Nov 18, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers president Dave Dombrowski before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-US PRESSWIRE

The Tigers already made one big splash in free agency this offseason when the signed Torii Hunter – probably the one type of move they needed most and perhaps the only one they needed at all – but they’re still rumored to be searching for a couple more pieces.

They’ve been in the mix to re-sign starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez all along, they’re perhaps still looking for a left field platoon partner for Andy Dirks, and they’re kind of, sort of looking for shortstop upgrades (even in some odd places). But the question remains: exactly how much money do they have left to spend or, rather, how much money is Mr. Ilitch willing to spend?

With Hunter now in the mix, Detroit has roughly $111 million committed to ten guys with guaranteed contracts for next season. Add in the seven arbitration eligible players who could make a combined $25.5 million (according to MLB Trade Rumors) and the Tigers are staring at an opening day payroll of rougly $137 million. More, actually, because they’d need at least eight more guys to fill out the roster. So even if the Tigers stand pat (and fill the roster with league-minimum pre-arbitration players) they would open up the 2013 season with approximately $140 million on the ledger – the highest payroll number ever for the Detroit Tigers.

A signing of someone like Stephen Drew at shortstop would be followed by a Jhonny Peralta trade, so the marginal hit to the bottom line would be minimal, and a right-handed hitting left fielder would “only” fetch a couple of million, but then there’s the question of Anibal Sanchez. He’s likely the only “big-ticket” free agent the Tigers could still land, but they’re probably not in position to win an all-out bidding war for his services.

We all know that Mike Ilitch is itching for a World Series ring – and it sounds like he’s more than willing to keep the pocketbook open to keep a guy like Sanchez – but we’re likely reaching the payroll tipping point. The Tigers aren’t known as penny pinchers when they’re in talks with a guy they want, we saw that when they quickly hammered out a deal with Torii Hunter before he could visit other clubs, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to just throw all sorts of money around. Sanchez threw out a request for six years and $90 million more than two weeks ago, but the Tigers haven’t taken the bait. They could be waiting for Zack Greinke to sign and set the market rate before simply overpaying, but it’s possible that they’ve already informed Sanchez of their top dollar number and are sitting back and waiting to see if he’ll settle for it.

Any sort of Sanchez deal would tip the scales beyond the $150 million mark for next season – well more than they’ve ever paid for players in the past – and it’s very possible they would have to unload money to make it work. Sanchez would make Rick Porcello expendable, so the Tigers could save roughly $4 million there, but it’s possible that they could also deal away Peralta even if it meant that Danny Worth would be the everyday guy at shortstop. Chris argued the other day that Danny Worth would be a poor option as an everyday player – and I’m inclined to agree with him – but if the question is Porcello and Peralta or Sanchez and Worth, I’m probably picking the latter.

It’s easy to take Mr. I and his money for granted – he always seems to come up with more dough when it’s needed – but even he has his limits, and it’s very possible the Tigers are up against it. Of course, nothing he decides would surprise me, and it’s very possible he approves the Sanchez signing with no strings attached.

“I have a really bad feeling about this.”

Chris Hannum wrote a great overview comparison of Jhonny Peralta’s value versus Drew’s, and I wanted to expound on the idea a bit more, because this is an outrageously bad idea.

Oct 6, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Cliff Pennington (2) catches a pop fly while running into shortstop Stephen Drew (5) during the third inning of game one of the 2012 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

For defense, Chris examined UZR/150 and DRS between the two players, but the differences go even further. The first and most important quality for a shortstop playing for Detroit has to be range – they’re covering not just the space a typical shortstop has to cover, but also a bit of third base’s territory due to Miguel Cabrera. Jhonny Peralta’s 2012 OOZ was 49, which was tied for third from last for all starting Major League shortstops. Drew’s was 37, which is the equivalent of an infant in a Power Wheels.

