According to Detroit Tigers GM Al Avila, the team’s rebuilding process is over. After those words left his mouth yesterday, fans understandably began to dream of the previous decade when the Tigers had no problem shelling out some pretty big money to attract star talent to the Motor City.
Al Avila On Signing New Players
But Mike Ilitch isn’t around anymore. So will his successor be willing to open up the wallet once again? Not so fast for the team with the 8th lowest payroll in all of Major League Baseball – not to mention around $45 million lower than the MLB average.
“This is too early right now, obviously in July, to be — I can’t tell you what our payroll is going to look like in the wintertime,” Al Avila told the Stoney & Jansen Show. “What I mean from a payroll perspective is, I don’t need to dump salary right now. We’re in a good position. We like where our team is at and we’re not going to weaken the team for financial purposes, is what I’m trying to say.
The likes of big names players such as Carlos Correa, Brandon Crawford, and Corey Seager will be free agents come this winter, but Tigers fans should probably pump the breaks on having visions of one of them donning the Old English D.
Until then, Al Avila wants fans to focus on the young players who are currently on the roster, pointing to the likes of Akil Baddoo, Derek Hill, and Daz Cameron as “outstanding athletes who are still developing at the Major League level who have a high level of talent,” and continuing by saying that the team will “have a long, good future with those guys.”
However, he did come clean about the state of the infield.
“In the infield, obviously we’re a little more challenged,” he admitted.
– – Quotes via Audacy Link – –
