Since the day the Detroit Tigers traded away homegrown ace Justin Verlander, general manager Al Avila has gone through a lot of cheap free agent starting pitchers, and has yet to really hit on one. Arguably Mike Fiers outperformed expectations, but names like Tyson Ross, Matt Moore, Ivan Nova, and Edwin Jackson have come and gone with nary a ripple to trace their passing through the organization. So far this spring, Julio Teheran, signed on a minor league deal no less, looks like the one who can end the free agent losing streak.
The fact that the Tigers were able to land the durable veteran starter on a minor league deal seems a bit surprising in retrospect.