Fix the Tigers

[AquaMan2342]

They don't really need fixing necessarily...just thought I'd start a think tank thread to discuss what offseason moves SHOULD be made by Detroit.

[Dan Lambskin]

i'm gonna be somewhat realistic

C - find someone to platoon with Avila...John Buck maybe?
1B - M-Cab
2B - platoon of sizemore/rhymes/worth/santiago (however it shakes out in ST)
SS - not a fan of it but they're bringing back Peralata...whatever, it is what it is
3B - Inge...whatever, no farm players ready, no good FA
LF - not sold on Raburn...find someone to platoon with him
CF - Jackson
RF - get Jason Werth (doubtful)
DH - Adam Dunn (yeah right) or Maggs for the right price
B - backup C, Guillen (or cut him), 2B/SS, Don Kelly or whatever

SP - Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Coke...find a decent #4/#5 in FA...Turner and Oliver arent ready yet
RP - Valverde, Perry , Zumaya , Schlereth they really need to shore up the pen with an arm or two

probably another 500 team

[AquaMan2342]

So we re-sign Inge, a player who is declining in every facet of the game, for basically 6 mil/year to play third when we could have re-signed Polanco (a FAR better player) to do the same thing at the same price? UGHHHHHH how stupid.

[AquaMan2342]

Dan,

We'll get one of Dunn or Werth probably.

[MTUCache]

Awesome subject... frankly the only thing that's going to be keeping me going through the winter.

Article on the subject that I found fascinating:
Tiger's 2011 Blueprint for Success (Part 1)
Tiger's 2011 Blueprint for Success (Part 2)

Quick Summary of those articles:
- Power DH (Dunn)
- Impact Everday OF (Werth/Crawford)
- Platoon Catcher (Buck)
- #3/#4 Starter (De La Rosa)
- Stable Reliever (Balfour/Crain/Guerrier/Frasor)

Not sure I agree on the reliever, depending on how much faith Leyland develops in some of the younger bullpen arms and a recovering Zumaya, but the rest of the wishlist seems right on.

Current rumors about VMart do not excite me. At all. I hate having catchers who can't hit (Laird), but I hate people running all over the Tigers even more. We need a Righty catcher who can at least play adequate defense.

I would be ecstatic to see two new impact players in the top of the Tigers lineup (Crawford/Dunn/Werth in that order). I don't think it's likely though, simply because the top free agents this offseason are going to be getting a crap-ton of money and I don't think the Tigers are only one or two pieces away from setting themselves up long-term.

Checklist for what I think would be a positive offseason for Dombrowski:
1.) Sign Crawford. This is the least likely, but most positive, step he could make. A player young enough to continue building around for the future, not just playing for next year. With Verlander and MCab the only other big guys signed long-term, I would like to see one more All-Star caliber guy as a foundation. Corner OF is only one hole of many that need to be addressed, but it lets them remain very flexible.

2.) Keep everybody else short-term. Nobody besides MCab and Verlander are key pieces. If it's not going to happen next year, I don't want to see them commit all of this $60+M of "free" money to anybody past 2012 unless it is Crawford/Dunn/Werth.

Anything beyond that is gravy (and maybe irresponsible). Having Magglio as DH instead of Dunn wouldn't be the end of the world. Grabbing a bottom-tier C to platoon with Avila SS/2B are a black hole right now, but these will need to be addressed from within the organization. I'm happy with waiting another year for Rhymes/Sizemore to sort this out.

Bottom line: They've got the money to get a long-term impact guy to continue building around. Despite the Central being up for grabs every year, I don't think the Tigers are going to be ready to try and "buy" the division title yet. If Scherzer/Porcello have a great year next year and they are ready to make a playoff push then we could spend some more of this money before the deadline and sign an ace or another power guy. I don't really see why it has to all be spent right now when we don't even know if they're going to be a competitive team next season.

I'm all for building the foundation another step and then waiting to see how the Central plays out next year until August. Illitch is probably going to need to save some of this cash to rebuild the Pistons anyway.

All that being said... could you imagine how sweet it would be to look on Opening Day and see their lineup looking like this:
CF - Jackson
LF - Crawford
RF - Raburn
1B - MCab
DH - Dunn
SS - Peralta
3B - Inge
C - Buck/Avila
2B - Rhymes

Makes me smile just thinking about it...

[AquaMan2342]

They should try to get Uggla out of Florida as MLBTR speculated the other day

[MTUCache]

They should try to get Uggla out of Florida as MLBTR speculated the other day

Ehh.... interesting, but it sounds like ATLs already got the lock on him.

Besides, I'm guessing Florida may be a little gunshy about dealing with Dombrowski again after the Cabrerra experience. :p

[AquaMan2342]

They should try to get Uggla out of Florida as MLBTR speculated the other day

Ehh.... interesting, but it sounds like ATLs already got the lock on him.

Besides, I'm guessing Florida may be a little gunshy about dealing with Dombrowski again after the Cabrerra experience. :p

ATL did get him.....but there's no way Detroit couldn't beat that package. If we were inquiring on him, how could we not top that? Infante had a good year last year, but seriously?

[AquaMan2342]

So far....

C - Avila.....not sure I like the idea of signing Victor Martinez
1B - Cabrera
2B - Sizemore/Rhymes - Would have been nice to get Uggla
3B - Inge - UGH...glad we didn't make a real run at Beltre
SS - Peralta - I can live with this for what they paid him.....I think he was unhappy in Cleveland and will be a somewhat pleasant surprise next year
CF - Jackson.....sign him LT now!
RF - Maggs? Werth (do not want)?
LF - Raburn - Hoping for Crawford....don't know why everyone thinks our chances are so slim....we could potentially throw more money in his direction than anyone and are the best fit for his style of play
DH - Dunn?

Not sure where Guillen fits in here....probably just slide him into the DL slot

SP- Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello are locks

Please don't bring Bonderman back. Go after De La Rosa as Detroit has had success with strikeout pitchers that struggle with control AND we need a lefty. Give Coke a chance to join the rotation I suppose.

[MTUCache]

I'm really banking on Dunn right now... as crazy as it is to say, he's got some defensive flexibility that will help us out. If he can play in the OF for two games per week that will take a lot of pressure off of Guillen/Maggs at the corner outfield spots. I hate the idea of locking up our DH spot with a whole rotation of defensive liabilities, but unless we get Crawford I think that's where we're at.

I've said it in other sections of the forum, but I really don't like Werth. Maybe it's just me being silly, because I really don't know anything about the guy other than his stat-line, but I don't have a good feeling about him.

Whether or not we get Crawford, as long as we get Dunn, I think we'll be doing well to have our two corner-outfield spots and our DH spot available for a good mix of Guillen/Maggs/Dunn/Raburn/Boesch. The older guys get a day off, Dunn spells MCab at first one day per week, and the young guys are still getting 300+ ABs to make something of themselves. Then, when the inevitable Guillen injury occurs we've still got a platoon guy in the mix and up to speed.

The only real weak spot I see in the infield right now (other than Inge's bat) is a righty catcher to pair with Avila. Buck would have been ideal, but the Marlins spent crazy money on him... not sure who else is available, but I'm confident that signing VMart would impact our pursuit of high-end outfielders. If we did land VMart I would hope it was a short-term deal... I really can't see him lasting another 2+ years behind the plate. He needs to be a 1B/DH guy, and soon.