Detroit Tigers Links: Off-Season grades, World Series dreams and possible draft pick loss

The Chicago White Sox made a splash late Saturday night when they shored up their outfield by signing free agent Melky Cabrera.

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The Tigers and White Sox seemingly are in an arm’s race as Chicago looks to climb back to relevancy after several years of being a divisional afterthought.

Still the Tigers seem to be garnering a lot of positive marks for their off-season moves thus far. Two of the links below talk about what the grade would be for Detroit’s off-season if Spring Training began today (we could only wish). The big trades also signify that the Tigers are not retreated, retooling or dialing back payroll and are still all-in for 2015.

The middle article looks at how the signing of Cespedes could cost the Tigers a 2016 draft pick.

ESPN analyst gives Tigers ‘B’ for off-season so far – Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press

"That’s a good sign for the Tigers, considering their divisional competition could get a whole lot tougher in 2015. The White Sox have been “huge winners” this off-season, according to Bowden, after picking up starter Jeff Samardzija, closer David Robertson, lefty Zach Duke and slugger Adam LaRoche.The White Sox are also reportedly on the verge of signing outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was a possible Tigers target before the team traded for Cespedes.The Cleveland Indians earned a B-, the Kansas City Royals earned a D and the Minnesota Twins a B-."

Explaining why trade for Yoenis Cespedes will likely cost Detroit Tigers draft pick in 2016 – Chris Iott, MLive

"At the end of the 2015 season, the Red Sox will have the option of making a qualifying offer to Porcello. A qualifying offer is a one-year contract offer that is worth the average of the top 125 salaries from the previous year in the league and, this offseason, is worth $15.3 million.Barring unforeseen circumstances, Porcello would reject that qualifying offer and become a free agent. If he signed elsewhere, the Red Sox would receive a compensatory draft pick between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft.But that’s not the case with Cespedes, who signed a four-year contract worth $36 million prior to the 2012 season."

Detroit Tigers: Big Trades Signal Intent to Win World Series – Ben Rosener, Bleacher Report

"The Tigers filled a need in right field with the addition of Cespedes. To fill that need, Rick Porcello was forfeited, but Detroit replaced him with Simon.The group of Porcello, Suarez and Crawford was a collectively heavy price to pay to upgrade the team. But given the choice between those three or Cespedes, Wilson, Speier and Simon, the newly acquired quartet wins out every time. Even with Cespedes and Simon in the final years of their respective contracts, this deal helps the Tigers in the long run.More importantly, it reaffirms their status as American League Central favorites and puts them in prime position to reach—and finally win—the World Series."