Over the years, the Tigers have pulled off a number of blockbuster acquisitions, a number of which came after the Tigers seemingly depleted their farm system or reached a payroll ceiling.
The Miguel Cabrera trade. The late-offseason signing of Prince Fielder (and the trade to Texas for Ian Kinsler). The trades for Anibal Sanchez and David Price. Dave Dombrowski's armor is showing some wear and tear these days -- most of it involving the Doug Fister trade and its branches -- but AL Central fans know better than to discount Mike Ilitch's drive/desperation when the Tigers appear to be short on a big name.
This being the case, it was somewhat satisfying when the White Sox's signing of Melky Cabrera became public, and our friends at Bless You Boys responded with:
Wtf RT @MLBBruceLevine: Source tells me Melky Cabrera agrees to three year deal with WhSox pending physical .
— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) December 14, 2014
The Tigers added a left fielder of their own during the winter meetings, acquiring Yoenis Cespedes from Boston (along with Alex Wilson and minor-leaguer Gape Speier), but it came at a heavy cost in Rick Porcello. They then replaced Porcello by trading for Cincinnati's Alfredo Simon, sending Eugenio Suarez and former first-round pick Jonathon Crawford to the Reds.
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That exchange seems to be a quality-for-quantity trade, at least from the pitching side. They previously acquired Shane Greene from the Yankees in a three-team deal (in exchange for Robbie Ray, who was the centerpiece of the Fister trade). With Simon, they now have a full rotation, so they're partially protected against another injury to Sanchez. However, it does seem to make them especially reliant on a Justin Verlander rebound.
The position-player side should be fine. They re-signed Victor Martinez, Cespedes effectively replaces Torii Hunter, and while Anthony Gose may never hit, he should be able to cover Comerica Park's center field. The biggest question marks are on the left side of the infield, where Jose Iglesias is talented but physically rickety, and Nick Castellanos was below replacement level due to atrocious defense at third. He turns 23 in March, so there's hope still.
They're treading water, but after bringing back Martinez for a hefty chunk of change, the rest of their moves have avoided that kind of commitment, so it looks like they're trying to find flexibility where they can. Whether that means they can re-sign Max Scherzer remains to be seen. The Tigers are downplaying their chances, but we know better.
Kansas City Royals
After the White Sox and Tigers, the AL Central activity drops off dramatically. When it comes to the Royals, it's harder to explain.
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Dayton Moore has given the bullpen some attention. He re-signed Jason Frasor, who has been a reliable mid-leverage reliever for every team he's pitched for except the Sox, to the most inoffensive deal possible ($1.8 million with a mutual option). He also re-signed Luke Hochevar, who missed most of last year due to Tommy John surgery. They traded Aaron Crow to Miami for two minor-league pitchers, but he didn't even make their postseason roster.
Beyond that, they replaced Billy Butler (coming off a down year) with Kendrys Morales (coming off a REALLY DOWN year). Morales, a Boras client, signed in June because rejecting a qualifying offer killed his market, and he hit .218/.274/.338 for the Twins and Mariners. Somehow, he got a two-year deal.
Otherwise, it's quiet. They still have to fill holes in right field and the rotation, as Nori Aoki and James Shields presumably won't be returning, but they missed out Cabrera and Ervin Santana, and all those who came before (Hunter, Nick Markakis, Yasmani Tomas). After years of Process scarring, Royals fans are still not entirely trusting of the front office.
Cleveland Indians
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The Indians have also stood pat, but more because their options are limited by finances (they shot their wad two years ago), and also because they're pretty young and projectable everywhere. They traded fringe prospect Joe Wendle for Brandon Moss, who should be a good fit for Terry Francona's extreme platooning, and they re-signed Mike Aviles for infield depth.
Otherwise, they have five starters, and all are in their 20s (Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and T.J. House). Their bullpen is sound. Their biggest weaknesses are a leaky team defense and Nick Swisher flirting with being a sunk cost at DH, but they're a valid choice for AL Central favorite.
Minnesota Twins
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Last year, the Twins signed Ricky Nolasco to a four-year, $49 million contract. It was a significant investment for a low-upside guy, and it blew up in their faces. He posted a 5.38 ERA over 27 starts, mostly because opponents posted a .316/.356/.505 line against him. He ended the year on the DL due to an elbow that he said troubled him all season. However, he has a history of hittability, which makes his sum ERA worse than its parts.
That failure forced the Twins to go back to the well and sign Ervin Santana for four years and $54 million. Santana seems like a better bet than Nolasco -- he's been good in four of his last five years, he has American League experience, and he put a dent into his always problematic home run and fly ball rates in Atlanta in 2014.
He's probably not going to get much help in Minneosta, though. The Twins' defense was terrible last year, and it doesn't figure to get any better with their other offseason addition -- the one-year return of Torii Hunter.
9-time gold glove winner torii hunter on OF metrics: "theres no way to measure playing the OF, only your eyes can do that."
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 3, 2014
Works for me, and probably the division, too.