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Detroit Tigers: Rebuilding Or Just Shedding Salary?

By Benjamin Chase

Mar 29, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; A general view of a Detroit Tigers hat, glove and sunglasses in the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; A general view of a Detroit Tigers hat, glove and sunglasses in the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers in the third inning against the against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers in the third inning against the against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /

So Who To Move?

There are many guys who are rumored and making waves on social media like Twitter and various team blogs due to their value to many teams, of course, but perhaps the Tigers don’t really need to tap into that to really drain significant salary.

The difficult guys to move

For a number of reasons, multiple guys are going to be tough to move.

Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and Victor Martinez have 10-5 rights, which means they have played 10 years in the league with 5 years on the Tigers, so they have full no-trade rights.

For the future of the team, it is nearly impossible that guys like Joe Jimenez, Daniel Norris, or Michael Fulmer will be traded away from the pitching staff. Guys like James McCann and Jose Iglesias are quite vital to the team defense and very cheap, so it’s unlikely they’re on the move either.

Jul 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey (37) walks off the field after being relieved in the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey (37) walks off the field after being relieved in the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Guys you’d get nearly nothing for

The value of a number of Tigers has gone down significantly since they signed their deals. After a barrage of injuries has left his stuff less than effective, Anibal Sanchez and his $16M 2017 salary looks difficult to move, though it is only a $21M total commitment left to the team he’d go to.

Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe were just signed last offseason, but their performances in 2016 were so poor that their combined $13.5M salary is going to be tough to get anything of value for.

So how do you shed enough salary to be significant while still putting a team on the field that could win in 2017? Let’s take a look…

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