Last year, Al Avila laid out his off-season plans in plain sight. The general manager wanted the Detroit Tigers to add two starting pitchers and beef up the bullpen.
Signing leftfielder Justin Upton to a lucrative, long-term deal was not part of those initial plans. But plans change.
“This year is going to be different,” Avila said Tuesday afternoon. “This year, we’re going to go out and talk to 29 other clubs and see how we can start, little by little, making this team leaner, younger, more efficient and, at the same time, staying competitive, trying to get to the playoffs.