An offseason that began with a bang for the Tigers ended pretty quietly. They hired AJ Hinch as manager and then, in keeping with their rebuild, played on the margins of free agency.
Their biggest signing was Robbie Grossman, for $10 million over two years. They didn't make a trade to speak of. This felt like a bit of a letdown after general manager Al Avila said in 2019, "After 2020 our payroll will be in a lot better place for us to be aggressive going into 2021."
Of course, plans can change quickly amid a global pandemic. A season of revenue losses (and the specter of another one) prompted the Tigers to play it safe. They wound up spending just $21.5 million on the major league free agent market.
Still, Avila said Tuesday as the Tigers prepare for spring training that the club was more active this offseason than it appeared.
"You may not have heard our name out there a lot on rumored trades or free agents, but quite frankly, we had a wide net. We did talk to a lot of agents and several clubs," Avila said. "So while you may not have heard the Tigers involved here, we actually were involved in a lot of different areas with a lot of different players. We just chose not to throw it out there for any purpose. But we ended up signing the guys that we felt can help the club that fit within our parameters."
In addition to Grossman -- on whom Detroit "got really good value," Avila said -- the Tigers signed pitcher Jose Urena, infielder Jonathan Scoop, catcher Wilson Ramos and outfielder Nomar Mazara to major-league contracts. Grossman was the only one who got a multi-year deal.
Avila said the lost revenue from a season without fans placed a 'tremendous burden' on clubs around the league.
"I can't talk for every club, because obviously there's some clubs out there spending quite a lot of money. Which, quite frankly, some of those clubs in the position that they were in, you would think that's what they should do," he said. "But in our situation, coming from last year where you had no fans in the stadium, that's a tremendous burden on any club, not just the Tigers. So that obviously affects the whole planning stage, and then going into the unknown (of 2021)."
Other free agents the Tigers were linked to this winter included SP Taijuan Walker, 2B Kolten Wong, 1B Mitch Moreland, utility man Marwin Gonzalez and catchers Alex Avila and Jason Castro. Avila said the club is "definitely looking for more pitching as we speak," ideally another starter. Walker, for what it's worth, remains unsigned.
As for the big-ticket acquisitions, the Tigers will wait at least another year.
"We're always going to be an organization that tries to promote and develop our own guys and give them opportunities," Avia said. "At the same time, we know we have to bring in outside players from time to time. Our goal is to get more young players established at the Major League level and surround them with guys that we feel will take us over the top. So next year, the winter of '21 going into '22, I think at that point we can add more to the organization and make it better for '22."
