Detroit Tigers: Three foolish roster moves of Al Avila over the years

The Detroit Tigers signed Mike Pelfrey to a two-year, $16 million contract back on December 6th of 2015.

Back in 2015, the Detroit Tigers brought in starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey, though his tenure with the organization was short and terrible, it was a mistake. The team spent $16 million on a starting pitcher whos likenesses are similar to that of Jordan Zimmermann, who is a disaster the Tigers are still dealing with.

He would only play one season with the Tigers before Avila would cut him loose and grant him his free agency in March of 2017, during Spring Training. It was a signing that Avila wishes he could have back during his time here.

In 2016, Pelfrey would make twenty-two starts, totaling 119 innings pitched over the entire season. Pelfrey would post a 5.07 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP while allowing 160 hits, allowing sixty-seven earned runs.

It was less than favorable for the right-hander, who was thirty-two during the season he played for the Tigers. Nowadays, Pelfrey is not on an MLB mound anymore, pitching in his last big-league ballgame during the 2017 season with the Chicago White Sox after being cut by the Tigers.

After spending $16 million on a starting pitcher who would be on the hook for ten losses and only winning four games while posting an ERA just north of five is a move Avila wishes he could reverse.

Now the team was heading downhill at this time, and the rebuild was beginning, but throwing money away on a terrible veteran pitcher is never good for a team trying to spend less when they know they’re going to be losing, and losing for awhile.