Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila made a bold statement last week when he spoke outside his team’s dugout.
“We’re not rebuilding anymore,” Avila said. “We’re building.”
For this to be true, owner Christopher Ilitch needs to spend in free agency. Some of the top prospects, specifically Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene, must be ready to contribute in 2022. And the players already in the big leagues have to establish themselves as mainstays.
Under new manager AJ Hinch, the Tigers (47-52) are making progress as they continue to build, but they are not postseason contenders. What they will do at Friday’s trade deadline is unpredictable.
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“We’re trying to bring in more talented players,” Avila said. “Really, that’s where we’re at right now. We’re trying to get better.”
Here are the moves the Tigers made at and around the trade deadline over the past four seasons:
2017: J.D. Martinez traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara and Jose King; Alex Avila and Justin Wilson traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes; Justin Upton dealt to the Los Angeles Angels for Grayson Long and Elvin Rodriguez; Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros for Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers.
2018: Leonys Martin and Kyle Dowdy to Cleveland for Willi Castro; Mike Fiers to the Oakland Athletics for Nolan Blackwood and Logan Shore.
2019: Nick Castellanos to the Cubs for Alex Lange and Paul Richan; Shane Greene to the Atlanta Braves for Joey Wentz and Travis Demeritte.
2020: Cameron Maybin to the Cubs for Zack Short.
The Tigers’ trades in 2017 and 2019 moved their best players to further the rebuild. Opposing executives knew the franchise needed to dump players before they hit the free-agent market, so Avila didn’t have much leverage.
In 2021, the Tigers believe they have the authority to call the shots.
“When you get to this point and you’re under .500, everybody thinks they can come and pick the players that are free agents, or you can come get a bullpen arm — what is deemed to be cheap additions for other teams,” Hinch said in early July. “Where we’re sitting, it’s like, you have to come and pay for our guys if you’re going to come and get our guys. We are trying to develop winners here. We’re trying to maintain a high standard for us.”
Avila backed him up: “There’s no pressure to trade anybody, and there’s no need to trade anybody, unless we feel there’s a trade out there that’s going to make us better and make us winners next year, let’s say, or as we move along into the future.”
When Avila said this, the Tigers were enjoying a seven-game winning streak coming out of the All-Star break. Entering Saturday, his team was three games back of second-place Cleveland, 12 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the American League Central and nine games out of a wild-card spot.
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One of the biggest discussions surrounds second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who has played more first base than his primary position at second. He is on a one-year, $4.5 million contract, recently hired Scott Boras as his agent and is seeking a hefty payday after the season ends.
Schoop, 29, is hitting .290 with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 23 walks and 83 strikeouts in 95 games. He is riding a career-best 13-game hitting streak, and his veteran presence is invaluable.
“I cannot control a lot of things,” Schoop said. “My future, next year or trades, I cannot control those things. One thing I can control is stepping between the lines and giving 100% every day, so I will keep doing that. We’ll see what happens.”
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The Tigers have a few options. They could agree to a contract extension and keep Schoop. He likes the idea of seeing the rebuild through after being around for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Tigers could surprise and throw him a qualifying offer, which was $18.9 million last season. (If Schoop declines and signs elsewhere, the Tigers would receive an extra draft pick as compensation.) Another choice is to win as many games as possible before letting Schoop find a new team in free agency.
What about a trade? Avila wouldn’t say.
“You can imagine how many good players are out there right now,” Avila said. “I think there’s more guys out there available right now than teams really looking at this point. We’ll see how that develops between now and the deadline.”
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As for controllable players, possible trade candidates include right-handed reliever Jose Cisnero, left-handed reliever Gregory Soto, righty reliever Michael Fulmer and third baseman Jeimer Candelario, with lefty starter Matthew Boyd — a free agent after 2022 — still working his way back from an arm injury.
Fulmer is also a free agent after 2022; Cisnero after 2023; Candelario after 2023 and Soto after 2025. Outfielder Robbie Grossman is in the first season of his two-year, $10 million contract. Left-handed reliever Daniel Norris joins Schoop as a free agent after this season, but he has a 6.11 ERA in 36 appearances. The Tigers refused to trade Norris to the Tampa Bay Rays last year.
“Keeping these players, if we choose to do so, is going to help our culture and help us develop that winning mindset that we’re trying to instill here in Detroit,” Hinch said.
That’s why the Tigers might not do anything at the trade deadline.
If Avila can bring in an MLB-ready player at a position of need, and he feels the trade is a slam dunk, the Tigers will make a move. But they aren’t going to give away Soto — the closer of the future — for lottery-ticket prospects, nor will they do so for Cisnero and Candelario.
The return has to be right and ready to contribute.
And that’s something the Tigers haven’t been able to say in a long time.
“We don’t have to make any trades based on payroll or any other factors like that,” Avila said. “If we make a trade, t’s because we feel it’s going to make us better, not only this year but next year and the year after. Those are harder to make, as you can imagine.
“We’ll see where that takes us between now and the deadline.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.