Before the MLB trade deadline, I wrote a post about how the Tigers needed to be sellers and restock their joke of a farm system. They traded away both David Price and Yoenis Cespedes and in return got five players, all of them pitchers. And these aren't pitchers that are all five years away from being in the bigs, they will be ready in the next year or two. Daniel Norris (the highest rated of all five) is already in the rotation. They even traded away Joakim Soria to the Pirates for a batter that will have an impact two to three years from now. Sorry I don't remember all the names, but I'm not writing to analyze the trades (they were necessary and extremely helpful), I'm writing because it's going to be both frustrating and exciting for Tigers fans in the next two to three years.
It's funny because MLB analysts can't exactly agree on the trades. Some like to point to the fact that the Tigers, at the time of the trade deadline, were only three games out of the second wildcard spot. And they could have been buyers at the deadline and made a push for the playoffs. They go to the Kansas City Royals and San Fransisco Giants are evidence that all you have to do is make it into the playoffs and then anything can happen. Here's the flaw in their arguments, the Tigers aren't the Royals or the Giants from last year. This year, they have not shown the ability to rattle off ten or eleven wins in a row since the first two weeks of the year.
Some analysts point to the fact that the Tigers needed to pull the trades off because they needed something in return for them. Both Price and Cespedes are free agents at the end of the year. So, instead of getting nothing for them (think Max Scherzer), they got a return in their investment. They traded for them last year in the hopes of getting to the World Series. People who are big picture people understand that the Tigers needed to do this in order to stay relevant not this year or even next, but three and four and five years down the road. That is the hope anyway. And that is how I looked at these trades. You never want to give up on the hopes of making the playoffs, but even if they had made it to the post season, I didn't see them making a deep run. This is for the better of the team and for the fans. They just have to practice the one thing that fans don't practice: patience.
It is going to be frustrating because the fan base has become accustomed to winning. They are use to see the team play into the end of September. They are also becoming entitled (the fans, not the players) because they are familiar with winning. I feel as though not all of them were cheering for the Tigers in 2003. I feel as though they remembered the team right around 2006. And have been fans ever since! It is going to be frustrating because the Tigers are going to lose more than they have over the past nine years.
It is going to be exciting because the future is coming. Even if two or three of the five pitchers pan out, it will be looked at as a good trade for the team. The trades needed to happen. Both Price and Cespedes were not going to sign with the Tigers in the offseason, in my opinion. They are the types of players that want to win. Plus, with the Tigers trading them away, they avoid big contracts. There are some mid-level free agents that they can sign in the offseason that can help bridge the gap between the present and the future.
Personally, I'm excited to see what happens with these players. For the first time in a long time, the farm system has players that can make an impact. They aren't just filler for an injured player. They are part of the plan. They are the future. And the future is a little bit brighter than it was at the beginning of the season. And look, is it disappointing that in this nine year span the Tigers didn't win a World Series? Yes. Obviously. No one really likes saying 'hey, at least we made it!' But if we always got what we wanted, the Tigers would be winning the World Series year after year, I would be the head curator at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I would have three or four thirty year old bottles of scotch in my house.
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