Detroit Tigers CEO and chairman Christopher Ilitch likes to talk about resources.
When the Tigers introduced new president of baseball operations Scott Harris in late September, Ilitch was asked about the addition of a general manager to the front office. Ilitch deferred to Harris, who plans to hire a general manager, before sharing a reminder of his responsibilities.
“As I’ve mentioned over the years,” Ilitch said, “my intent is to make sure that our organization has all the resources to be highly competitive on a sustainable basis and ultimately be a championship-caliber team and organization.”
The Tigers’ payroll ranked fourth in 2017, 17th in 2018, 20th in 2019, 22nd in 2020 and 21st in 2021. This season’s $135 million payroll, the highest since former general manager Al Avila began his rebuild, ranked 19th in MLB and third in the American League Central. Last offseason, Avila signed shortstop Javier Báez to a six-year, $140 million contract and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million deal.
“We talked about resources,” Harris said. “This ownership group has a long history of supporting baseball operations. It’s on me to come up with compelling opportunities and pitch those opportunities to Chris. I know that if I do, I’ll have his full support.”
TIGERS NEWSLETTER:Relive the 10 best moments of the 2022 season
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ payroll ahead of another busy offseason:
Guaranteed contracts
Miguel Cabrera: $32 million
Javier Báez: $22 million
Eduardo Rodriguez: $14 million
Spencer Turnbull: $2.15 million
Total: $70.15 million
Cabrera, Báez and Rodriguez accounted for nearly 50% of the 2022 payroll. Cabrera enters the final year of his contract, while Báez and Rodriguez have opt-out clauses they can exercise after the 2023 season. Turnbull aims to return from Tommy John surgery this season, and his salary is locked in because he signed a two-year, $3.65 million contract to avoid salary arbitration last April. Cabrera, by the way, has an $8 million buyout, which would bring his total salary to $40 million if the Tigers part ways with him. All of these players, barring trades or a surprise retirement, should be active with the Tigers when spring training rolls around.
The Tigers have two players with expiring contracts: Tucker Barnhart ($7.5 million) and Daniel Norris ($700,000). The other impending free agents — Robbie Grossman, Michael Fulmer, Michael Pineda and Wily Peralta — were either traded or released during the season.
Player options
Jonathan Schoop: $7.5 million
Andrew Chafin: $6.5 million.
Total: $14 million.
Five days after the World Series, Chafin will have to decide whether to stay with the Tigers or enter the free-agent pool for the third consecutive offseason. Signs point to a return to the Tigers, simply because of comfortability and distance from home, but as Chafin knows, high-leverage left-handed relievers aren’t a common breed. The 32-year-old has been worth at least 0.7 fWAR in each of his past five full seasons; his combined 4.3 fWAR ranks 19th among 114 pitchers with at least 200 innings since 2017. He pitched in more than 70 games in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, also making 64 appearances this season. Opponents hit .085 with one home run, 44 strikeouts and a 60.4% swing-and-miss rate against his slider.
Unlike Chafin, Schoop is a slam-dunk to return. He wouldn’t receive anywhere near $7.5 million on the open market. The Tigers could try to reduce payroll by including Schoop in a creative trade, but because of his poor offensive production, he isn’t highly coveted. Entering his age-31 season, he seems more likely to serve as the everyday second baseman or a utility infielder in the final year of his two-year, $15 million extension signed in August 2021.
HITTING THEIR STRIDE:How Tigers plan to find ‘secret sauce’ through hitting with aligned philosophy
All things considered, Chafin deserves another multi-year contract. If the 32-year-old tests the market, the Tigers should have a leg up on the competition in negotiating a fresh deal. Chafin has already talked with Harris and manager A.J. Hinch. He came away encouraged.
Salary arbitration
Players on the 40-man roster with fewer than six years of MLB service time must be tendered contracts this winter. They’re eligible for salary arbitration if they have more than three years of service time, or if they qualify for Super Two status. If one of these players isn’t given a contract, he is non-tendered and becomes a free agent. In the case of a tendered contract, the team and the player negotiate a salary, but if they can’t agree by mid-January, an arbitration hearing decides.
After six years of service time, players become eligible for free agency.
Last year, the Tigers tendered contracts to eight of nine arbitration-eligible players, only non-tendering Matthew Boyd, though they severed ties with Niko Goodrum, Grayson Greiner and Ian Krol before the tender deadline. Here’s what each player is expected to earn in 2023, as estimated and reported by MLB Trade Rumors:
Joe Jiménez: $2.6 million
Jeimer Candelario: $7 million
José Cisnero: $2.2 million
Victor Reyes: $2.2 million
Austin Meadows: $4 million
Harold Castro: $2.6 million
Gregory Soto: $3.1 million
Tyler Alexander: $1.6 million
Willi Castro: $1.7 million
Rony García: $1 million
Kyle Funkhouser: $800,000
Estimated total: $28.8 million
Retaining all 11 arbitration-eligible players will cost the Tigers around $30 million, but surely Harris isn’t interested in keeping everyone on board. The Tigers already trimmed the list by one player when Drew Hutchison — projected for $1.8 million — was designated for assignment Tuesday.
Three players are viewed as locks to return: Jiménez, Meadows and Soto. Meadows will likely receive a tick above $4 million, and Soto could set his value above $3.1 million, but the financials won’t be decided until January. Alexander should be back because of his versatility and strike-zone consistency, and Funkhouser should return at a team-friendly cost despite missing the entire 2022 season with an injury.
The other six players, either for salary or roster reasons, appear on the bubble: Candelario, Cisnero, Reyes, García, Harold Castro and Willi Castro.
Candelario is the most noteworthy player because of his projected $7 million salary, success in 2020-21 and major downfall in 2022. He hit .217 with 13 homers and a 6.0% walk rate over 124 games this season, which isn’t worth a $7 million price tag, making him a prime candidate to be non-tendered and pushed into free agency. However, Candelario tied for MLB’s lead with 42 doubles in 2021 and posted a career 10.5% walk rate before this season. His career walk rate, in particular, fits Harris’ mold for the types of players he wants. A one-year contract at a reduced rate makes sense, unless the Tigers deem Candelario unfixable.
Cisnero, a veteran relief pitcher, turns 34 in April and has a career 12.0% walk rate, which isn’t encouraging as his velocity continues to dip. García, 25 in December, seems like a bargain at approximately $1 million, but he has struggled to stay healthy for the last three seasons. As for the position players, the Castros rarely draw walks, but Willi Castro — who turns 26 in April — is younger and has been Hinch’s project over the last two seasons, as the Tigers morphed him from a shortstop into a serviceable utility player. Reyes has never played more than 100 games in a single season in his five-year career.
Pre-arbitration deals
After all that, the Tigers will have more than 20 players on the 40-man roster due for pre-arbitration contracts, including Riley Greene, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. Players aren’t eligible for salary arbitration until they reach three years of MLB service time. The league minimum salary was set at $700,000 for the 2022 season and will be $720,000 in 2023.
Estimated total: $15 million.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.