Sitting at 49-57, tied for the second-worst record in the American League and seventh-worst in MLB, the Tigers were forced to face the reality selling at the trade deadline. They had pretty good pieces to move, too – outfielder J.D. Martinez, relief pitcher Justin Wilson, and even catcher Alex Avila, having his best year since 2011.
However, there was speculation that more expensive players would be moved as well, namely starting pitcher and franchise cornerstone Justin Verlander, who is still owed $28 million a year for two more years. However, the asking price Tigers General Manager Al Avila set for Verlander was reportedly high – understandable, because of that whole “franchise cornerstone” thing – and the team wasn’t willing to eat some money from his contract.