hand, almost guarantees a new-and-improved minor league system. Contending teams looking for that extra push in the second half of the season could certainly use the bats the Tigers would be open to trading.
Take the Adam Eaton trade with the Washington Nationals this offseason, for example. In exchange for Eaton, a 28-year-old outfielder with a .284 career average, the Chicago White Sox received two of their top pitching prospects.
The Nationals felt they were on the verge of competing, but needed that final push. They’d do anything for that last piece of the puzzle, which they ultimately did, at the expense of two future big league arms. Imagine what teams would do with two months left to play when Kinsler, J.D., Upton and friends are on the market. Music to Al Avila’s ears, if he plays his cards right.
Next: Tigers players who could be traded
As of now, all signs point to a complete fire sale. Maybe it’s the injuries they’ve endured thus far, maybe it’s another hit-or-miss bullpen. Or maybe it’s that 30-32 record that suggests the Tigers just aren’t good enough.
Whatever it may be, it’s time to come to the realization that a star-studded auction is on the horizon, and coming soon.