Detroit Tigers: Assessing whether team can contend in next two seasons

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DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 4: Al Avila laughs during a news conference at Comerica Park after he was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager on August 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. Avila replaces Dave Dombrowski who was the Tigers’ general manager since 2002. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila is in the midst of a full-blown rebuild. With the Tigers embracing a youth movement it’s fair to wonder when the team will be in contention again.

Detroit Tigers fans could see some more trades before all is said and done this offseason.

It obviously remains to be seen what the team will do this winter, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the likes of Ian Kinsler, Jose Iglesias and Andrew Romine traded at some point.

There’s also veteran starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, who has a $16 million option on his contract, according to Spotrac, that can be bought out for $5 million.

In other words, changes could be coming and the youth movement will continue.

For some teams youth movements pay early dividends.

The Rockies’ young rotation helped propel the team to a playoff berth in 2017, while Minnesota’s young core helped the team surprise the league in qualifying for the postseason as a Wild Card.

With the Tigers finishing with baseball’s worst record in 2017, it also remains to be seen when the team will return to contention.

It’s entirely possible that Detroit could once again end up with a top-10 record after the next season or two.

However, it’s also possible the team could take some positive steps forward during that span.

So will the Detroit Tigers contend in the next two season?

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