Detroit Tigers: American League Central Offseason Review

Detroit Tigers fans saw a relatively quiet offseason in which the team predominantly remained the same. Here’s a look at what the rest of Detroit’s American League Central rivals did over the winter.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila recently completed his second offseason in charge of the club.

While he didn’t make the same kinds of trades as his first offseason, in which Avila brought in Cameron Maybin, Justin Wilson and Francisco Rodriguez, the general manager still made some shrewd moves.

Maybin was traded once again, this time to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for power pitching prospect Victor Alcantara in a cost-cutting move.

The outfielder enjoyed a productive season at the plate in 2016, but Detroit will move forward with cheaper alternatives in JaCoby Jones, Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook.

Speaking of Mahtook, Avila brought in the 26-year-old via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The former first-round pick struggled last season, but showed considerable promise in 2015.

On the pitching side of things, Detroit was active in the Rule 5 draft. The club selected left-handed reliever Daniel Stumpf from Kansas City.

Stumpf and Alcantara will both likely be in the mix for bullpen jobs at some point season.

While Avila didn’t make too many additions to the Major League roster, he did improve the team’s overall depth with a bevy of minor league additions.

Among the notable players Detroit inked to minors deals include former Tiger Omar Infante, ex-St. Louis All-Star closer Edward Mujica and Michigan State product A.J. Achter.

While the Detroit Tigers didn’t make too many splashes, the rest of the team’s division rivals were certainly busy.

Here is a look at offseason activity of the other four American League Central teams and how the moves of Detroit’s rivals affect the Tigers.

Chicago White Sox

Notable Additions: Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Derek Holland, Cody Asche and Peter Bourjos

Notable Losses: Chris Sale, Adam Eaton, Alex Avila, Justin Morneau, Matt Albers and J.B. Shuck

The Chicago White Sox were one of Major League Baseball’s most prominent teams in the offseason, as the franchise dealt Chris Sale and Adam Eaton for significant returns.

Sale was flipped to Boston for top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, as well as Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz.

Elsewhere, they sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals for 2016 first round pick Dane Dunning and two of the game’s top pitching prospects in Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.

The White Sox, who are in full on rebuilding move, could still conceivably move pieces as the year progresses.

It wouldn’t be a shock to see the likes of Jose Quintana, David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu dealt.

How Chicago’s Moves Affect the Detroit Tigers

Chicago, a team that finished 8.5 games behind the Tigers in the standings, seem set to duke it out with the Twins in the American League Central cellar.

The loss of Sale and Eaton will rightly take all the headlines, and Detroit should benefit greatly from both playing in different divisions.

Sale logged a 5.2 WAR last season and went 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA in five starts against Detroit.

Meanwhile, Eaton is a lifetime .325 hitter versus the Tigers in 223 plate appearances.

The outfielder has collected 34 runs scored, 23 RBI, 11 doubles, six triples, six stolen bases and three home runs versus Miguel Cabrera and company.

However, the losses of Avila and Morneau are also significant.

Despite playing in just 57 games, Avila had the seventh-highest WAR among position players last season for the White Sox. He also ranked fifth on the team in ISO.

Morneau appeared in just 58 games, but still managed to log a .799 OPS, six RBI, three doubles and a pair of home runs in 11 games versus the Tigers last season.

Minnesota Twins

Notable Additions: Jason Castro, Craig Breslow and Ryan Vogelsong

Notable Losses: Trevor Plouffe, Kurt Suzuki, Tommy Milone and Pat Light

Both Chicago and Kansas City made moves during the offseason to better themselves for the future.

That’s what the Minnesota Twins have been doing for the past few seasons.

Minnesota was particularly active during the middle of 2016.

The team moved veterans Eduardo Nunez, Fernando Abad, Ricky Nolasco, Sean Burnett and Oswaldo Arcia around midseason.

While the Twins didn’t make any trades during the offseason, they did release Trevor Plouffe. The release of the infielder represented perhaps the club’s most significant move.

Plouffe’s WAR in 84 games last season was only -0.4, but he did contribute 12 home runs, 47 RBI, a 91 wRC+ and a .160 ISO.

For a rebuilding team, that’s a lot of production to replace.

The team also swapped out free agent catchers, opting for Jason Castro to replace the departing Kurt Suzuki.

Minnesota will also be hoping the likes of Max Kepler, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton continue to develop in 2017.

Things are less certain in the starting rotation. Ervin Santana returns, but he’s the only starter from last season who turned in an ERA under 5.00.

Following Santana in the rotation order will be some combination of Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey, Jose Berrios, Hector Santiago and Phil Hughes.

In addition to posting high ERAs last season, none of the aforementioned group managed to strikeout more than 7.6 batters per nine innings.

By comparison, Anibal Sanchez punched out 7.92 batters per nine innings.

How Minnesota’s Moves Affect the Detroit Tigers

The Tigers should benefit the most from Minnesota’s change behind the plate.

Kurt Suzuki mashed three home runs and collected eight RBI in 14 games against Detroit last season.

For his career, the backstop is a .283 batter with a .731 OPS in 86 games against the Tigers.

Replacing Suzuki at backstop is Jason Castro, who is a .154 hitter with just a .452 lifetime OPS versus Detroit.

Cleveland

Notable Addition: Edwin Encarnacion and Boone Logan

Notable Losses: Mike Napoli, Jeff Manship and Rajai Davis

It’s safe to say that Cleveland is in win-now mode.

The club recently made it to the World Series. What’s more, they went all-in on midseason trades, picking up Andrew Miller, Brandon Guyer and Coco Crisp.

Cleveland continued to make bold moves in the offseason, adding Edwin Encarnacion via free agency.

While Encarnacion will help the lineup, Detroit’s American League Central rivals will have to replace Rajai Davis in the outfield and Jeff Manship in the bullpen.

Davis spent most of 2016 in a platoon with Tyler Naquin.

Naquin was extremely productive in 365 plate appearances, hitting .296 with an .886 OPS.

He also added 52 runs scored, 43 RBI, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and five stolen bases.

However, he saw just 40 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. Naquin also struck out 112 times.

Just how Cleveland will continue to protect Naquin against southpaws remains to be seen with Davis now in Oakland.

Elsewhere, the club will attempt to replenish there bullpen with the likes of Steve Delabar, Nick Goody, James Russell and Boone Logan

How Cleveland’s Moves Affect the Detroit Tigers

Replacing Napoli with Encarnacion will obviously benefit Terry Francona’s club. However, it may not move the needle too much in games against the Tigers.

Napoli is a .261 hitter with a .861 OPS, 41 RBI, 32 runs scored, 15 home runs and 10 doubles in 74 games versus Detroit.

Next: The Significance of a Potential Bounce-Back from Anibal Sanchez

Meanwhile, Encarnacion is a .266 hitter with an .837 OPS, 24 RBI, 23 runs scored, nine home runs and eight doubles in 42 games played against the Tigers.