Detroit Tigers Clips Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Detroit Free Press Projected arbitration salaries for Detroit Tigers in 2017 (Fenech) MLive.com Out of options? What it means and the impact it could have on 2017 Tigers (Woodbery) Justin Verlander wades into anthem debate with call to 'stand together' (Woodbery) MLB.com Stewart, Jimenez named Tigers prospects of the year (Beck) Daily Transactions 1 Projected arbitration salaries for Detroit Tigers in 2017 October 11, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press The Detroit Tigers have six arbitration-eligible players this off-season: third baseman Nick Castellanos, shortstop Jose Iglesias, utilityman Andrew Romine, right-handed relievers Bruce Rondon and Alex Wilson and lefty reliever Justin Wilson. This morning, mlbtraderumors.com published its list of projected arbitration salaries. The website is considered the industry’s authoritative source on arbitration figures. The Tigers’ expected arbitration salaries are as follows: Castellanos, $2.8 million; Iglesias, $3.2 million; Romine, $1.2 million; Rondon, $900,000; Alex Wilson, $1.2 million, and Justin Wilson, $2.7 million. The Tigers are expected to offer one-year contracts, worth no less than 80% of this past season’s salary, to their arbitration-eligible players by the January deadline. Often times, the players will decline those offers, opting to negotiate for more money. The Tigers have not had a player’s salary determined through arbitration since general manager Al Avila joined the organization under former GM Dave Dombrowski in 2002. None of the six players are nontender candidates. Iglesias, Romine and Justin Wilson are in their second years of arbitration. Castellanos, Rondon and Alex Wilson are in their first. Castellanos figures to be the most interesting arbitration case. He broke his left hand on a hit-by-pitch Aug. 6 and missed seven weeks. At that point, Castellanos was putting together a breakout season offensively, hitting .286 with a career-high 18 home runs. He returned for the final four games of the season. His arbitration raise likely will be the biggest on the team. He made $536,500 this past season. Iglesias made $2.1 million, Romine $900,000 and Justin Wilson $1.52 million. 2 Out of options? What it means and the impact it could have on 2017 Tigers October 11, 2016 By Evan Woodbery/ MLive.com DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are approaching decision time on Tyler Collins, Steven Moya, Anthony Gose and Dixon Machado. All four players are out of options in 2017, meaning they must make the 25-man roster or go through waivers in order to be assigned to a minor league club. The Detroit Tigers have only two free agents on the roster, but there will be other tough offseason decisions to make. The Detroit Tigers have only two free agents on the roster, but there will be other tough offseason decisions to make. The final decision won't be due until the end of spring training, when the Tigers start making roster cuts. But that doesn't mean the Tigers aren't thinking about the future already. There are only two upcoming free agents on the current Tigers roster: backup catcher Jarrod Saltalmacchia and utility infielder Erick Aybar. (Two other players -- closer Francisco Rodriguez and center fielder Cameron Maybin -- have options that are likely to be exercised). Everyone else is under contract or team control for 2017. But some players under team control -- like Collins, Moya, Gose and Machado -- won't have the same flexibility they did in 2016. When players are added to the 40-man roster, they can be sent on optional assignment to the minor leagues -- or "optioned" -- in three separate seasons. Once the third and final option season is used, the player can no longer be transferred freely between Detroit and the minor leagues. Instead, a player with no options must go through waivers, giving the other 29 teams a chance to claim him. Players with more than five years of MLB service time have the right to reject optional assignment. For example, even though struggling reliever Mark Lowe had options available in the 2016, he could have rejected the assignment, collected the money remaining on his contract and become a free agent. Our chart below contains the number of options remaining for all players on the Tigers roster with less than five years of service time. Detroit Tigers option status for 2017 Name Options left Options used Notes Drew VerHagen 0 2014, 2015, 2016 eligible for bonus 4th option year? Alex Wilson 0 2013, 2014, 2015 Jose Iglesias 0 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 2013 was bonus 4th option Dixon Machado 0 2013, 2015, 2016 Andrew Romine 0 2011, 2012, 2013 Tyler Collins 0 2014, 2015, 2016 Steven Moya 0 2014, 2015, 2016 Anthony Gose 0 2013, 2014, 2016 < 20 days in 2012 Matt Boyd 1 2015, 2016 Buck Farmer 1 2015, 2016 < 20 days in 2014 Shane Greene 1 2014, 2015 Daniel Norris 1 2015, 2016 < 20 days in 2014 Angel Nesbitt 1 2015, 2016 Bruce Rondon 1 2013, 2016 < 20 days in 2015 John Hicks 1 2015, 2016 Michael Fulmer 2 2016 Blaine Hardy 2 2016 < 20 days in 2014, 2015 Jairo Labourt 2 2016 Dustin Molleken 2 2016 3 Warwick Saupold 2 2016 Kyle Ryan 2 2015 < 20 days in 2014, 2016 Justin Wilson 2 2012 Joe Mantiply 3 James McCann 3 Nick Castellanos 3 JaCoby Jones 3 * A player must be optioned for more than 20 days in a season for it to count as one of the three optional assignments. In rare cases, a player may have to complete a fourth option year when he uses his three options within five years of signing a professional contract. 