Will Detroit's Massive Payroll Force Tigers To Have Fire Sale?
By: Jeff Riger
Monday the Tigers made it official and announced the signing of their latest free agent; Anibal Sanchez. Detroit gave Sanchez $80 Million, keeping the pitcher in Motown through the 2017 season. Sanchez was also given a 6th year that is a team option.
During the news conference, president and GM Dave Dombrowski, along with his front office team and of course Sanchez talked about the usual things. From length of the contract to the money to this year being the year they win it all. It was all mentioned.
After the formal announcement, Dombrowski took time to talk to reporters about other issues concerning the Tigers.
I had a chance to ask Dombrowski about the team's massive payroll that just got bigger with the Sanchez deal. Some fans are concerned about the future of the team and fear that a mid-market franchise like the Tigers cannot sustain a payroll that exceeds over $150 million dollars for too many seasons. People fear a fire sale!
Dombrowski addressed the issue saying "you're never able to sign everybody all the time. But the commitment we've had provides for a very strong foundation for years to come. We're in a position where we have been very aggressive, revenues continue to increase, we have tremendous fan support and Major League Baseball has a new television contract also. So, I don't think we'll ever get to the point where you are talking about having a fire sale around here."
Dombrowski continued talking fire sale; watch the rest of his explanation in the video below.
