Back To Work: Looking Forward at Detroit Tigers' Roster, Final Part

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

I've spent several thousand words discussing roster moves the Tigers are faced with in terms of free agents and arbitration eligible players. What follows is a roster comprised of the remaining players with their salaries (according to my previous posts). 

Infield
Gerald Laird, C, $4M
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, $20M 
Scott Sizemore, 2B, $0.4M 
Brandon Inge, 3B, $6.6M 
Adam Everett, SS, $1.5M 

Outfield
Carlos Guillen, LF, $13M
Curtis Granderson, CF, $5.5M
Magglio Ordonez, RF, $18M

Bench
Alex Avila, C, $0.4M
Ramon Santiago, IF, $1M
Ryan Raburn, UT, $0.45M 
Spot
Spot 

Starting Rotation
Justin Verlander, RHP, $11M
Edwin Jackson, RHP, $5M
Rick Porcello, RHP, $1.025M
Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, $12.5M 
Nate Robertson, LHP, $10M

Bullpen
Bobby Seay, LHP, $1.7M
Joel Zumaya, RHP, $1M
Zach Miner, RHP, $0.8M
Fu-Te Ni, LHP, $0.4M 
Ryan Perry, RHP, $0.4 
Spot
Spot

Don't expect on the roster -  Dontrelle Willis $12M 

Assumptions

There you have it. It's certainly not pretty. You can take issue with what I have predicted as the likely results of the arbitration hearings. You might disagree with some of the players I have predicted the Tigers will let go and which ones they will retain. 

However, most of the guesses on roster decisions I made came with the goal of limiting payroll. As for the arbitration guesses, the only ones where I'm going to be off by more than $1 million one way or the other are probably Laird, Jackson and Verlander. If you're optimistic, go ahead and knock off a couple million bucks. That will cover the $1.6 million the four open spots will cost if they are given to players making the league minimum. 

How many people still believe the Tigers risk offering arbitration to Placido Polanco or Brandon Lyon? Either one of those players accepting pushes them over $130 million and doesn't really further the roster in terms of whatever you might perceive as a weakness. 

Again, I don't mean to presume this is the only way they could go. As I said in my previous post, it would be a little surprising if the Tigers didn't offer a two or more year deal to any of their nine arbitration eligible players. Maybe they can trim some money off the 2010 payroll by giving a player an extended contract. 

I also concede that I haven't even mentioned possible trades, which has been Dave Dombrowski's preferred way of addressing team needs the past few years. Then again, a trade is more likely to address on the field weaknesses than to alleviate any salary issues. A trade that significantly reduces payroll is going to be unlikely to address roster needs because it would have to be a salary dump of guys like Nate Robertson or Carlos Guillen. 

So let's move forward with two assumptions. First, this the ballpark of the Tigers' 2010 payroll. Second, the Tigers aren't going to be willing to expand their payroll much beyond this. 

Now that we've made those assumptions, let's move beyond the ugly money concerns. What do the Tigers need and what can they do internally? 

Pitching

The players I assigned to the roster leave two bench spots open and two spots in the bullpen. If you want to stick Robertson in the bullpen and say they need an upgrade in the rotation, that's fine. Just remember it's probably going to have to be a relatively cheap deal. I don't think they're calling John Lackey.

Either way, I think you can make the argument two spots on the pitching staff are in play. If you don't concede Robertson gets a spot in the rotation, internal candidates include Armando Galarraga, Dontrelle Willis, Alfredo Figaro, and Eddie Bonine.

It's important to consider that if neither Robertson or Willis are in the rotation, they either fill one of those bullpen spots or get released. I have no idea if the Tigers have the will to do that. 

Getting back to the talent side of things, I'm not sure any of the alternatives presenting themselves in the organization offer a huge upgrade. I think if they view Robertson as the equivalent of Bonine, Galarraga or Figaro in terms of talent, they'll go with the lefty to avoid a rotation full of right-handed starters. 

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