Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers general manager Al Avila said he hasn’t give up on finding a veteran starting pitcher to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, but time and suitable options are becoming scarce.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s thinning out a little bit,” he said Thursday, his first extended media conference of the spring. “But we’re still trying to improve the team. Just not sure we’ll be able to. But we’re trying.”
On the day the Tigers made official the signing of left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin (two years, $13 million with an option after the first year), Avila revealed the Tigers were in the hunt for veteran right-hander Zack Greinke right up until Wednesday, when he signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Kansas City Royals.
“Very candidly, we were in the Greinke situation and money had not been an object in this case,” Avila said. “It’s been more, in his case, going back to Kansas City where he started. Spring training is just 30 minutes from his house (in Arizona). Money wasn’t the issue.
“For Greinke, it was more about the level of comfort there that we could not provide.”
What goes around comes around, though. The Tigers were able to land Chafin, who lives on a farm just outside of Massillon, Ohio, in part because he’d be within a couple hours’ drive of his wife and daughters.
“It definitely did not hurt,” Chafin said. “Being able to just drive home on any given day, say hi to my girls and drive back — it’s a very nice situation to have.”
Avila also confirmed the Tigers, who had made lefty Matthew Boyd an offer before the lockout, had hoped to circle back in the last couple of weeks. Boyd, after seven seasons with the Tigers, signed a one-year, $5.3 million deal, with another $2 million-plus in incentives, with the Giants.
The other veteran free-agent pitcher the Tigers have been linked to is right-hander Michael Pineda. They were also among the teams exploring trade possibilities with the Oakland Athletics, who are looking to move starters Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.
“Some of the trade possibilities have gone away,” Avila said. “Some are a little more difficult because of the quantity of prospects you have to give up. You have to weigh that and the guys who are available in free agency and compare that to what you already have in camp.”
The Tigers recently have signed a trio of veteran pitchers to minor league deals — Chase Anderson, Wily Peralta and Drew Hutchison.
“I feel our people (front office) did a great job in minor-league free-agent signings, as far as giving us (roster) protection,” Avila said. “But you are always going to be looking to improve. Then once the season starts and you get to the trade deadline, if the team is doing well then you can look to make that deal that’s going to take you over the top.”
Avila admittedly has been cautious with trading away prospects. He reiterated his position Thursday.
“We’re engaging in those types of conversations now and I have to say, we’re not really motivated to trade the farm, per se, at this point,” he said. “We’re a team that’s growing. It’s taken a lot of work and a lot of time to build up the farm system. We’re going to be very careful.
“Now, if there is a trade to be made that makes a lot of sense for us, we’re not afraid to trade a prospect or two. But we’re going to be careful.”
The Tigers also have a crop of younger starting pitchers who could end up pitching themselves into the rotation at some point this season — including Joey Wentz, Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske, Ricardo Pinto, Logan Shore and Elvin Rodriguez.
“Part of me is like, ‘On the back fields, everybody looks good — until the games start,’” Avila said. “After all these years, I also know the best thing would be to get Joey and Alex and guys like Brieske a couple of months in the minors, let them get going and then I think we might have some viable options.
“For now, though, it’s about bringing in that extra pitcher for the rotation if we can. If we can’t, we have enough guys where we can mix and match. But as we get into the season, our expectation and our hope is that some of these guys can step up.”
The Tigers rotation, as it stands heading into Grapefruit League action, is Eduardo Rodriguez (who is scheduled to start the spring opener Friday against the Phillies), Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning and Tyler Alexander.
Hearing him talk after the workouts Thursday, manager AJ Hinch has no problem taking that quintet into the regular season.
“It’s amazing to see Tyler have to fight for an opportunity when in actuality he’s performed plenty well enough to garner his spot already,” Hinch said. “His command is good. The cut on his fastball is good. And he’s also got a ton of guts. He’s not fearful of the strike zone regardless of the opponent.”
Avila said chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch has been very involved in the process since before the lockout, clearly, signing off on multi-year contracts for Rodriguez ($77 million) and Javier Báez ($140 million).
“There hasn’t been any restrictions, by any means,” Avila said. “It’s just me, as the general manager, I’m trying to be responsible in terms of what we pay and the number of years. That’s my job, to manage those things. Like I said, with Greinke, we were right in it. I haven’t had any issues with payroll or anything of that nature.”
But, the organizational goal, expressed often by Ilitch, is not to make a one-year run. Sustained success is the goal.
“Every move we are trying to make is to win this year,” Avila said. “Obviously, there are a lot of question marks. But if those question marks go well, we feel we have a chance to get to the playoffs. But at the same time, we are looking at the big picture, too.
“It’s taken us a long time to get here. We want to make sure that we’re here this year, next year and the year after that.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky