IT'S D DAY
Window for Detroit title is closing
LAKELAND, Fla. — A few days ago, a veteran scout sitting in the stands at Joker Marchant Stadium watching the Detroit Tigers working out, turned to his comrades and suddenly declared: “You know what this team reminds me of? The Yankees. There’s a lot of similarities here.”
It was not meant to be a compliment, nor would Tigers president Dave Dombrowski likely take it as one.
The scout went on to describe the Tigers as “an older, plodding team, with not a whole lot coming in their system, and some burdensome contracts that are gonna really choke ’em down the road.” Dombrowski, of course, would prefer to think of the Tigers as a team that has won four straight American League Central titles and — with an imposing lineup including Miguel Cabrera ,
Victor Martinez , Ian Kinsler , J.D. Martinez , Yoenis Cespedes and promising sophomore Nick Castellanos (combined 130 HR/546 RBI last year), along with their “Big Three” starters, David Price , Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez (combined 75 wins over the past two seasons, plus three Cy Youngs, and a no-hitter) — is in prime position to make that five straight and go deep into October. There is no question the Tigers, whose thirdhighest payroll of $163 million in 2014 figures to be even higher this year, have one of the most talentrich rosters in baseball. That said, however, they do have some major issues yet to be resolved — specifically their bullpen — and with so many of their key veterans — Cabrera, Victor Martinez , Kinsler, Sanchez and Verlander — all over 30, and Price coming up on free agency after this season, well, it would seem the window of opportunity to give 85-year-old owner Mike Ilitch his first World Series title is closing fast.
Dombrowski has long had a rep for being one of the shrewdest GMs in the game, but until proven otherwise, a lot of the moves he made (or perhaps didn’t make) this offseason were head-scratchers, almost as much as his trade the previous winter of righty starter Doug Fister , a 14-game winner in 2013, to Washington for a couple of Triple A pitching prospects. (Fister went on to go 16-6 for the Nats last year.) In an effort to inject some muchneeded speed into the Tiger lineup, Dombrowski swapped one of his top prospects, second baseman Devon Travis (who was blocked by Kinsler there), to the Blue Jays for Anthony Gose , a speedy center fielder who has so far been severely challenged at the plate (.234/.301/.332 slash line for two seasons in the majors). That deal was understandable (if Gose ever learns to hit) — as was Dombrowski’s pickup of Shane Greene from the Yankees for the back end of his rotation, in the three-team trade involving Didi Gregorius in which he had to give up only Robbie Ray , the failed lefthanded pitching prospect he got from Washington in the Fister trade. But then, he made a deal almost as baffling as the Fister trade, sacrificing yet another frontline starting pitcher — in this case Rick Porcello , the 26-year-old Morristown, N.J. product whom the Tigers drafted out of Seton Hall Prep in 2007, signed for an over-slot bonus of $3.5 million, then developed and nurtured into a pitcher who won 15 games and logged 204 innings last year — for Cespedes. Both Porcello and Cespedes are free agents after the season but while Porcello was possibly the Tigers’ best starter the second half of last year (eight starts after June 24 of seven or more innings and two or fewer runs), Cespedes had worn out his welcome in Boston with his less-than-diligent work habits. With Boston’s overcrowded outfield and Cespedes’ pending free-agent status, everyone knew the Red Sox had to move him, and it seemed their options were severely limited. At the same time, adding another 20-homer bat seemed like overkill for the Tigers.
Dombrowski obviously didn’t think so, and the other day he explained that while the trading of Porcello was somewhat painful, it was unlikely the Tigers were going to be able to re-sign him. “You can only sign so many guys long term,” said Dombrowski, who continues to be intent on re-signing Price. “We have a lot of payroll tied up already in Cabrera ($292M through 2023), Verlander ($180M through 2019), Kinsler ($46M through 2017), (Victor) Martinez ($68M through 2018) and Sanchez ($53M through 2017).”
With both Price and Porcello figuring to command contracts of well over $100 million next winter, the Tigers made the decision to pursue Price, their lone lefty starter. But as they found out last year — when Max Scherzer rejected their offer of six years and $144 million and wound up getting seven years and $210 million from Washington — there’s no way to tell how crazy the price of pitching can get, and apparently they never made any effort at all to lock up Porcello early, even though he was one of their own. The risk of trading a young, reliable workhorse starter such as Porcello loomed ever larger on Friday when 32-year-old Verlander, who battled periodic shoulder inflammation and had his worst season (career-high 4.54 ERA and 223 hits allowed) in 2014, came out of a game against Toronto complaining of right triceps pain.
Meanwhile, rival scouts and execs were surprised when Dombrowski elected this winter not to address the bullpen, which has been the Tigers’ recurring weakness throughout this four-year period of success, other than signing lefty Tom Gorzelanny as a long man. Joe Nathan , their 40-year-old closer, had a particularly rough 2014 (4.81 ER/1.53 WHIP/six blown saves) and
Joakim Soria , the former All-Star closer with the Royals from 2007-2010, went down with an oblique injury and was mostly ineffective after being picked up by Dombrowski at the trading deadline.
“The reason we didn’t go after another closer (such as the Phillies Jonathan Papelbon ) was because we’re still confident in the guys we have,” said Dombrowski. “Nathan was one of the best, most consistent closers in baseball with Texas in 2013 when we signed him and he’s had bad years in the past, which he’s bounced back from. As for Soria (who missed 2012-13 after having Tommy John surgery), we never got a good feel for him last year because he was hurt. Before we got him, he’d pitched extremely well (18 saves/48K/6 walks in 44.1 IP) for Texas.”
And for what it’s worth, Nathan thinks Dombrowski’s confidence in him is well-placed. “I’m grateful they didn’t panic over one bad month (from May 28-June 28 he yielded 13 earned runs and 21 hits in 10 innings pitched, which really skewed his overall record),” Nathan said. “Nobody has gone through a career without some hiccups.”
Nathan was booed heavily by Tiger fans last year, which was perhaps as much a product of getting no respect (other than the $64 million he’s earned over 14 seasons in the game) because he has always been an unconventional closer without a Goose Gossage -like fastball or Mariano Rivera -like cutter. “(Respect) is not something I think about,” said Nathan. “I’m not here to get recognition. I’m here to get people out and close out games, and in that I’ve been very fortunate.” For the Tigers’ sake, this needs to be another “bounce back” year by the venerable closer, although if Verlander (who has a 5.63 spring ERA) is hurt worse than initially suspected, and Victor Martinez’s aching, surgically repaired knee (which sidelined him again last week) is a serious injury, the window of opportunity to win one for the old owner may have already closed.