With the halfway point of the 2015 season quickly approaching, the Detroit Tigers have underachieved.
The team is just one game above .500 and sit six games out of first place. It’s impossible to gauge where this team is headed and there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played. Hindsight is 20/20, but just for fun, let’s take a look at the Tigers offseason decisions and analyze what moves are paying off and which ones have come back to bite front office management.
The Tigers finished the 2014 season with a 90-72 record that was good enough to clinch the team’s fourth-consecutive American League Central Division Championship. Unfortunately, the postseason was devastating for a squad with World Series aspirations as the Tigers were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.
Once again, the bullpen showed that it needed an upheaval and the lineup could use upgrades.
Let’s take a quick look at the Tigers major offseason moves as a whole:
Major signings:
Victor Martinez, DH: Four years, $68 million
Joba Chamberlain, RHP: One year, $1 million
Tom Gorzelanny, LHP: One year, $ 1 million
Joakim Soria, RHP: Picked up team option
Trades:
Acquired Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Rick Porcello
Acquired Anthony Gose from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Devon Travis
Acquired Alfredo Simon from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Eugenio Suarez and Jonathon Crawford
Acquired Shane Greene from the New York Yankees in exchange for Robbie Ray and Domingo Leyba
Notable free agent losses:
Torii Hunter
Max Scherzer
Phil Coke
Andy Dirks
Don Kelly
Looking at this list, it seemed like the Tigers returned a vital piece to its lineup, strengthened its outfield defense, added athleticism, weakened the rotation and continued to ignore its feeble bullpen.
Martinez
On the surface, re-signing the veteran seemed like a no-brainer. Martinez was coming off a 2014 season that saw him hit .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI’s while finishing second in the AL MVP race. Around baseball, it was viewed as a risky endeavor. Signing an aging slugger, who can’t play in the field, to a long-term deal was a huge risk. There were whispers that the better move would have been re-signing Hunter for a season and reassessing the market next offseason. The 36-year-old wasn’t expected to repeat his 2014 performance, but the front office was hopeful that the veteran slugger would maintain his status as a professional hitter for the foreseeable future.
Victor Martinez, “He looks a lot more like Victor Martinez right now,” Brad Ausmus said.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) June 23, 2015
Declining skills didn’t seem to be the biggest issue regarding Martinez, injury concern was at the forefront. Martinez has had his share of injuries during his Tigers tenure and soon after signing his deal, the slugger suffered a knee injury that required minor surgery. Martinez vowed to return for the start of the season and was good to his word, but it seemed that he rushed himself. The switch-hitter struggled batting from the left-side and as a result his numbers suffered. Eventually, the Tigers gave in and put Martinez on the disabled list. Before the trip to the DL, Martinez was hitting .216 with one home run and 15 RBI’s, while struggling against right-handers with a .143 BA.
Since his return, Martinez has upped his average to .243 and is showing signs of returning to form. A healthy Martinez is a key component of the Tigers lineup, but the length of the contract still makes me believe the Tigers would’ve been better served passing on him and going in a cheaper direction.
Chamberlain
Bringing back Chamberlain was a low-risk move. Chamberlain has a good arm, even though he doesn’t throw his fastball nearly enough. Bringing back Chamberlain to fill a spot in the bullpen in a lesser role, such as a mid-innings guy, would’ve been ideal.
There’s years of evidence that suggests Chamberlain wears out when he’s used at a high rate. Last season was no different. Chamberlain quickly became the eighth inning arm and while he was brilliant in the first half of the season, it was evident that he was fatigued in the second half. By the time the postseason came around, Chamberlain looked worn out just running in from the bullpen.
The lack of dedicating resources to fix the bullpen has led the Tigers to once again depend on Chamberlain to play a larger role than he’s really capable of. The right-hander has a solid 3.15 ERA this season, but he’s not someone this team can seriously feel confident in.
I liked the signing, but the Tigers are misusing him.
Gorzelanny
Fans rejoiced when the Tigers finally ridded themselves of Coke. When the Tigers signed Gorzelanny, it was part of the front office’s cheap patch work reconstruction of the bullpen. Instead of opening its wallet and targeting one of the best left-handed relievers in Andrew Miller, the team opted for Gorzelanny.
It was another low-risk move that just isn’t working out. The Tigers expected Gorzelanny to be the go-to lefty out of the bullpen, but in 27 appearances he has a 6.85 ERA and walked 14 in 22.1 innings.
Tom Gorzelanny has now allowed a baserunner in 21 of his 27 appearances in 2015 #Tigers
— Joe Martinez (@JoeM3120) June 24, 2015
In different roles, the Tigers can afford to have guys like Chamberlain and Gorzelanny, but depending on these types of guys to play major roles in the bullpen is silly. Over the years, the bullpen has routinely burnt the Tigers postseason hopes and its unthinkable that Dombrowski hasn’t found some type of way to address this issue.
My guess is that the front office will forgo adding a reliever at the deadline in the hopes that Bruce Rondon is the answer for the late-innings.
Soria
While the Tigers haven’t admitted it, I’ve confirmed with multiple sources that Soria wasn’t healthy following the Tigers acquisition of the right-hander at the trade deadline.
That’s been one of the worst kept secrets, but Soria played through the injury and posted a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings after the trade. The Tigers even used the right-hander in the postseason which just goes to show how desperately thin they were in the bullpen.
Picking up Soria’s option was an easy choice, the decision to insert him into the closer’s role was made for the team and the Tigers are seeing how good a healthy Soria can be.
While the home run rate has been a little discouraging in recent weeks, Soria has pitched like an All-Star closer this season.
Re-signing Soria should be close to the top of the Tigers to-do list at the end of the season.
