Detroit Tigers: Financial outlook over next few years

This offseason

The biggest change for the Detroit Tigers so far this offseason—at least from a financial standpoint—has been Anibal Sanchez’ departure.

Detroit declined the 2018 option on Sanchez’ contract, making him a free agent.

His $16 million salary, per Spotrac, coming off the books certainly helps matters.

The Tigers also lost Andrew Romine on waivers to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Romine’s presence on the bench will certainly be missed in the Motor City. However, his departure also helps Detroit save some extra cash.

According to Spotrac, the veteran took home $1.3 million last season. MLBTradeRumors projects he will make $1.9 million through arbitration this winter.

The Tigers can shed further salary by trading second baseman Ian Kinsler and shortstop Jose Iglesias.

Neither veteran exactly fits the rebuild in Detroit. Per Spotrac, Kinsler is making $11 million in 2018 before becoming a free agent.

Meanwhile, Iglesias MLBTradeRumors projects that the shortstop will earn $5.6 million next year. It’s his last season of controllability before he too reaches the free agent market.

Detroit will obviously have to hand out arbitration raises to outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, catcher James McCann and relievers Shane Greene and Alex Wilson.

There’s also Jordan Zimmermann’s contract, which will see the starter’s annual salary rise from $18 million (according to Spotrac) to $24 million.

However, with Sanchez and Romine gone and Kinsler and Iglesias potentially following, there’s a chance Detroit could save some serious cash this offseason.