Detroit Tigers Need To Bring Back Max Scherzer Or Victor Martinez
By Travis Newville
@travisto989
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Tigers are in a predicament this offseason. With free agency in full swing, the Tigers need to make sure they put a competitive team on the field for 2015. Tigers fans are grim with the prospect that their favorite team may no longer be the team to beat in the AL Central division, so the Tigers’ front office has a lot to prove to them.
They have two key free agents that they really would like to keep in the Old English D. The first, Max Scherzer, won the AL Cy Young award in 2013. Scherzer went on to dominate lineups throughout much of the 2014 season as well, and was considered to be the Tigers’ best pitcher. Scherzer has a powerful fastball, a bottomless slider, a great curve and a great changeup. He is widely considered one of the top free agent pitchers currently in MLB.
Scherzer should be the Tigers’ first target in free agency. They have tried to extend his contract before, and it does not seem likely that he will accept their qualifying offer. It would be smart for the Tigers to keep Scherzer, but it may not be financially possible.
Scherzer is the most important free agent to the Tigers, and the 2014 World Series only confirmed how important pitching is in MLB. If the Tigers want to compete in a very tough division, then bringing in a quality starting pitcher is a must. Who is better to fill that role than Scherzer?
The second, but almost equally important free agent the Tigers need to go after is Victor Martinez. Martinez is not going to demand the paycheck that Scherzer will, but he is not going to come cheap. The Tigers also extending a qualifying offer to Martinez in hopes that he and Miguel Cabrera remain arguably the most explosive 3-4 hitters MLB.
There is no doubt that Cabrera will remain the heart of the Tigers’ lineup for some time, but the Tigers need Martinez just as badly. While Cabrera was nursing several injuries in 2014, Martinez led all Tigers’ bats with a .335 batting average. If the Tigers want to continue to score runs in 2015, then they must bring back Martinez.
Free agency is usually an exciting time of year for the Tigers and their fans, but this offseason feels quite a bit different. Fans are worried about the Tigers, and it is mostly because they can’t fathom losing Scherzer or Martinez. While bringing back either is ideal for the Tigers, it is unlikely that either will stay in Detroit.
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