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).
