The Tigers have done from postseason contenders to trade-dealing sellers in just a few years.
In 2014 the Detroit Tigers were division winners, anchored by an insane rotation of Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Anibal Sanchez, Justin Verlander, and recently acquired David Price. Bolstered by a beefy lineup core of Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez, and of course Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers were excited about a deep playoff run. Three straight losses to the Orioles and Detroit was swept right out of the postseason. 2015 featured a cast of the same characters, but minus Max Scherzer the rotation collapsed and the Tigers finished last in their division in spite of a career year from Miguel Cabrera. In 2016 a re-energized lineup featuring Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin allowed the Tigers to bounce back and flirt with a wild card berth before settling at 86-75. Hampered by being one of the oldest teams in MLB, the Tigers crashed and won only 64 games in 2017. This is part of a recurring series of looking at the worst teams in baseball, and what it will take for them to dance in the postseason once more. The San Francisco Giants looks better positioned to bounce back, read their article here.
With 34-year-old Miguel Cabrera under contract for the next 6 years, the Tigers are hoping his disappointing year will be brushed to the side. Cabrera only batted .249 and hit 16 home runs, and although we all recognize he played with a nagging injury, there is a big question mark about whether the Tigers can have their superstar back to normal next season. The Tigers lineup saw great seasons from Justin Upton, J.D. Martinez, and Alex Avila, all three of which were traded for prospects and left the Tigers lineup barren during the second half of the season. Nick Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook were promising bats that the Tigers can look forward to for next year. The prospects that the Tigers picked up in their firesale obviously have the potential to be the next stalwart starters in the years to come, but whether or not the Tigers will bounce back quickly vs slowly simply depends on the prospects. The Tigers have a talent issue on offense, a couple hot rookies likely won’t fix the problem, but if the Tigers return to playoff contention in the near future, it will have to be with a lot of new faces anchoring the lineup. On the pitching front, the Tigers were also disappointed with underwhelming seasons. Jordan Zimmerman and Anibal Sanchez, both starters who’ve had great seasons in the past, posted miserable ERAs. Daniel Norris was a hot prospect once upon a time but he may need to convert to the bullpen after an ugly season as well. With Justin Verlander being shipped out, the only shining star on the rotation was Michael Fulmer, who pitched a solid season for the second year in a row. The bullpen was battered by a lack of consistency. Chad Bell, Drew Verhagen, Buck Farmer, and Blaine Hardy all posted ERAs above 5.5 and combined to throw 178 innings. On the bright side, Justin Wilson and Shane Greene both pitched well and locked down the late innings. The pitching staff features a lot of poor statistics, but there’s a mix of old veterans that we know have the potential to pitch better, and young prospects who may develop and shine in the years to come. Looking forward, the right mix of talent remains in Detroit, and I believe the Tigers pitching staff will be average next season, with the potential to shine if any prospects surprise us. For the Detroit Tigers, it is likely going to be a long road back. After being the biggest seller during the trading deadline, the team is left with far too many gaps to anticipate a quick recovery. It is likely the Tigers will continue to flounder and sink below .500 in the next season, but the development of the farm system is crucial for both future success and the possibility of a shocking turn around. If the Tigers squander their prospects, it’s going to be a while before we see them in the playoffs, but they made the right trades and we see quite a few flashy rookies, this team could be right back to the playoffs within a couple years.
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