ErrR is a stat that measures the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by the number of errors he makes as compared to an average fielder at that position given the same distribution of balls in play. Peralta sported an ErrR of 3.6 in ’12, and a 7.2 in ’11. Drew? In 2012 his ErrR was 0.4 in 2012, and 2.0 the season before. With DPR, which is double play runs above average, Peralta had Drew beat, 0.0 to -0.2, and that’s taking into account that Peralta played half his games with a rotating cast at second base. Even going with plain ol’ errors, Peralta had 7 in 149 games, and Drew had 8 in 75 games.

Peralta has the edge defensively (never thought I’d type that…), so the Tigers’ interest in Drew must be offensively-based, right? Well, Jhonny had a .145 ISO (Drew – .125), a .239/.305/.384 slash (.223/.309/.348), and a .301 wOBA (.291). So, it must be a right-left hitting difference that favors Drew, right? Peralta – .249/.303/.385 against righties, .214/.309/.383 against lefties. Drew – .234/.329/.368 against righties (where he’s supposed to have an edge), and .198/.260/.302 against lefties, which would actually compound Detroit’s issues against left handed pitching.

One could make the case that OF COURSE Drew’s stats are horrible for 2012 – he was injured! Well, to pull out another quote to reinforce a point, Ron Shandler says that “Health is also a skill.” It happens to be a skill that Drew lacks. He has never played in over 152 games in a season, including playing in 79 last year and 86 the year before. In 2009 he played in 135 games, and unfortunately displays a trait shared by his brother JD wherein a Drew cannot play through a minor injury. On a team where Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth would then get significant playing time at a crucial position, that is not a selling point.

Honestly, I have no idea why Dave Dombrowski would even consider adding Stephen Drew. Maybe sending Peralta to Arizona would be part of a blockbuster that nets Justin Upton, but that seems unlikely. Maybe this is a bluff to make teams with multiple shortstops think that the Tigers already have a plan in place, and then give up their piece more easily. I have no idea. All I know is that sending Peralta away and fitting Drew with an Olde English D is a very bad idea.

Whatever Mike Illitch feels like, really.

Feb. 9, 2012; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (left), Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Illitch (center), and wife Marian Illitch during NHL press conference for the 2013 Winter Classic between Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

When Illitch bought the club in 1992 from Tom Monaghan he spent $82 million dollars. Twenty years later, Forbes has the Detroit Tigers worth around $478 million dollars as of March 2012. And what the recent sales of the Dodgers and Padres have taught us is that the Tigers could be worth almost twice as much as their Forbes price due to television contracts. Illitch also has investments in casinos, Little Caesars, the Red Wings (stupid Gary Bettman…), and probably hundreds of other smaller businesses. This is not even taking into account the additional revenue made from a lengthy and deep playoff run, merchandise, etc.  Mike Illitch as proven in his time as an owner that one of his life’s great ambitions is to win a World Series, and now that he’s gotten a second taste of it some are speculating that millions of dollars are currently burning a hole in his pocket.

That is all to say that Illitch can sign off on just about anything Dave Dombrowski thinks is best right now. The Tigers are the Las Vegas favorite to win the World Series in 2013 at 6-1, which only reinforces that notion. They just signed Torii Hunter, so instead of thinking “Gosh, this might handicap what the Tigers could spend the rest of the offseason,” one could think “Sweet! I can’t wait to see what the next upgrade will be!” Does this mean the Tigers will resign Anibal Sanchez? Hey, who knows? For what he was able to accomplish during his brief Tigers tenure maybe he is worth the investment.

This also neglects to take trades into account. Dombrowski can wheel and deal with the best of them, and maybe he could add or subtract salaries with a deal – any deal that would increase the depth and strength of a team that is potentially poised to hoist a championship trophy in the coming year. Is Justin Upton available? Trevor Bauer? Any team want to part with an extra shortstop? A fifth starter? The possibilities are endless.

Mike Illitch is basically playing a video game with this team. He’s making sure this team can get the best possible upgrades at whatever spots need it, and he desperately wants to win. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited about the prospects of this team in the Hot Stove season, especially with the main Winter Meetings about a month away now.

And heck, none of this is really our money anyway.