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Detroit Tigers Clips

Friday, October 14, 2016

Detroit Free Press

Fewer Detroit Tigers fans came, but more fans watched on TV (Fenech)

The Detroit News

Henning: Tigers fans should brace for severe change (Henning)

CBSDetroit.com

Take Home A Piece of Comerica Park At The Detroit Tigers Equipment And Apparel Sale On October 20 & 21

(Staff)

Daily Transactions

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Fewer Detroit Tigers fans came, but more fans watched on TV October 14, 2016

By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press

It was an up-and-down season from start to finish.

In 2016, the Tigers won their first two games of the season in a National League park and dropped their final

two games. In between, it was a roller-coaster ride that perhaps their feverish fan base didn’t quite fully buy into

given the team’s 2016 attendance figures.

This season, 198,672 fewer fans came through the Comerica Park turnstiles, for an average of 2,483 fewer per

game, according to Baseball-Reference.com. It should be noted the Tigers played only 80 home games. If they

played the season finale against the Indians on Oct. 2 with American League postseason implications, those

numbers would have looked better.

Still, even with the slight dip in attendance, the team nearly hit 2.5 million, good for the 11th-highest total

attendance in team history. In the past 10 seasons, including the postseason, the Tigers have drawn more than

29 million to Comerica Park.

Asked about the attendance last week, general manager Al Avila said: “I think you see that not just with us, I

think you see that across the board.”

Seventeen teams saw attendance dip this season.

There were a number of factors working against the Tigers, none more than they were coming off a last-place

finish. There also was significant construction near the ballpark throughout the season.

“Normally,” Avila said, “the trend is, you come off last place, you don’t expect the attendance to go up.”

What did go up was the team’s television ratings, with an increase of 11% on last season, according to the

SportsBusiness Journal. Their 7.02 rating ranked third in baseball.

“They were certainly outstanding this year,” Avila said. “So the Tigers were still a very interesting team, very

relevant to a large portion of fans out there.”

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Henning: Tigers fans should brace for severe change

October 14, 2016

By Lynn Henning/ The Detroit News

We have heard this before, of course.

The Tigers have missed October’s playoff fest. Ownership decides payroll is at its peak and there’s nowhere to

go but down with next season’s salaries.

And then: It is January. Or the early days of February. Tigers czar Mike Ilitch gets itchy. A particular player

(see: Pudge Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez, Johnny Damon, Justin Upton, etc.) is available for a particular hole

on the Tigers’ ever-welcoming roster.

Ilitch decides to spend cash that supposedly wasn’t available. The Tigers, having torn a fat page from their

checkbook, get busy chasing a pennant with newly financed firepower.

Tigers history, in that sense, begs skeptics to wonder about the front office’s present fiat to pare a nearly $210-

million payroll in 2016 to something significantly lower in 2017. The likely path to propriety: trades. Big trades

that could involve some high-profile people fans won’t care to see leave: J.D. Martinez, perhaps. Justin

Verlander, conceivably. Cameron Maybin or Jose Iglesias, possibly. And incredibly, even Miguel Cabrera,

should, say, a team that theoretically could handle his remaining contract, the Red Sox, decide Cabrera would

be a deft answer to losing the retired David Ortiz.

No matter who might be dealt, it looks as if this time the scale-back order is firm and not prone to January-

February owner impulse. The Tigers were so far beyond their already-massive payroll range in 2016 they paid a

luxury tax of a few million dollars, a penalty that rises to 30 percent of over-runs in 2017 if the ceiling is again

crashed and a new owner-player contract resembles the expiring deal.

Throw in the fact attendance was down 200,000 for a team already carrying more overhead than a mid-range

market tends to accept, and it’s no wonder the front office’s orders today are consistent with messages to Tigers

executives early and throughout 2016: Salaries must — must — dip after a go-for-broke push by the 87-year-

old Ilitch to squeeze a championship from his 2016 team.

