From 2011 to 2014, the Detroit Tigers were the class of the American League Central. They made it to the ALCS three times and to the World Series once. However, they were never able to produce a championship under former manager Jim Leyland or current one Brad Ausmus. Their inability to take home the title was amplified by the fact that their division rivals Kansas City were able to do just that in 2015. The Tigers finished dead last in the division, 20.5 games behind the Royals. It was a shift in the balance of power in the AL Central, something that Detroit fans didn’t see happening this quickly. But the fears of their fans have been heard by the front office. Many a million has been spent this offseason to make sure that last year’s failure was an outlier rather than the start of a downward trend. The Tigers are roaring back, and the champs are square in their crosshairs.
The first thing that Detroit needed to address this past winter was their pitching. Once a staple of their organization, the Tigers allowed 803 runs in 2015. That figure was the worst in the American League and third worst behind the Phillies and Rockies in the Majors. The departure of Max Scherzer to Washington and countless injuries crippled their starting staff. They eventually traded new ace David Price before he could leave as a free agent.
They inked the first big contract of the free agency period when they brought in Jordan Zimmermann from Washington. A five year, $110 million deal was struck to be the deputy to Justin Verlander in the Tigers rotation. Zimmermann was used to being the second banana in Washington, whether it be to Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer. There is no doubt about it though that Zimmermann could easily be a top billed starter on many MLB teams. He has thrown around or over 200 innings in each of the last four seasons and has a career record of 70-50 with a 3.32 cumulative ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Him and Verlander, even as the latter continues to adapt with reduced velocity, make for one of the more formidable duos in the American League.
But it wasn’t just the starting pitching that needed a facelift. The bullpen was atrocious in 2015, sporting the third worst WAR in baseball at -0.1. Only Atlanta (26) and Tampa Bay (27) blew more saves than the Tigers in 2015, yet those teams did so with 10 and 27 more save opportunities respectively. So needless to say the house needed some serious cleaning. They gutted the dead wood of Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria, Joba Chamberlain, Al Alburquerque, Neftali Feliz, and Tom Gorzelanny. They traded for Justin Wilson and signed Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Lowe to turn around the fortunes of their beleaguered unit. The threesome should give manager Brad Ausmus plenty of flexibility in the final three innings of games.
The rotational changes are all well and good, but to compete in the American League the Tigers also needed to get a bat or two. Detroit chased several big names during the winter including Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis, and Justin Upton. While the first two remained with their current clubs, the Tigers were able to bring the latter into the fold late on in the free agent proceedings. He put pen to paper on a 6 year, $132.75 million deal in late January after months of courtship from the Tigers as well as the majority of Detroit’s AL Central counterparts. Adding Upton as well as Cameron Maybin bring legitimacy back to left and center field at Comerica Park, something they lacked after the trade of the aforementioned Cespedes at last year’s deadline.
The Tigers spent nearly $300 million this offseason and didn’t do that for just the future. This is still a win-now team and they are positioning themselves as such. The Royals have more pressure on them than ever before. The Twins are due for a regression after a surprising 2015. Cleveland is always a “smart pick” that leads to nothing. The White Sox may have given themselves a very unneeded season long distraction with the whole Adam LaRoche fiasco. With a slew of new stars and a division in flux, there is no reason why the Tigers shouldn’t bounce back in 2016. Maybe, just maybe, this under the radar year is the one they finally go the way as well.