Could a deal between Detroit and the Atlanta Braves possibly work?

DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 4: Al Avila laughs during a news conference at Comerica Park after he was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager on August 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. Avila replaces Dave Dombrowski who was the Tigers’ general manager since 2002. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

What The Tigers Need

They don’t really need to do a lot… but they do need to move at least one big contract.  They will “save” $21 million next year just by buying out Kinsler and Sanchez… roughly the same amount they are over the luxury tax threshold.

But they also need to have some further financial flexibility to be able to add better performers so that they can field a more competitive team.

There’s also the fine print.  Like Justin Verlander having full no-trade authority.  While he probably doesn’t want to necessarily stick around for a rebuild, he also has negotiation power… which reduces Detroit’s leverage.

Early in the process, the Tigers thought they could extract JV’s full contract buy plus multiple top prospects for Verlander’s services.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, GM Al Avila way overplayed his hand.  That and his players holding those big contracts have (mostly) been under-performing.   So literally no one has bit on that bluff.

I think they’ve smelled the coffee since then.

So that’s what has brought us to this, courtesy of Joel Sherman and the NY Post this week:

"Teams offer conflicting accounts if Detroit has ever made Michael Fulmer available. Executives for a few say no. Others say that Fulmer has been floated in conversations, and then Tigers officials pivot to the availability of Justin Verlander or Justin Wilson. And one executive said he received a concept from Detroit in which perhaps Fulmer would be available if the acquiring team agreed to take on a bad contract in addition, such as the one belonging to Jordan Zimmermann or Justin Upton."

Gosh, that really sounds like something in the midst of John Coppolella’s playbook, eh?