The Detroit Tigers didn’t make the playoffs in 2016 despite having a talented roster with several highly paid stars.
In an effort to improve their roster, the Tigers are willing to make dramatic moves involving their best players, per ESPN’s Buster Olney (ESPN Insider required for fully story).
“But the message being received from the rest of the industry is a dramatic shift for one of baseball’s oldest franchises: They will listen to trade offers on everybody,” Olney wrote Saturday. “Miguel Cabrera. Justin Verlander. Ian Kinsler. Anybody.”
Cabrera and Verlander are likely future Hall of Famers and still perform at a high level. But both of them have contracts with annual salaries of more than $20 million for at least three more seasons. In Cabrera’s case, 2017 will be the second season in an eight-year, $240 million extension.
Not many teams can afford those salaries now or into the future. These kinds of contracts rarely are moved, although there are some recent examples, including the blockbuster between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.
While it’s fun to play general manager, the chances of these deals actually happening probably are slim. It certainly would make for an exciting winter, though.
Thumbnail photo via Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports Images
