5 Free Agents The Detroit Tigers Should Target In The Upcoming Offseason
By Dan Jenkins
@DanTJenkins
The Detroit Tigers front office waved the white flag on the 2015 season as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline came and went on Friday. The team sold off its top two assets -- ace David Price and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes -- while trying to look toward the future.
While getting a nice crop of young pitchers in return for the two soon-to-be free agents, the Tigers will still have some holes to fill through free agency and trades in the coming offseason.
There will be no shortage of talent on the free agent market this winter. However, it will likely be one of the most expensive offseasons in recent history. But the Tigers shouldn't have to break the bank -- as they've done in the past -- to start the "rebooting" process.
The Tigers' needs are pretty much all over the place. With the loss of Cespedes a power bat in the outfield to join J.D. Martinez will likely be on president Dave Dombrowski's shopping list.
Also on the list will be help for the pitching staff. The Tigers starting rotation has one of the worst ERAs in the major leagues (4.52) and with the loss of Price that number will only go up.
It goes without saying that the Tigers also have one of the worst bullpen ERAs in the MLB as well (4.31). That being said, Dombrowski has his work cut out for him heading into 2016.
Here's a look at five free agents who could help the Tigers in 2016 and beyond...
[Note: All statistics are from prior to the July 31 trade deadline]
5. Darren O'Day
40 games, 1.40 ERA, 0.931 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 8 holds
The Tigers need more reliability from the back-end of their bullpen -- something they haven't seen since 2011 with Jose Valverde (49 saves) and Joaquin Benoit (29 holds). They've had a few good pieces since then, but haven't been able to find any consistency.
Darren O'Day has been a lights-out setup man for the Baltimore Orioles over the past four seasons. The sidearm hurler has a 0.94 WHIP in over 230 innings since coming to Baltimore -- the definition of consistency. The Tigers could still get a few good seasons out of the 32-year-old.
4. Tyler Clippard
39 games, 2.66 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 17 saves
Tyler Clippard had spent most of his career as an eighth inning master until the Oakland Athletics made him their closer this season, where he tallied 17 saves in 21 chances. The A's traded Clippard to the New York Mets just before the deadline where he will likely return to the setup role.
Clippard has recorded 30 or more holds in a season three times, including 40 holds in 2014. Adding Clippard or O'Day -- or both -- to the Tigers putrid bullpen would do nothing but help. With two proven, yet somehow underrated, relief pitchers brought into the bullpen, Tigers fans could go from fearing the late innings to embracing them.
3. Mike Leake
21 starts, 3.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 5.9 K/9
Since the end of the 2014 season, the Tigers have lost three very important pieces of their starting rotation -- Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and David Price. Detroit has gone from having one of the most feared rotations to having one of the outright worst.
The starting pitching market after the 2015 season is going to be stacked with ace pitchers, namely Price and Johnny Cueto. However, the Tigers have shown that they are not willing to pay top dollar for starting pitching since signing Justin Verlander to a monster contract extension. Therefore, Dombrowski will likely be looking at second tier starters.
Mike Leake, who was traded from Cincinnati to San Fransisco at the deadline, will likely headline that group. He doesn't strike batters out (6.2 K/9 over the past three years), but he keeps runners off the bases (1.23 WHIP) and has been pitching deeper into games this season -- pitching eight innings or more seven times. He would compliment Verlander and Anibal Sanchez nicely in the Tigers rotation.
2. Yoenis Cespedes
102 games, .293 BA, 18 HR, 61 RBI, .829 OPS
Tigers fans want more Yoenis Cespedes. The 29-year-old Cuban played just over 100 games in Detroit before being dealt at the deadline to the Mets. However, there have been rumblings that Cespedes and the Tigers could be reunited after the season even though the left fielder was traded on Friday.
A report surfaced a week before the deadline saying that Cespedes told friends that even if he was traded this season, he would still want to come back to Detroit as a free agent in the offseason.
Without Cespedes, the Tigers would have to rely on J.D. Martinez to supply almost all power numbers from the outfield positions unless another player is acquired.
1. Matt Wieters
36 games, .264 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .735 OPS
The Tigers need a reliable, hitting catcher in the worst way, and Matt Wieters has a .743 OPS over the first seven years of his career. The last time a Tigers catcher posted a number that high during an entire season was Alex Avila in 2011 (.895) -- before that it was Pudge Rodriguez in 2008 (.758). Since Avila's All-Star campaign in 2011, he's compiled a .695 OPS over three and a half seasons.
Wieters was a top prospect in the Orioles organization and he played like it from 2010 to 2013 while he batted .249 and averaged 20 home runs and 71 RBIs per season. Wieters, however, would go on to miss time in 2014 and 2015 due to Tommy John surgery.
The three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner is making $8.3 million this season with the Orioles and will no doubt get a raise when he signs as a free agent.
What do you think -- who should the Detroit Tigers' top target be this offseason? Let us know by voting in the poll below!
