Brad Ausmus: We Don't Want To Trade Our Stars
By Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Since Al Avila expressed the Tigers' desire to get "younger and leaner," the baseball world has been waiting on the corresponding fire sale.
Brad Ausmus doused those flames at the Winter Meetings.
"It's so much easier to talk about trading people and a lot harder to actually trade them, especially when you're talking about guys that have some sizeable contracts, some of them have no-trade clauses," the Tigers manager said on Tuesday afternoon.
Without naming names, Ausmus seemed to be referencing Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Despite being swept up in trade rumors, both players are due $28 million next season and have the power to veto any trade the Tigers put together.
On top of that, Ausmus went on, the Tigers aren't especially motivated to part ways with some of their most productive players.
"And quite frankly, even though we're talking about being more responsible fiscally, we don't want to trade them – we like them. Especially some of the names that were mentioned earlier in the season – Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander. I don't want those guys going anywhere, you kidding me? I mean, that's the last thing I want. I just think it's easy to talk about it and harder to do," Ausmus said.
Cabrera racked up 38 home runs and 108 RBI in 2016, while Verlander very nearly won the Cy Young Award. And Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez, two more Tigers popping up in trade rumors, are coming off strong seasons of their own.
[MORE: Avila Wants To Keep Fans Happy But Leery Of Luxury Tax]
For all the talk of the Tigers selling assets to cut costs, Ausmus doesn't expect the team's roster to look significantly different at the start of Spring Training.
"I don't think it will be," he said. "I think fiscally speaking, most people understand what Al's talking about. You don't want to continue to spend over your means. But the Ilitches and the Tigers have been for a decade now one of the better teams in baseball and I think they want to continue it.
"It's going to be a little bit different methodology in terms of how you do it. But going from the end of 2016 to the start of Spring Training 2017, I don't think there's going to be a ton of change."
Ausmus' comments fall in line with those made by Avila on Monday, when the GM suggested the Tigers aren't as desperate to shed salary as they originally appeared.