Tigers general manager Al Avila has stayed away from trade projections. But he has said the team will keep “an

open mind” to all offseason scenarios.

The reason he will listen has perhaps less to do with trimming paychecks than with another reality easy to see

and understand. The Tigers hope to get better for the long term. A team that has missed the playoffs in back-to-

back years has, for all its spending, been short on skills playoff teams have in fuller measure: power arms,

defense, speed, as well as youth depleted by free-agent spending that has cost the Tigers five draft picks, or led

to trades that wiped out some farm-system nuggets (Willy Adames, Jake Thompson, etc.).

Proof for why the Tigers can and should opt for thinking younger could be seen in their 2016 team. And in

some history that preceded it.

Michael Fulmer arrived as a 23-year-old rookie starter and looks as if he could be named this year’s American

League rookie of the year. A pair of left-handers, Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd, became life-savers in a rotation

ravaged by injury and ragged performers.

They now figure to become 60 percent of Detroit’s most important trait, its starting pitching.

But they came at a price fans weren’t wild about paying when then-general manager Dave Dombrowski opted

for reality in July of 2015 and traded David Price and Yoenis Cespedes in deadline deals that gained the above

trio. For that matter, trading Curtis Granderson in December 2009 upset Tigers fans — until Max Scherzer

arrived and became central to a long playoff run.

Avila now has the same opportunity, or obligation, whichever term guides him during the coming months.

Trade chips

Verlander will finish high in Cy Young voting for 2016 and is the Tigers’ most indispensable player alongside

Cabrera. But there are facts to consider, apart from his $28-million salary through at least 2019.

He turns 34 in February. Although he is gold as the team’s staff ace, he is on the field every five days.

Moreover, he might be at the top of his market value. Teams such as the Dodgers, who need someone such as

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Verlander to put them over the top and who can afford not only his salary but the trade package required to land

him, could find themselves asking Avila about Verlander.

Also true is that Verlander has no-trade latitude and would need to approve any deal. But a man who loves

nothing more than pitching in the playoffs, and who has been on the sidelines the past two autumns, would be

expected to OK any move to a billboard contender. The Dodgers loom as a possibility there.

J.D. Martinez also will be attractive. And that’s because a 29-year-old outfielder, in his three seasons with the

Tigers, has batted .299, with 83 home runs, and a big .898 OPS, despite missing six weeks last summer.

Martinez is signed only through 2017 and the Tigers, whether now or at next July’s deadline, would appreciate

more return from Martinez than a single draft pick, which they otherwise stand to earn if he leaves for free

agency.

Victor Martinez is in an altogether different world. Martinez turns 38 in December, is purely a designated hitter,

and has a heavy contract ($18 million per season) through 2018. The best chance for any potential trade of

Martinez, should the Tigers be so disposed, probably arises no sooner than next July, if at all.

Maybin is a possibility after a big 2016 and even when his $9-million option is all but secured for 2017. So, too,

is shortstop Iglesias, although, as with Maybin and his center field spot, the Tigers would need to know they

have a replacement at an essential up-the-middle position. Those guarantees aren’t necessarily available when

the current prospect cast is JaCoby Jones in center and Dixon Machado at short.

The same applies with Ian Kinsler. He would be immensely marketable. But unless the Tigers find an offseason

answer at second base, they won’t part with Kinsler. Neither are the Tigers keen on dealing young and

affordable talent like Nick Castellanos (third base) and James McCann (catcher).

Justin Upton might have played his way into conversations after he caught fire during the season’s final six

weeks. Upton more resembled a star left fielder and slugger, only 29, as he ended the year with 31 home runs,

matching his career high. But he has an opt-out clause that could kick in next autumn. Teams won’t be in a

hurry to add his $110-million contract that runs through 2021 when he could leave them high and dry next

autumn, save for a 2018 draft pick.

