Detroit Tigers Links: James Shields in the D, Ausmus on 2015 and Should Torii stay?

Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers fans and hold up signs against the Baltimore Orioles during game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

 
Shields could help Tigers at right price – Kurt Mensching, Detroit News

Let’s face it: Max Scherzer‘s career as a Tiger should now be spoken about in the past tense. Scherzer made a big bet on his future this spring when he turned down the Tigers’ offer — reported to be worth $144 million — and some general manager somewhere will shower Scherzer with riches for that bet.The Tigers shouldn’t even try to match the amount of money he’s going to get. Scherzer’s a great pitcher, but the contract’s going to look bad at the end, and a few too many deals like that can hamstring a club like it has the Phillies.This brings up a problem, naturally. If not Scherzer, then who?

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Tigers’ Brad Ausmus already preparing tweaks for 2015 – Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press

Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus spoke with Free Press sports writer Anthony Fenech last week. Here is Part 2 of their conversation. Part 1 can be found here.

 Should the Tigers bring back Torii Hunter for 2015? – Patrick O’Kennedy, Bless You Boys

Torii Hunter has been a productive hitter for the Detroit Tigers over the past two seasons, and has become a popular player and a leader in the clubhouse. When the World Series is over later this month, Hunter will be a free agent, and his future is uncertain. He could decide to retire, but has said that if the Tigers were interested in having him back, he would like to work something out.Hunter has just completed a two year contract that paid him $26 million. He has continued to be productive at the plate, but is not very good defensively in the outfield anymore. In fact, he was the second worst outfielder in the American league, according to both Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and defensive runs saved (DRS). Both measures show that Hunter was 18 runs below the league average, essentially costing the team 18 runs defensively.At the plate, Hunter had another fine season in 2014. He ranked 28th in the American league in weighted on base average (wOBA) among qualified players. With 15 teams in the league, that would make Hunter the second or third best hitter on an average team.