Mound Talk

The Detroit Tigers had a good season but disappointing coming off of their 2006 World Series appearance. They expected to make the playoffs again in 2007 but struggled down in the second half after being one of the best teams in the first half of the season. They will be returning most of their lineup and have already added a few pieces, the biggest being SS Edgar Renteria, and will contend for the AL Central title in 2008.

Detroit’s payroll in 2007 was at $95 million and will be increasing greatly in 2008. There isn’t much to say about the Tigers this winter. They made preemptive strikes trading for a new short stop, Renteria, which was their biggest hole after they decided to move Carlos Guillen to first base. They made a trade with the Cubs to get Jacque Jones; he gives them versatility as he can play all three outfield spots and gives them a lefty presence in their lineup. After Joel Zumaya was hurt moving boxes in the southern California fires it created a hole in their bullpen so they resigned Todd Jones to remain their closer instead of giving the reigns to Zumaya.

Potential players leaving

Sean Casey (1B) – $4 million
Kenny Rogers (SP) - $8 million (has resigned with the Tigers)
Nefi Perez (SS) - $2.5 million
Todd Jones (RP) - $5 million (has resigned with the Tigers)
Jose Mesa (RP) - $2.5 million (ended season Philadelphia)

The Tigers will have $9 million coming off their books heading into 2008 after they resigned Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones. After raises and the additions of Renteria and Jones they will be increasing their payroll by nearly $28 million. The Tigers hit early on acquiring players through trades and renewing the contracts of the pitchers they wanted to keep. They will not be bringing back Sean Casey or Nefi Perez and their team does not have holes to fill so they are likely done for the off-season. There has been talk they will sign LaTroy Hawkins to fill in their bullpen but he will likely be their last acquisition, barring a surprise trade.

Strengths

Starters – The Tigers have a solid starting rotation with Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander at the top. When Verlander is at the top of his game he is unhittable and gives them a quality ace. With the resigning of Kenny Rogers and the continued development of Andrew Miller they will have one of the top starting staffs in 2008.

Lineup – Up and down, the Tigers lineup is very solid with power and good hitting coming from every position. The only knock on the lineup is their lack of patience at the plate which leads to high strikeout rates and lots of rally killing at bats. The lineup will be greatly improved this season with Renteria and Placido Palanco setting the table and Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield driving them in. Their offense will also be improved with the subtraction of Sean Casey at first base and shifting Guillen over t take his spot will give them better production out of that slot.

Weaknesses

Bullpen – The bullpen could turn around and end up being one of their strengths by the end of the year but until Zumaya comes back it will not be nearly as dominating. The Tigers are looking to fill his absence with LaTroy Hawkins but he is no longer the dominating reliever he once was. They are also counting on Todd Jones continuing to be a successful closer although hitters are getting better contact on his pitches the past few years.

Off-season Priorities

The Tigers have fulfilled most of their off-season priorities already and will only be looking to bring in a reliever to fill in Zumaya’s spot until he is ready to go after his shoulder injury.