Anibal Sanchez? Not many takers when he still is owed money ($16.8 million in 2017, either $16 million or a

$5 million buyout in 2018), and had a brutal year split between the rotation and bullpen. Even less unloadable is

Mike Pelfrey, the starter who had a horrendous 2016 and has an $8-million guarantee in 2017.

Miggy on the move?

It leaves for contemplation, however incensed it might make fans who see him as either invaluable or

immovable, to mention Cabrera, the Hall of Fame-destined first baseman and No. 3 hitter who in nine years

with the Tigers has crafted a niche alongside Cobb, Kaline, Gehringer, etc.

The simple question for Avila will be this: Would another team conceivably make the Tigers a fetching offer

while biting on Cabrera’s contract when Cabrera has $212 million guaranteed through 2023?

The simple answer is: No. Not for a moment. Not even for a hitter of Cabrera’s other-worldly ways.

Except, of course, that the same relative mountain of money was owed Alex Rodriguez when the Yankees said

yes to him in a deal with the Rangers ahead of 2004. In the case of the Red Sox, they know Ortiz had a

knockout season at age 40 and that Cabrera ranks as one of the few hitters with a shot at doing extraordinary

things at a prohibitive age.

Another perceived problem in any distant thoughts about Cabrera and the Red Sox is that there is no sign

Dombrowski, embittered over his Detroit departure in August 2015, would care to do serious business with the

Tigers.

Avila and his lieutenants are wrapping up meetings this week in Lakeland, Florida, with focus on future rosters

and realities: Players to be jettisoned. Players the Tigers would be happy to add. Strategies for revisiting the

playoffs, not only in 2017, but in the years beyond, have been part of a week’s conversations.

Avila will offer some sense for plans, broad and specific, when he meets with media members, presumably next

week.

What is known is that a team from Detroit will be happy to chat during the coming weeks and months. You’re a

big-league club with interest in some Tigers property? A team from Detroit will listen. And, yes, see what might

be arranged in the mutual interests of one more big-league team aching for a long ride in October.

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Take Home A Piece of Comerica Park At The Detroit Tigers Equipment And Apparel

Sale On October 20 & 21

October 14, 2016

By CBSDetroit.com Staff/ CBSDetroit.com

DETROIT – Purchase your piece of Comerica Park at the 2016 Detroit Tigers equipment and apparel sale on

Thursday and Friday, October 20-21. The sale runs from 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and from 10:00

a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Fans may park for free in the Tiger Garage (off the I-75 service drive) and enter the

sale through the Beer Hall (corner of Montcalm Ave. and Brush St).

Cash and credit cards are accepted. All items are final sale and sold as is. There will be no refunds or

exchanges. Quantities are limited. A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit the Detroit Tigers

Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities. You can find more information on tigers.com/authentics

Some of the many items available for purchase include:

• Authenticated clubhouse chairs

• Game-used bats and helmets

• Clubhouse-issued apparel including jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts and more

• Autographed memorabilia from former Tigers

• Media guides

• Game programs

• Commemorative plaques and photos honoring special moments in Tigers history

• Street pole banners

• Outfield wall pads

• Coolers

• Snack bins

• Select discounted retail items and Tigers merchandise, great for holiday shopping

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LAST UPDATED: FRI, OCTOBER 14, 2016, 07:32 EDT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Los Angeles Angels A.J. Achter Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

Los Angeles Angels Nick Buss Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

St. Louis Cardinals Mitch Harris Removed From 60-Day DL, (Nerve issues, right elbow)

St. Louis Cardinals Alberto Rosario Outrighted to Minors

St. Louis Cardinals Mitch Harris Outrighted to Minors

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Baltimore Orioles Paul Janish Outrighted to Minors

Colorado Rockies Justin Miller Outrighted to Minors

Colorado Rockies Christian Bergman Outrighted to Minors

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2016

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Atlanta Braves Tyler Moore Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

Boston Red Sox Sean O'Sullivan Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

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Chicago Cubs Ryan Kalish Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

Cincinnati Reds Brandon Allen Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent

Miami Marlins Chris Narveson Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent