FanPost

SDNick Offseaon Plan

Arbitration-eligible players

Contract options (pick up or buy out)

None

Pending free agents (re-sign or let go)


Free Agents to Sign

  • James Shields - 1 year, $6 million. An established veteran who makes almost all of his starts. We need an innings eater and I believe his value as a leader in the clubhouse will pay massive dividends later in the season.
  • Freddy Galvis - 1 year, $5.5 million. I am really not partial to any free agent SS, but Ill take the youngest of the bunch and the one who has literally played every game the last two years.
  • Lonnie Chisenhall - 1 year, $3 million. Coming off another injury-riddled year, he is actually pretty good when he can stay on the field. Not sure if he will be available this cheap, but would be a steal and potential late season flip if healthy. Worth the risk at this price.
  • Justin Wilson - 2 year, $14 million. He was largely underwhelming in Chicago, but hard throwing lefties still get paid. I think he would come back to Detroit with this contract and anticipate a mid-season trade.

Trades

Nick Castellanos and Sandy Baez to the Cleveland Indians for 2B Jason Kipnis and 3B Nolan Jones. For a cost-conscious team getting late in their window, the 14.5m owned to Kipnis has to be tough to swallow. Its not much cheaper for Castellanos, but they get a more productive player. Nolan Jones is a lot to give up, but he is not going to be ready in the next two years and by making this trade in season, they likely will get a compensatory pick at the end of the season. Tigers fill the void at 2B and get a solid prospect in return.

Victor Alcantara to the Cubs for P Tyler Chatwood, P Erich Uelman, P Erling Moreno. The Cubbies are not really a team that needs to dump salary, but I think they will jump at an opportunity to offload Chatwood after a disastrous season. The Tigers sell high on a RP and get two prospects with high upside in return. Chatwood is expensive, but a bounce-back candidate and gives us some more pitching depth. I am more excited about Moreno, but considering he is Rule 5 eligible, I need Uelman in the deal as well.

Alex Wilson to the Brewers for OF JeVon Ward. For a guy with a sub-4 ERA the last 4 seasons, its remarkable that he only costs 3 million. I imagine that after seeing the success of their bullpen, the Brewers will look to add even more depth - for cheap. Wilson has never been great, but for the cost, he pitches a lot of good innings. The Tigers get a big fast athlete with a lot of upside in his bat.

Daniel Norris to the Padres for P Luis Patino, OF Tirso Ornelas, C Austin Allen. Im expecting that Norris pitches well in Japan for this one to happen. While the Padres have all the prospects in the world, they have a lack of MLB ready pitchers. They are not relevant yet, but Norris still has 3 years of control and can be stable force in a young rotation when they are ready. The Padres can afford to give up good prospects and they do, with two solid bats and a Top 100 pitching prospect. I also believe that if Norris is in San Diego, all is right with the world.

Summary and Lineup

Frankly, I am pretty pessimistic about the 2019 Tigers. Watching the World Series, I realized that if you combine the Tigers and RedSox roster, only three tigers (when healthy) would even make the team. This plan costs more money, starting payroll of $134 million, but without many players to trade, I think Avila and Ilitch have to be creative.

Lineup:

1) Mahtook (RF)

2) Stewart (DH)

3) Cabrera (1B)

4) Candelario (3B)

5) Goodrum (LF)

6) Jones (CF)

7) McCann (C)

8) Galvis (SS)

9) Kipnis (2B)

Bench: John Hicks (1B/C/DH), Grayson Greiner (C), Lonnie Chisenhall (OF), Dixon Machado (UTL - Surprise comeback)

Starting Pitchers

1) Michael Fulmer

2) Matthew Boyd

3) Jordan Zimmermann

4) James Shields

5) Tyler Chatwood

Bullpen

Justin Wilson

Joe Jimenez

Blaine Hardy

Shane Greene

Spencer Turnbull

Zac Reininger

Buck Farmer

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.