Detroit Tigers: 5 worst moves in Dave Dombrowski era

May 9, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis (29) reacts to a hit during the first inning in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. The Toronto Blue Jays won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

#5: Trading away Devon Travis

On November 12, 2014, just hours after being named the top prospect in the Detroit Tigers’ organization, Dave Dombrowski sent second baseman Devon Travis to the Toronto Blue Jays for centerfielder Anthony Gose.

In a way, the trade made sense. Travis was blocked at second base by Ian Kinsler, who would be with the club through 2017, barring a trade. There was talk in the offseason about maybe converting Travis to an outfield position during the Arizona Fall League, but injuries kept him out of action so the experiment could not be conducted.

So the Tigers simply flipped him for a need, another outfielder, and for something that addressed the type of team that DD and manager Brad Ausmus were building: a team heavily reliant on speed.

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Travis impressed his new organization during Spring Training and was a surprise addition to the roster. He made his presence known immediately by hitting a home run for his first hit, on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.  Currently on the DL, Travis has a .303 average with eight homers and 35 RBIs.

That start for Travis was easier to take for Tigers’ fans at the time because Detroit was busy starting the season at 11-2 (remember all the comparisons to the 1984 team? barf) and Gose was one of the better players during that run.

He made his Tigers’ debut in the second game and got three hits. In the early part of the season he was always reaching on hits, walks, bunts, infield singles and then he caused havoc on the bases. It has been a LONG time since we’ve seen that Anthony Gose.

Gose is a young player and under team control through the 2019 season, so it’s not like the Tigers flipped a young prospect for a guy with a year or two left on his contract. But it’s hard to think that Gose’s upside will be better than that of Travis, even if Devon has experienced a ton of injury concerns in the early part of his career.

Next: Doug Fister trade

Oct 15, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Doug Fister (58) addresses the media prior to game three of the American League Championship Series baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#4: Trading Doug Fister

For some, this one would be #1 on their list. No one will ever get over the Doug Fister trade. Comb through Tigers’ Twitter during any game, win or lose, and you’ll be hard-pressed to not find someone using Fister’s name as a rallying cry when something bad happens.

There was actually some logic behind the trade. The Detroit Tigers were facing arbitration hell during the 2014-2015 seasons. Fister, Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Alex Avila and several others were all eligible for arbitration and Fister was going to cost a pretty penny for a one-year salary in both offseasons before reaching free agency in 2016.

It’s funny to think back after this year, but the Tigers viewed their starting pitchers as overflowing with riches. Justin Verlander had an average 2013 regular season, but was coming off a sparkling postseason. The team has the intention of retaining Max Scherzer. Anibal Sanchez had come off a season leading the American League in ERA and Drew Smyly was poised to grab a rotation spot.

So Fister was expendable. Trading Fister is not at issue, it’s who they got for him.

The righty, picked up from the Seattle Mariners at the 2011 trading deadline, helped the team win their first division title since 1987 and was also strong throughout the regular season and postseason of 2012 and 2013. He appeared to be an emerging star and was still relatively young.

The return for Fister from the Washington Nationals was mid-range prospects Robbie Ray and Ian Krol along with AAAA-caliber utility man Steve Lombardozzi. Certainly Fister deserved a major league in return and/or a high prospect. This was one of the few deals that Dombrowski ever made that baseball experts scratched their head wondering why DD would make that move.

Lombardozzi never played in a regular season game for the Tigers, flipped for Alex Gonzalez (who was released less than a month into the 2014 season). Ray was shelled here last year and was traded for Shane Greene (which looked early on to be a big win, not so much anymore). Krol, of course, can’t do the one job he needs to do–get lefties out.

Fister has struggled a lot this season with injuries and inconsistency and has been pushed to the bullpen, but he had a career year in 2014 with the Nats.

Next: Letting Placido Polanco walk

Aug 8, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers former player Placido Polanco throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#3: Nothing retaining Placido Polanco

We touched on the trade that brought second baseman Placido Polanco to the Detroit Tigers to stabilize second base as one of the best deals of the Dave Dombrowski era last week. So it is fitting that not bringing him back after the 2009 season was one of his biggest mistakes.

Polanco finally closed the revolving door of second basemen the Tigers had since the trade of Damion Easley before the 2003 season. He hit .338, .295, .341 and .307 in his first four years in Detroit before falling off a bit to .285 in 2009, although he won a Gold Glove that year, the last one any Tiger has won to date.

