Report: Teams calling Tigers about Verlander, Miggy
The Detroit Tigers could be on the verge of a franchise-alerting winter.
With ambitions of trimming payroll, the Tigers are reportedly willing to discuss anything in trades and a number of teams have checked in on both first baseman Miguel Cabrera and right-hander Justin Verlander, according to Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball
With a projected payroll already sitting around $180 million - without any arbitration cases settled or free agents signed - Heyman notes that the Tigers would like to try and cut roughly $27 million in salary in order to get them under the luxury tax for the start of the season.
Cutting payroll, however, isn't a necessity, and the team could still opt to try and win now, following a season in which they missed the second wild-card spot by 2 1/2 games.
| Player | Age | Remaining contract |
|---|---|---|
| Cabrera | 33 | 7-years $212M* |
| Kinsler | 34 | 1-year $11M* |
| J. Martinez | 29 | 1-year $11.75M |
| V. Martinez | 37 | 2-years $36M |
| Upton | 29 | 5-years $110M |
| Verlander | 33 | 3-years $84M* |
| Zimmermann | 30 | 4 years $92M |
*Does not account for vesting/team options
While Verlander and Cabrera were the reported topics of discussions with rival clubs, Heyman adds that the Tigers are interested in potentially dealing Justin Upton, Jordan Zimmermann, and Victor Martinez, while J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler expect to be the two most coveted.
The Tigers fell short of the playoffs for a second-straight season in 2016 despite owning the fourth-highest payroll, according to Spotrac.