4 Justin Verlander wades into anthem debate with call to 'stand together' October 11, 2016 By Evan Woodbery/ MLive.com DETROIT -- Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was met with support and criticism when he waded into the national anthem debate on Sunday night. Verlander noted the unity displayed when "O Canada" was performed in Toronto prior to the Blue Jays-Rangers game and wondered why "we here in America can't stand together for our anthem." Some American athletes, although none in Major League Baseball, have kneeled during the playing of the national anthem. The protest against police brutality was started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and has been associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Verlander added the hash tag "All Lives Matter" to his tweet on Sunday night. He later clarified that he wasn't against change, but said "let's all stand TOGETHER to create change." More than 3,000 people "liked" Verlander's two tweets, although he also received criticism as well from those who said he didn't understand the movement. Verlander frequently banters with fans on Twitter and Instagram, although it's usually about baseball instead of politics. His charity, Wins for Warriors, supports veterans and their families. On Sept. 11, Verlander posted a remembrance of the 9/11 attacks and wrote, "I choose to stand." 5 Stewart, Jimenez named Tigers prospects of the year October 11, 2016 By Jason Beck/ MLB.com A couple weeks after the Tigers named Christin Stewart and Joe Jimenez their organizational Player and Pitcher of the Year, MLBPipeline.com honored the slugging outfielder and overpowering closer as their Tigers Prospects of the Year. The awards cap a season that included an All-Star Futures Game appearance for both, as well as a quick ascension up the farm system for Jimenez. For Stewart, the award honors his slugging performance, becoming the first Tigers prospect with a 30-homer season since Steven Moya in 2014. Stewart, a first-round pick in 2015, hit .255 (113-for-443) between Class A Advanced Lakeland and Double-A Erie with 30 home runs and 87 RBIs. His homer total tied him for fifth among all Minor Leaguers in all organizations, while his 24 homers, .534 slugging percentage and .924 OPS in 104 games at Lakeland led the Florida State League. Jimenez came into the season with lofty expectations as the Tigers' closer of the future, invited to Major League camp out of low Class A West Michigan. After making an impression in Spring Training, he carried it forward to Lakeland, then Erie, all the way to Triple-A Toledo, recording 30 saves and a 1.51 ERA between the three stops. The stats were dominant, with an 0.80 WHIP, a .144 batting average allowed and 78 strikeouts over 53 2/3 innings. The performance led to consideration the 21-year-old could earn a September callup, though the Tigers ultimately opted to wait on giving Jimenez his first trip to the Major Leagues. 6 LAST UPDATED: TUE, OCTOBER 11, 2016, 03:09 EDT MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016 TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION Cincinnati Reds Patrick Kivlehan Outrighted to Minors Cincinnati Reds Jon Moscot Outrighted to Minors Cincinnati Reds Matt Magill Outrighted to Minors Cincinnati Reds Raffy López Outrighted to Minors Cincinnati Reds Tyler Holt Outrighted to Minors Los Angeles Angels Nick Buss Outrighted to Minors New York Yankees Donovan Solano Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent New York Yankees Donovan Solano Outrighted to Minors New York Yankees Greg Bird Removed From 60-Day DL, (Torn right labrum - out for season) Tampa Bay Rays Jaff Decker Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2016 TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION Oakland Athletics Eric Sogard Refused Minor League Assignment - Free Agent FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 7 TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION Atlanta Braves Joel De La Cruz Outrighted to Minors Atlanta Braves Brandon Snyder Outrighted to Minors Atlanta Braves Blake Lalli Outrighted to Minors Baltimore Orioles Paul Janish Designated for Assignment Baltimore Orioles Jed Bradley Acquired Off Waivers