Tigers Bringing Back Sanchez Is A Great Move
By: Jeff Riger
According to various reports, the Tigers are bringing Anibal Sanchez back to Detroit for five more seasons, giving him $80 million to remain in town through the 2017 season. There's no doubt Sanchez was great, with the Tigers posting a 1.77 ERA in the playoffs and a 2.25 ERA over his last eight games of the regular season.
Sanchez was worth what the Tigers gave up to get him; but is he worth his new contract?
I would say probably not. But he is a great signing nonetheless.
Sanchez has had limited success over the course of his career and while his upside is great at the age of 28, no other team was willing to pay him the amount that Detroit offered. And, I don't blame them! But I applaud the Tigers.
It's pretty obvious that the Tigers will stop at nothing to bring a World Series to the Motor City and Sanchez is the most recent reminder of that. The goal is to win now and Sanchez helps immensely in that process. There is no reason to get upset about money or how this might affect the future of the team, instead we should celebrate it.
How many other owners are willing to throw money at anything in hopes of a title?
There are a few, but not many!
As long as I have been a Tigers fan, I have dreamed for days and situations like this. There have been way too many free agents that the Tigers could never even approach because the money was not there and the players didn't want to come here. Now things are different, because of the loot and the team, players not only are willing to come here but they want to stay.
Of course this will come to an end eventually. When and if the Tigers win it all, things will change. Players will be traded away and the Tigers will return to your average mid-market team. It will probably be ugly and fans will be outraged because there is no way this team can continue to sustain this payroll.
There are other ways to build a franchise that allows a team to sustain success over long periods of time! The Tigers have not chosen one of those ways. They trade their top tier prospects, they overpay, and they border on financial irresponsibility!
Who cares?
Detroit's starting offer to Sanchez for four years and $48 million was laughed at, so they upped it a year and 32 million. That's crazy, but awesome.
Don't worry about the future, the money and the impending doom that seems to come along with it. Enjoy the present, expectations and the "anything less than a title is a failure" attitude instead. No matter how ugly things might get in the upcoming years it doesn't matter! Taking a true run at a title is always worth it and resigning Sanchez was the right move no matter the cost.