Cespedes
Trading a 26-year-old pitcher for an outfielder who hadn’t lived up to expectations seemed foolish. Yet, Dave Dombrowski pulled the trigger on a trade that sent Porcello to the Red Sox for Cespedes.
I was high on Cespedes coming out of Cuba in 2012 and felt the Tigers would be wise to take a chance on him, but when the Tigers acquired him this past offseason I was a critic. So far, the trade has proven me wrong and both players have headed in opposite directions.
Porcello’s struggles have been colossal. After signing a mega-deal to remain in Boston for the next several years, Porcello has a 5.61 ERA and is on pace to shatter his career worst numbers in runs, home runs and base on balls.
Meanwhile, Cespedes has been brilliant in the outfield. His athleticism and his arm has upgraded a defense that wasn’t very good in 2014. At the plate, he’s been hitting better than most expected and is on pace to represent the Tigers in the All-Star game. He’s hitting .305 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI’s. His 8.3 UZR represents his defensive ability to be great which in itself has been a huge value to the Tigers.
Yoenis Cespedes is hitting .380 in June.
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) June 24, 2015
The Tigers have interest in re-singing Cespedes and the Cuban’s camp is enthusiastic about remaining with the team past 2015.
After beginning the season in the minor leagues, Wilson has been a fantastic addition the Tigers bullpen and is pushing for added responsibility in close games and late-inning situations. The 28-year-old has a 1.69 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched.
As of right now, this trade has been a steal for Dombrowski and the Tigers.
Gose
After adjusting his swing in the offseason, Gose came out the gates on fire and hit well over .300 for the first month and a half of the season. Since then, Gose has cooled off and is hitting .269 and looking closer to his career numbers of .228 BA than a .300 hitter.
Anthony Gose has a .200 OBP this month, still batting lead-off.
— Detroit Sports (@_DetroitPride) June 22, 2015
His defense has been as good as advertised, but the Tigers gave up its top prospect for Gose. I have reservations as to whether the team would have been better served finding a true leadoff hitter such as Ben Revere regardless if he couldn’t offer the same defensive capabilities. The front office continues trying to fit square pegs in round holes.
Like Gose, Travis was seeing the ball well early in the season, but injuries have taken its toll on the second baseman.
At this point, it seems the Tigers could have received a better major league player for Travis.
Simon
The big right-hander has been one of the bright spots in a weakened rotation
Up until his last two starts, Simon was pitching at an All-Star level. The Tigers didn’t give up much for Simon and he’s pitched much better than the No. 4 starter that Dombrowski acquired him to be.
The long time reliever’s major question mark will be answered following the All-Star break. He broke down last season as the increase in innings seemed to catch up to him. If the Tigers seriously hope to make the playoffs, they’ll need Simon to continue pitching at a high level.
It wasn’t an exciting move, but it’s been impactful and didn’t cost the team much.
Greene
Greene’s struggles have been well documented here and the trade looks bad. The right-hander posted a 5.82 ERA and has since been sent down to the minors to fix his issues. After a promising first start in Toledo, Greene developed a blister on his middle finger and its unknown when he’ll resume pitching.
Shane Greene's next start in Toledo is "still up in the air because of the blister," #Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.
— James Schmehl (@jamesschmehl) June 25, 2015
After a promising rookie season with the Yankees in 2014, Greene has been a mess for most of the season. The starting rotation has been greatly weakened following Dombrowski’s moves over the past two off-season’s and it’s dire that it becomes a point of emphasis after the season.
In the mean time, Ray is making Tigers fans believe that Dombrowski may have given up on him too soon. The left-hander has started five games for the Arizona Diamonbacks this season and has a 1.78 ERA. He has 23 strikeouts compared to nine walks in 30.1 innings.
The Tigers need to hope Greene can figure things out or this trade will continue to look bad.
Free agent losses
Losing Coke, Dirks and Kelly isn’t anything that will move the needle either way.
The two damaging moves is not bringing back Hunter and Scherzer.
First, Hunter is one of the most respected veterans in baseball. During the Tigers Winter Caravan event, multiple young players reiterated that Hunter would be sorely missed. It’s evident that his leadership and professionalism were understated during his tenure in Detroit. The veteran has leveled off since his hot start but has been a clutch hitter all season, something the Tigers lack. He also fit perfectly at the top of the Tigers lineup.
The worst decision was not attempting to bring Scherzer back. The Tigers negotiations during spring training were exposed to the media by Dombrowski following the team’s obvious displeasure of Scherzer turning down $144 million. Likewise, Scherzer was turned off by the Tigers leaking contract negotiations to the public and once the team acquired David Price at the trade dealine, the former Cy Young award winner’s fate with the team was sealed.
Sources maintain that Scherzer fully expected the Tigers to make a competitive offer during the offseason and many within the organization believe the right-hander would have accepted an offer in the neighborhood of $190 million. Its believed that owner Mike Ilitch was upset that Scherzer didn’t accept the original offer and refused to negotiate any further.
The Tigers front office also wasn’t comfortable handing a mega deal to a pitcher who they believed wasn’t a work horse. Scherzer recorded the first complete game of his career last season and the team could have been scared off by the Justin Verlander situation.
Scherzer moved on and signed a humungous deal with the Washington Nationals and has cemented his status as the most dominant pitcher in the majors at the moment.
He’s thrown two complete games and a no-hitter for the Nationals. His last two starts: 18 innings, one hit, one walk, one hit batter, and 26 strikeouts.
Max Scherzer has more hits (two) over his past two starts (18 innings) than his opponents (one).
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 20, 2015
If the season ended today, Scherzer wins his second Cy Young in three years.
This was a huge swing and miss by the Tigers.
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