As the Tigers enter shopping season it is worth taking a look at their current roster status. Detroit currently has 35 players protected on their major league roster.
For those who haven’t taken the time to plow through the collective bargaining agreement, players can fall into one of three categories. The first category is players with less than 3 years of major league service time. These players have no negotiating leverage. They can be signed for the major league minimum, and there contracts can be renewed each year without any sort of raise. However, teams will typically give players nominal raises each year. These players are classified as indentured servants. (One footnote, players with less than 3 years, but who are in the top one sixth of those with 2+ years of service time are arbitration eligible).
The next category are players with more than 3 years of experience, but less than 6 years. Once a player gets to that magic 3 year mark they become “arbitration eligible.” This is when players finally have some leverage. The teams still retain the players rights – as long as they tender the player a contract. If the team tenders a contract, the two parties can either a) go to binding arbitration for a one year contract, or b) continue to negotiate. If the team doesn’t tender a contract, the player becomes a free agent.
The final category are free agents. These are the players with six or more years of service time. In these cases, a team can offer a player a contract. The player can accept the contract, go to arbitration, or become a free agent. If you’ve heard about draft pick compensation, this is where it comes into play. If a team loses a player to free agency, and they had tendered said player a contract, they can then receive compensatory draft picks based on how the player is ranked by the Elias Sports Bureau.
Below is a table of the Tigers’ current 40 man roster, and the players’ contract status.
Player 2006 Contract Status Options
Kenny Baugh Indentured Servant Yes
Roman Colon Indentured Servant Yes
Craig Dingman Indentured Servant No
Franklyn German Indentured Servant No
Jason Grilli Indentured Servant No
Preston Larrison Indentured Servant Yes
Wilfredo Ledezma Indentured Servant Yes
Adam Peterson Indentured Servant Yes
Nate Robertson Indentured Servant Yes
Fernando Rodney Indentured Servant Yes
Chris Spurling Indentured Servant Yes
Mark Woodyard Indentured Servant Yes
Tony Giarratano Indentured Servant Yes
Omar Infante Indentured Servant Yes
Ryan Raburn Indentured Servant Yes
Chris Shelton Indentured Servant Yes
C. Granderson Indentured Servant Yes
Nook Logan Indentured Servant Yes
Marcus Thames Indentured Servant No
Jeremy Bonderman Arbitration Eligible Yes
Andrew Good Arbitration Eligible Yes
Colby Lewis Arbitration Eligible Yes
Mike Maroth Arbitration Eligible Yes
Vance Wilson Arbitration Eligible No
Brandon Inge Arbitration Eligible No
Carlos Pena Arbitration Eligible No
Craig Monroe Arbitration Eligible Yes
Troy Percival Signed No
Justin Verlander Signed Yes
Jamie Walker Signed No
Ivan Rodriguez Signed No
Carlos Guillen Signed No
Placido Polanco Signed No
Magglio Ordonez Signed No
Dmitri Young Signed No
The Tigers currently hold the rights to 35 players, meaning there are 5 open spots. Of the players currently on the roster, most are expected to be retained (or at the very least traded for another major league player). Players most likely to be removed are Adam Peterson (who had a pretty poor AFL showing) and Andrew Good. Other possiblities for removal include Jason Grilli, Andrew Good, and Preston Larrison. It’s also unlikely that both Marcus Thames and Craig Monroe will be with the team next year.
The Tigers will most likely be looking to free up spaces as they look to sign free agents and protect several minor leaguers. One of the open spots will definitely go to Joel Zumaya who would most assuredly be picked in the Rule 5 draft. Zach Miner, who was acquired in the Kyle Farnsworth trade is also a likely candidate to be protected. Humberto Sanchez (who had a pretty solid AFL showing), David Espinosa, and Juan Tejeda are other candidates to be selected in the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40 man roster.
The Tigers definitely will have some juggling to do in the coming month. It will be interesting to see how they value some of their prospects, and if they offer arbitration to any of their free agents (Jason Johnson, Rondell White).
I’m just guessing but I think they could find a 33 year old back up catcher who will hit .197 most anywhere. There is a lot of weight on this roster.
You’re absolutely right. This is what happens when I’m posting when I should be sleeping. A whole paragraph I omitted was going to discuss the advantages of moving Inge to supersub, thus eliminating the need for a back-up catcher and potentially freeing up a roster spot.
Then there is the issue of some of the bullpen arms, like Dingman. Who isn’t essential to the roster, but whether or not it is him or someone else, someone will need to fill that role.
The completion of the 40-man roster before the Rule V draft is clearly one of the most under-rated parts of any GM’s job. Glad to see some intelligent discussion on the Tigers’ choices in this area. And let’s not forget that .197 is an outlier in Vance’s career. His OPS in ’04 with the Mets was 762 and his OPS last year with us was 558. Maybe Leyland will do a better job of working him in more evenly and keep him sharp.
Inge, meanwhile, is useless when he’s forced to don the tools of ignorance, whereas he was the most patient hitter the Tigers had last year while manning third. Leave him alone.
Good information Billfer. I just have one question. Is Good still on the roster? MLB.COM has him on the roster but in their transaction section it says he was assigned to Toledo in September.
If we could acquire a third baseman that’s atleast as good as Inge for a reasonable fee, I would have no problem with using him as a “super sub”. Any drop in his hitting would be countered by the fact that _any_ backup catcher is going to have substandard numbers. He’ll still probably hit successfully in his other 4 games each week. It seems like a pretty easy way to carry an additional reliever.
Newday’s is reporting the Yanks are interested in Monroe to fill their CF hole. Maybe we could pry Pavano loose? I think they’ve soured on him. Sign Nomar for 3B – Inge LF or Supersub.
If DD could pull off a Monroe for Pavano trade, he’d be my new personal hero. I kinda hope he doesn’t though, cuz it would probably take me weeks to stop laughing.
Alright, I’m probably being way too optimistic. It’s still early in the offseason, though, right? What do people think about the Pudge to the Mets rumours?
God, No! I don’t think Pudge was unhappy in Detroit as much as he was unhappy with life. Marriage ending. Team losing. GM trading every health closer. Teammates questioning him. The weight loss/steroid thing. 2005 was not good for him and I think that he may have been suffering depression. After an off season to get his bearings, we should see the Pudge from 2004
I have heard that the Tigers are interested in Glaus still. Has anyone heard any rumors involving one of our first basemen?
Lee – Good was dropped. My bad – but I’ll share some blame with MLB.com.
Walewander – That whole Pudge/Matsui deal would be horrible for Detroit. I’d rather have a malcontented Pudge for two more years than pick up a light hitting overpaid shortstop.
Walt – haven’t heard any Glaus rumors. The only Arizona rumblings I’ve heard involve Javier Vazquez.
As for the whole Inge can’t hit as a catcher thing, that got a whole less credence when you look at his production from June-September at third base. That was a sustained period where he couldn’t hit as a thirdbasemen either.
Matsui? I read we would get back Traschel or Benson, which would replace Johnson nicely. I don’t want any part of Matsui either.
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title Roster Speculation. Thanks for informative article