Detroit Tigers should be aggressive on waiver wire in the offseason

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila enters the offseason with a full-blown rebuild on his hands. He and the rest of the front office should be aggressive on the waiver wire this winter.

Detroit Tigers fans could be in for an offseason filled with change.

After a 2017 season that saw the team trade away J.D. Martinez, Justin Wilson, Alex Avila, Justin Verlander and Justin Upton, the team could make more moves over the course of the winter.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Jose Iglesias and closer Shane Greene are conceivable trade chips, while veteran starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, per Spotrac, has a $16 million option for next season that can be bought out for $5 million.

Detroit should be looking to amass more prospects and young players to build for the future.

One avenue for adding players like that is via the waiver wire.

With the Rule 5 draft—not to mention plenty of trades that are likely to occur— the Tigers will have chances to find useful contributors this offseason as other teams remove players from their 40-man rosters.

Even if the players aren’t long-term fits, Detroit can claim them and try to eventually turn them into trade chips.