Santino Vitelli
Sports Editor
The Detroit Tigers recently signed their star pitcher Justin Verlander (JV) to MEGA-contract. The seven-year, $180 million contract Verlander was given (with a $22 million vesting option that could kick it over $200 million) set a new record for a pitcher. This is a bad deal for the Tigers.
Now hold on a second. Before you tell me I’m crazy, just hear me out. The issue with this deal goes beyond the game itself.
I already know what you are thinking… Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in the MLB, and I agree with that statement. However, if you just read on, then I think it’s possible you will agree with me by the end of the article.
JV is considered, by many, the game’s top ‘work-horse’. His last seven years, Verlander has thrown well over 200 innings each year. The last two seasons he has thrown under a 3.00 ERA each time, while also averaging a K per inning. Justin won the Cy Young award two seasons ago, and finished second in one of the tightest and most controversial races in recent baseball history last season.
So now you’re probably thinking I am proving the point to why it was a good deal. No, I am just showing I understand how good Verlander is. But let’s think about this into more than just the stats.
There are three reasons why I think the huge Verlander deal is bad for the Detroit Tigers:
1. The rarity of a pitcher, especially a starter, to last till their late 30s.
Verlander’s contract extension includes an option when he turns 39 years old. History says it is lunacy to give a pitcher a huge contract and lock them up until their late 30s/early 40s. JV is already 30 years old, and pitchers DO NOT get any better from this point in their career.
It’s interesting that the Verlander extension was completed on the same day that Johan Santana’s career probably ended. Santana was in the last year of a 6 year, $137.5 million deal he signed with New York in 2008. Santana will have started just 21 total games over the last 3 years of the deal. Before the Mets deal, Santana had thrown at least 219 innings in 5 straight years and was one of the most reliable and healthy starters in baseball. Santana signed his new deal when he was 29. It was for 6 years. This is just one example of a star pitcher falling off once he hit his thirties.
I am not saying Verlander will end up getting injured or just become a bust, but I am saying anything is possible when talking about a pitcher.
Now let’s be realistic. When Verlander is in the middle of his contract he will be 35 years old. We cannot possibly expect him to be as productive for the Tigers as he is right now, can we? And if we can’t, he will be making insane money! The handful of pitchers who have gotten over $100 million contracts have not necessarily panned out for the franchises.
Take a quick look at the pitchers who have signed $100+ million contracts. Can we honestly say any of these pitchers have lived up to their contracts? Granted some of these players are still in their contract, I don’t feel as if any of them are living up to it at the moment.
That’s baseball. History shows pitchers just cannot last! So why give a pitcher $180 million, with an option to take the contract to over $200 million? It doesn’t make sense to me.
But Tigers owner Mike Ilitch doesn’t care. And that brings me to my next point.
2. What is next for the Detroit Tigers?
When Justin Verlander is in the final year of his contract, Ilitch will be 91 years old (that is if he is still living). Ilitch does not have much time left. He’s already given out one crazy contract, so what’s another one? He wants a ring, period.
The only players the Tigers have locked up ‘long-term’ are Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander (both locked up through 2020). Both of these men have signed $200 million contracts. What are the Detroit Tigers planning on doing in the near future?
I firmly believe Ilitch is just trying to get a ring this year and then go from there. But the Tigers are already losing money with the payroll they have now. If the Tigers are sold when Ilitch goes within these next couple years, it is going to start being run like a business. Ilitch is more like a fan who owns the team rather than a business owner. If he loses a few hundred thousand dollars, he does not care. But, if the Tigers are sold (which seems very possible), the odds of the next owner willing to lose money is very slim. The payroll may be cut in half once there is a new owner.
So what are they going to do? It seems as if the Detroit Tigers just chose Justin Verlander over Miguel Cabrera for the future. Are you kidding me? Granted they are both the best in the world at their positions, how do you choose a SP going into their late 30s early 40s over a hitter in the similar situation? There is no possible way we can sign Cabrera and have THREE players who are under $200 million contracts. It’s just not going to be possible.
Not to mention, CF Austin Jackson has an expiring contract after this season. Detroit can’t let him get away. A 26 year old who is at the prime of his career and showing it. He has made great strides during the past few years. They need to sign him long-term.
The reason I just absolutely hate this big contract extension is the Tigers just chose Verlander over Cabrera. There is a much greater chance of Cabrera keeping his numbers up than Verlander when they both reach their late 30s. It is just what everyone knows, but will anyone admit it now? Now that Verlander is signed, we may have no other choice but to win the World Series this year, re-sign a few of these players that have expiring contracts, and then attempt to get what we can out of Cabrera instead of letting him leave Detroit for nothing. Hopefully the Tigers can receive a few prospects that pan out, but only time will tell. The point is we chose a pitcher over a hitter for a long-term investment.
I cannot agree with the decision.
3. Detroit Tigers fans better be willing to pay because of these contracts.
With the Detroit Tigers already having trouble making money as an organization, this huge contract is not helping.
The Tigers are not a big market team. They do not have TV contracts like the LA Dodgers or NY Yankees. They do not make money like these teams. Ticket sales are going to have to go up a bit.
The Detroit Tigers cannot make money off this payroll they have. The Tigers currently have the fifth highest payroll in the majors. Expect this to drop off when the big man goes to a better place (Mike Ilitch). Everyone talks about Ilitch’s age when they bring him up. Everybody knows he does not have much more time left on this beautiful Earth. This is why he is going all out to win a championship. He wants a World Series bad! Like I said earlier, the Detroit Tigers have a very rich FAN who owns the team, not a business man.
In order to attempt making money with this payroll, Tigers fans must anticipate a jump in prices for tickets to games. There really is not any other way for them to make more money. The Detroit Tigers are simply not a ‘big-market team’.
How, the question seems to be, can a crumbling metropolis possibly continue to support an MLB franchise that’s spending money like a top-10 market?
The Detroit Tigers organization is playing to win it this year. Win it all. They go from there after that. But, Tigers fans, this may be the last hurrah to win it all, or at least for a while. The last year as a high payroll team? I think so. This may be the year they have to do it, if they do it.
As a Tigers fan, I hope that I am completely wrong in this claim. I hope Verlander ends up pitching well until he is 40. I pray they will keep Cabrera after his contract expires. I wish the organization stays within the Ilitch family’s hands and they keep running it the way they do. I could only wish all this happens.