How Tigers Can Use $210 Million in Max Scherzer Savings to Build Future

Now that Max Scherzer is no longer a Detroit Tiger but a Washington National with $210 million coming to him, the Tigers, in theory, have some money to burn that otherwise might have been pegged for the right-hander.

Remember, the Tigers did offer Scherzer a $144 million extension last March, which he ultimately—and wisely, it turns out—rejected. While that looks like a blow for Detroit, it also could be a bit of a blessing in disguise, depending on if and how the franchise plans to put some of that money toward other endeavors.

Granted, days after Scherzer dismissed the Tigers' advances, the club did pay out some $248 million to keep Miguel Cabrera signed long term. So it's not like owner Mike Ilitch and general manager Dave Dombrowski didn't use the funds elsewhere after all.

But that doesn't mean a team that has plenty of high-salaried players, like Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Victor Martinez and Cabrera, couldn't have kept Scherzer, too, if the price was right.

Instead, the question becomes this: How can the Tigers reapply the potential Scherzer money over the next year or two to make a strong team even stronger?

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Extend David Price

While Scherzer clearly wanted to test the free-agent market, if the Tigers want to lock up David Price, now their clear No. 1 starting pitcher, the time is now.

Price, after all, is set to become a free agent after the 2015 season. He did, however, recently mention that he is open to the idea of sticking around, as Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

"It's more normal now, knowing all the guys, knowing all the coaches, knowing everybody's name and stuff like that," Price said. "I'm open for anything, to be honest. But once you...get that far along in the process, some of you does kind of want to wait it out, but then some of you feels like, 'Well, if they're open to doing something, you can't close any doors.' That's the way I feel. I enjoy it here."

While ensuring Price stays in Detroit won't be cheap by any means, the lefty also is a full year younger than Scherzer and actually has a slightly more impressive track record, with a better career ERA (3.21 to 3.58), WHIP (1.14 to 1.22), home run rate (0.8 HR/9 to 1.0 HR/9) and walk rate (2.4 BB/9 to 2.8 BB/9).

In light of Justin Verlander's decline and Anibal Sanchez's injury issues, the Tigers' once-vaunted rotation could be in dire straits if Price bolts next winter.

Go After James Shields

Now that Scherzer has signed, James Shields is the lone remaining big-name, big-money player on the market.

That said, he's going to come much cheaper than Scherzer. Despite reports that he's seeking $125 million, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Shields ultimately could wind up costing about half the price of Scherzer's $210 million deal, if not less.

Although Shields is 33, that would be a much more palatable long-term contract for a pitcher who is a proven arm at the front end of a rotation and who boasts eight consecutive years of 200-plus innings.

Considering the Tigers traded away fellow right-handed rotation stalwart Rick Porcello to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes, a consistent, durable starter like Shields would provide pitching depth for 2015—and beyond.

Plus, getting Shields on a four- or five-year pact would give the Tigers insurance in the event they don't accomplish No. 1 on this list.

Bolster the Bullpen

Other than Shields, there isn't a whole lot left in free agency. But what does remain just so happens to be quality relief pitching—namely, proven closers in Rafael Soriano and Francisco Rodriguez—an area that has been the Tigers' biggest problem spot in years past.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Although it's a more short-term fix, snagging one or even two of those late-inning arms to team with Joe Nathan and Joakim Soria could turn a possible weakness into a potential strength.

Target Yoan Moncada

The Tigers have one of the worst farm systems—if not the worst—in baseball, thanks to years picking late in drafts and trading away young talent to improve the 25-man roster during their win-now window.

A highly regarded talent like Yoan Moncada, the 19-year-old infielder who could be the next Cuban sensation and will soon be made available to sign with any team, would immediately become Detroit's top prospect and give them a potential franchise-altering talent around which to build in a year or two.

As Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes: "Moncada could garner a signing bonus of up to $40 million, which would become nearly an $80 million commitment due to the dollar-for-dollar overage tax on teams exceeding their spending pools. Before signing, though, Moncada must be cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control."

That's a lot of dough to spend on a young and relatively unknown commodity, but it's money the Tigers still have in their pockets.

Lock Up What Young Talent They Do Have

As mentioned earlier, most of the big names on this club are inked to massive contracts. But there are a couple of young—or youngish, by the Tigers' standards—players who might be worth locking up for several seasons before they start to get expensive.

Third baseman Nick Castellanos, just 22, and breakout outfielder J.D. Martinez, 27, are in position to be two key components of this roster going forward.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

For now, neither one is all that pricey, but if Castellanos' performance jumps in his second full season and Martinez proves his 2014 wasn't a fluke (.315/.358/.553), they'll start putting themselves on the fast track to big bucks sooner than later.

Spending a little now in order to save a lot later on these two wouldn't be such a bad idea.

And while 29-year-old Yoenis Cespedes doesn't qualify as quite so young, he is entering only his fourth big league campaign.

Because he's set to hit the open market after the season, Cespedes would require a much larger payday—perhaps approaching nine figures—but the Tigers could present him with an enticing extension offer and hope to beat the market rush for the high-profile slugger.

This would be risky, since he's yet to take even a single swing for Detroit, but it also could pay off in the end.

Just because the Tigers lost out on Scherzer, it doesn't mean they don't have options and other avenues in which to spend some of that money that might've been earmarked for their former stud starter.

What road they decide to go down—and how much of that cash they choose to spend—is up to them.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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