Tigers general manager Al Avila likely realized the news would not be well received. He softened the blow early last week when he informed reporters that the team was unlikely to make any “sexy” moves at the deadline.
The team rattled off two straight sweeps in the pair of series that followed that missive, though -- the latter of which they won by a combined total of 28-8 -- and many wondered whether that might prompt the team’s brass to feel differently, whether the prevailing sense of optimism surrounding the club these days might embolden them to chase a starting pitcher, or additional bullpen help.
But, when the 4 p.m. deadline passed Monday afternoon, the Tigers did exactly as Avila predicted. They stood pat.
It wasn’t for lack of effort. Detroit was actively engaged in trade talks with several teams, with a specific focus on starting pitching. Hector Santiago, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Hellickson were three that sparked interest, but the asking prices were initially deemed prohibitive. Those price tags clearly didn’t budge much; only one of those three pitchers (Santiago) was dealt.
Oakland veteran Rich Hill even sprung up as a more cost-effective alternative, though his current injury situation -- he is on the disabled list with a finger blister -- complicated matters. He ended up being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Avila said last week that he was reluctant to sacrifice young pitchers like Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd, and yet those are the two names that teams specifically asked for when gauging the Tigers as potential trade partners (Michael Fulmer, perhaps the only true “untouchable” within the organization, was viewed as a complete non-starter). Prospects like Steven Moya and Joe Jimenez were not going to move the needle in discussions, and so the interest never grew beyond much more than that.
The Tigers were also engaged in discussions with Milwaukee about All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy, but he wound up with the Texas Rangers instead. Lucroy never seemed an absolute fit with Detroit -- a team which has a solid sophomore in James McCann, despite this season’s peaks and valleys -- and shoring up the position was never considered a paramount priority like pitching. Lucroy also invoked his right to veto a trade to the Cleveland Indians; Detroit was also on his no-trade list.
In an ideal world, the Tigers wanted upgrades to the veterans rounding out the back end of their rotation -- Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey -- the latter of whom has been diagnosed with a mild, Grade 1 lower-back strain -- but wanted to identify players who could provide this boost without the team having to sacrifice what Detroit regards as future rotational pieces in Boyd and Norris. Ultimately, they couldn’t find any deals that fit.
After a frenetic, aggressive offseason of spending and one big splash -- Justin Upton -- the Tigers took a conservative approach to this year’s midseason auction. Perhaps not very satisfying, but not exactly surprising, either.
