Burn It To The Ground

The first big piece has moved out of Detroit.  The Tigers sent JD Martinez to Arizona for three prospects.  The immediate reaction from the twitterverse was less than favorable we'll say.  Al Avila's virtual head is on a pike outside of Comerica Park at this very instance.  Of course we as fans are upset over it.  No one really likes to see a fan favorite like Martinez get traded, but this is how you rebuild your farm system and major league club.  The fact that the Tigers haven't done this in recent years is in part to why there is tremendous backlash.  It's going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets better.  The whole thing has to be burnt to the ground in order to rise again.  Get ready for some 2003 era type baseball to be played in Detroit folks. 

Here is the one thing that I think people need to keep in mind:  JD Martinez wasn't going to be playing for Detroit next year.  He is a free agent at the end of the year and is going to garner a lot of attention in the offseason.  He is going to be looking at a multi-million, multi-year deal.  This is something that the Tigers front office said going into this season that they are going to be moving away from.  They are getting 'younger and leaner' (Al Avila's words).  With the passing of Mike Illitch, the win now mentality that brought the big names and big contracts is gone.  It is now time to watch the team draft and trade for young talent and develop the team.  This has already started after Dombrowski was let go/fired after the 2015 trade deadline.  Avila is doing a good job in drafting and we are starting to see the draftees make their way up through the farm system.  Get familiar with names like Manning, Burrows, and Funkhouser.  Eventually those guys are going to be the core of the pitching staff. 

Patience is required for the next three to four years.  We won't see it from the fans, but that is what is needed.  Anyone with half a brain knew that this day was coming.  The major players are getting older and contracts are expiring.  The young talent might be forced into playing time before they are ready, but that happens when you are rebuilding the organization.  As great as it was to see the Tigers get big name players and be very successful over the past decade, it came at a cost.  They sold the future for the present.  While it didn't bring a World Series to the city, it made them relevant.  Avila was left holding the reins while Dombrowski went to Boston and has been gutting their farm system. 

We won't know if this trade was a good trade for another three or four years.  The guys they got back in the trade are 22, 21, and 18 years old.  The highest level any of them have played in is Double A.  They might not end up being blue chip, big name players.  But getting three players for one, even if two of them end up being just every day mediocre players, isn't that winning the trade?  Especially if you get these young players for five or six years of Major League play.     

Personally, I'm excited about the rebuild.  I know it is going to be painful to watch, but when it's all said and done, if the team becomes successful when the young players come up it'll be fun to see the bandwagon fans come back.  The people that are pissed that the organization is trading away players that they can no longer afford could come back into the fold.  Homegrown talent is what makes baseball fun.  You get to see the guys that are drafted by and then produce for the organization.  Even these young guys that are traded for early on in their careers will be seen as an organizational guy.