Detroit Tigers Not Close On Any Significant Trades, Despite Rumors
By Matt Snyder
Despite the trade rumors we’ve heard this offseason, the Detroit Tigers are not close to completing any significant trades, according to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com.
The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason talking about cutting payroll and building for the future. That future appears to be on hold for the moment as Jon Paul Morosi reports that the club is not close on any significant trade, despite the rumors we heard in November and December.
Morosi confirms that the Tigers entered the offseason with the intention of listening to offers on their star players (and did just that initially), but did not receive the overwhelming offers required to pull the proverbial trigger. So, for now, it appears that the tigers will postpone their roster transformation to a later date.
"The Tigers were not close on any significant trades as of Tuesday, sources said. And now that the calendar has flipped to 2017, it appears the team’s rebuilding/retooling/reshaping must wait until July … or next winter … if even then."
What’s also interesting is Morosi’s confirmation that a payroll reduction mandate did not come down from ownership. That’s good news (if it is indeed true) because it means that Avila’s intention all along was to use his big league assets to build a strong base for the future, not simply to save dollars in the short term.
So, it looks like the Tigers will enter Spring Training with much the same roster that saw them win 86 games in 2016 and had them in the running for a Wild Card berth until the final day of the season. While not entirely inspiring, the Tigers are currently projected to win roughly 83 games. That exact figure wouldn’t put them into the postseason but a team wit that projection could very easily win, say, 88 games and earn a berth.
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If things go south once the season begins — leaving out the chance that they receive a significant offer ahead of spring training — Tigers could switch gears and look to unload some of their top players ahead of the trade deadline.