Perhaps DD viewed him as a declining player and not worthy of the sum he’d command in free agency, so the team moved forward without offering Polanco a contract even though he said on multiple occasions he wanted to come back.

His free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies was for three-years, $18 million. Hardly a bank breaker considering that once again second base was an issue with the Tigers, and not really solved until they brought back Omar Infante in the trade for Anibal Sanchez at the trading deadline of 2012.

The team opted instead for Scott Sizemore at second base. He made the Opening Day roster there, but was demoted to Toledo and traded later in the season.

Meanwhile Polanco had another couple of stellar years back in Philadelphia, including his second and final All-Star appearance in 2011 and another Gold Glove.

Next: Hiring Brad Ausmus

Brad Ausmus has never managed in the major leagues or minor leagues.

(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press via USA Today)

#2: Hiring Brad Ausmus

Certain segments of Detroit Tigers’ fans were happy, gitty, almost ecstatic when Jim Leyland announced his retirement just days after the ouster of his team in the ALCS of 2013.

That series with the Boston Red Sox was a sole crusher. That team was arguably the best team of any in era that began in 2006, and the one built most to win. But we know in baseball that the teams built to win don’t always win in October, it’s really the team that gets hot. The Red Sox got hot, and if two pitches were better located, the Tigers probably would have gone to the World Series and won it this time.

But that’s speculation, something many Tigers’ fans share. You can imagine that Leyland felt these same feelings and just didn’t have the energy to do this all again for Spring Training, 162-games and then the postseason, so he stepped aside.

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So Dave Dombrowski sought out his replacement and zeroed in on former two-term Detroit Tigers’ catcher Brad Ausmus. A very good catcher in his day, Ausmus had never managed on any level and was serving as an special assistant in the San Diego Padres front office.

It didn’t take D.D. long to view Ausmus as a great candidate and hired him pretty quickly. Fans were a bit dismayed, putting in a rookie manager for a team with World Series aspirations?

Tigers’ brass brushed this off and said that Ausmus’ “intelligence” would be the difference. That he thinks 2-3 moves ahead in games and he blew them away in the interview. What they tried to sell us was that he was more “Mike Matheny” rookie manager-y than “Alan Trammell” rookie manager-y.

And it looked like they were right when the team jumped out to a 27-12 record and led baseball in 2014. Seems like so long ago, no?

Ausmus is a cool and collected dude most of the time. He doesn’t react to situations he should react to. He can’t manage a bullpen to save his life, calls for bunts in every bunt situation (in other words has no ability to go off-book with his moves), and seems several moves behind the action, not ahead like DD said.

In so many games he’s outmanaged, which was something even the avid Leyland haters could not say. He was totally outmanaged by Buck Showalter in last year’s ALDS that it would be laughable if this wasn’t our team.

I don’t know if things would have been different these last couple of years if Leyland had stayed on or if the Tigers hired another manager, but it’s hard to think it would have been any worse.

Next: Bullpen Inaction

Oct 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino (18) reacts after hitting a grand slam against the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning in game six of the American League Championship Series playoff baseball game at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

#1: Bullpen Inaction

In the five seasons since the Detroit Tigers’ began their run of AL Central domination that will end this year, their bullpen ERA has gotten progressively worse.

In 2011 and 2012 it was 3.93 and 3.79 respectively. Not great, but okay–these bullpens actually ranked in the middle of the pack in baseball. The 2013 season began the huge decline in the bullpen, posting a 4.01 ERA. Last year it was 4.29 and this year (through Aug. 9), it is 4.31.

We touched on the 2013 season in our last entry where if the bullpen was better, the Tigers might have been World Champions. That could be debatable, but what is not debatable was that each season Dave Dombrowski did nothing to improve the bullpen.

Adding an aging closer in Joe Nathan, a player on a career downward spiral in Joba Chamberlain and continually turning to minor leaguers like Ian Krol to record outs doomed this franchise to be also-rans throughout the postseason. A team that constantly went back to Phil Coke year after year tells you all you need to know about the inaction on the bullpen annually.

Many teams struggle to cobble together an effective bullpen. After all, if pitchers are really good, they are going to be starters or closers, not middle relief. Still, if you are trying to win now, you can’t blow off the bullpen to trade for another starter (David Price) when that is a strength on your team (at the time).

We’ll always have what could have been during the 2011-2014 playoff runs, especially 2013. The bullpen is probably the biggest reason we don’t have a World Championship to crow about.

Next: 5 Best Moves in Dave Dombrowski era