Detroit Tigers Smartly Increased Their Payroll This Offseason to Boost Roster
The Detroit Tigers are coming off of a surprisingly productive season that saw them make an unexpected trip to the playoffs. They have responded to that by spending some money this winter to improve the roster.
MLB data account BrooksGate posted a graph showing the difference between payrolls from last year to this year, a couple of months into free agency.
So far, the Tigers have actually increased their payroll by a little over $9 million. They now sit at around $119 million.
There are still plenty of free agents to sign, so there will be some movement. However, right now, Detroit has actually had the third-largest increase in payroll.
The Tigers have two new expensive contracts to thank for the increase. Bringing in veterans to compliment their surging young stars was a smart decision.
Alex Cobb and Gleyber Torres each received one-year, $15 million contracts this offseason. Expect them both to be up for trade at the deadline if this campaign doesn't go how Detroit expects it to.
Cobb was posting consistent, solid seasons for a few years before missing most of his last campaign with a shoulder injury. The Cleveland Guardians were able to trade for him at the deadline, and then he made his debut in late August.
He pitched in three regular seasons games and finished with an ERA of 2.76 over 16.1 innings of work. The playoffs were less kind, as he gave up five earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
Torres is more of a straightforward story.
He has been pretty much the same player for the past five years as a member of the New York Yankees. The issue is his first two seasons were so good that fans became disappointed in his sliding play.
The 28-year-old will provide a solid boost offensively, which was their biggest need of the offseason.
Those two are tied for the second spot on the Tigers' payroll, though, as the infamous Javier Baez remains their highest paid player.
The Baez contract will go down as one of the worst in recent baseball history by the time it is completed.
Detroit handed the shortstop a six-year, $140 million contract back ahead of the 2022 season. He is making $25 million this year and it will only drop slightly to $24 million over the final two.
Since joining the team, he has a slash line of just .221/.262/.347 with 32 home runs and 163 RBI.
Needless to say, the production does not come close to matching the investment.
It is nice to see the Tigers remaining aggressive despite that mistake. They didn't over-invest as to take away opportunities form their young players, but also still made the team a little bit better.