2016 Detroit Tigers season

2016 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Central Division (since 1998)
Location
Comerica Park (since 2000)
Detroit, Michigan (since 1894)
Other information
Owner(s)	Mike Ilitch
General manager(s)	Al Avila
Manager(s)	Brad Ausmus
Local television	Fox Sports Detroit (Mario Impemba, Rod Allen, Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, Craig Monroe) [1]
Local radio	Detroit Tigers Radio Network (Dan Dickerson, Jim Price)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
< Previous season

The 2016 Detroit Tigers season is the team's 116th season. The Tigers opened the season on the road against the Miami Marlins on April 5, and their home opener was on April 8 against the New York Yankees.^[2]

Roster moves

Coaching staff

• On October 19, Jeff Jones announced his retirement, after spending the last five seasons as the Tigers pitching coach, and nine seasons on the Tigers' coaching staff.^[3] On October 29, Rich Dubee was hired as his successor.^[4]

Signings

• On November 30, the Tigers signed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million contract.^[5]
• On December 6, the Tigers signed pitcher Mike Pelfrey to a two-year, $16 million contract.^[6]
• Also on December 6, the Tigers signed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a one-year contract for the major league minimum salary. (The Miami Marlins are paying the bulk of Saltalamacchia's existing contract through the end of 2016.)^[7][8]
• On December 8, the Tigers signed pitcher Mark Lowe to a two-year, $11 million contract.^[9]
• On December 18, the Tigers signed utility player Mike Avilés to a one-year, $2 million contract.^[10]
• On January 13, the Tigers avoided arbitration with newly-acquired pitcher Justin Wilson, agreeing on a one-year, $1.525 million contract.^[11]
• On January 14, the Tigers avoided arbitration with infielder Andrew Romine, agreeing on a one-year, $900,000 contract.^[12]
• On January 15, the Tigers avoided arbitration with shortstop José Iglesias, agreeing on a one-year, $2.1 million contract.^[13]
• On January 20, the Tigers signed outfielder Justin Upton to a six-year, $132.75 million contract.^[14][15]
• On February 8, the Tigers avoided arbitration with outfielder J. D. Martinez, agreeing on a two-year, $18.5 million contract extension.^[16]

Releases

• On November 9, relief pitcher Guido Knudson was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[17]
• On November 25, free agent catcher Alex Avila left the Tigers and signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.^[18]
• On December 2, the Tigers announced they would not tender contracts to relief pitchers Al Alburquerque and Neftalí Feliz, making them free agents.^[19] On January 6, Feliz signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[20] On January 19, Alburquerque signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.^[21]
• On December 17, free agent outfielder Rajai Davis left the Tigers and signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Cleveland Indians.^[22]
• On March 17, free agent pitcher Alfredo Simón left the Tigers and signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds.^[23]

Trades

• On November 18, the Tigers acquired closer Francisco Rodríguez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for infielder Javier Betancourt and a player to be named later.^[24]
• On November 20, the Tigers traded relief pitchers Ian Krol and Gabe Speier to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Cameron Maybin.^[25]
• On December 9, the Tigers traded pitchers Chad Green and Luis Cessa to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Justin Wilson.^[26]
• On December 21, the Tigers traded pitcher Kyle Lobstein to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.^[27]
• On January 27, the Tigers traded infielder Jefry Marté to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for infielder Kody Eaves.^[28]
• On March 29, the Tigers traded catcher Bryan Holaday to the Texas Rangers in exchange for catcher Bobby Wilson and pitcher Myles Jaye.^[29]
• On May 3, the Tigers traded catcher Bobby Wilson to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Chad Bell.^[30]

Standings

American League Central

AL Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Sox	19	10	0.655	—	7–5	12–5
Cleveland Indians	13	12	0.520	4	6–5	7–7
Detroit Tigers	14	13	0.519	4	5–6	9–7
Kansas City Royals	14	13	0.519	4	9–5	5–8
Minnesota Twins	8	20	0.286	10½	6–8	2–12

Record vs. opponents

2016 American League Records Source: AL Standings Head-to-head
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	HOU	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	—	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	3–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–2	1–2	2–1	0–0
Boston	1–2	—	0–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	4–3	3–1
Chicago	2–2	1–0	—	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	1–2	3–0	3–0	0–0
Cleveland	0–0	1–1	1–1	—	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–5
Detroit	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	—	1–2	1–2	0–0	3–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	5–1
Houston	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1	—	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–3	0–0	1–2
Kansas City	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	3–1	—	0–0	3–0	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–1
Los Angeles	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	—	0–3	0–0	3–0	1–2	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–2
Minnesota	0–3	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	3–0	—	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2
New York	1–2	0–3	0–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	—	0–3	1–2	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–0
Oakland	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	0–0	2–0	—	3–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0
Seattle	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	3–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	2–1	3–3	—	0–0	3–3	0–0	0–0
Tampa Bay	2–3	1–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	—	0–0	3–4	0–0
Texas	2–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	4–2	0–0	2–1	0–0	3–3	0–0	—	1–0	0–0
Toronto	1–2	3–4	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	4–3	0–0	—	0–0

Season highlights

Individual accomplishments

Hitting

• On April 5, Justin Verlander became the first Tigers pitcher to record a hit on Opening Day since Mickey Lolich in 1971, and the first American League pitcher to do since Milwaukee's Bill Parsons and Oakland's Ken Holtzman both singled on April 15, 1972.^[31]
• On April 6, Víctor Martínez became the first player in modern Major League history to hit a pinch-hit home run in his team's first two regular-season games of the season, and the first player to do so since at least 1914.^[32]
• On April 13, Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his 100th career home run, with a grand slam off Arquimedes Caminero of the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[33]
• On April 20, Víctor Martínez recorded his 1,000th career RBI, becoming just the fifth Venezuelan-born player in MLB history to reach the milestone.^[34]

Pitching

• On April 20, Jordan Zimmermann became the first pitcher in Tigers history to begin a season with three consecutive outings of six or more scoreless innings. His 19 ¹⁄₃ consecutive shutout innings mark the longest streak to begin a Tigers tenure since Doug Bair threw 19 ¹⁄₃ consecutive scoreless innings after a midseason trade from St. Louis in 1983.^[35]
• Jordan Zimmermann became the sixth pitcher to finish April with five-plus wins, zero losses and a sub-1.00 ERA. He joins Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Randy Johnson (2000), Cliff Lee (2008), Zack Greinke (2009), and Ubaldo Jiménez (2010). Zimmermann's 0.55 ERA is the third-best mark for April in Tigers history. He has allowed just two earned runs in 33 innings pitched. The only two Detroit pitchers with better ERAs in April were Bernie Boland with a 0.30 ERA in 1915 and John Hiller with a 0.36 ERA in 1974.^[36] Zimmermann became the first Detroit pitcher to win each of his first five starts to a season since Frank Tanana in 1988. Zimmermann was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for April.^[37]

Other

• With a game time temperature of 31 °F (−1 °C), the April 9 game in Detroit against the Yankees was the coldest ever at Comerica Park.^[38]

Game Log

Regular season

Legend
Tigers win	Tigers loss	Game postponed

2016 Game Log (14–13)
April (13–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 5 @ Marlins W 8–7 (11) VerHagen (1–0) Breslow (0–1) Greene (1) 36,911 1–0 2 April 6 @ Marlins W 7–3 Sánchez (1–0) Fernández (0–1) Rodríguez (1) 17,883 2–0 3 April 8 Yankees W 4–0 Zimmermann (1–0) Severino (0–1) — 45,049 3–0 4 April 9 Yankees L 4–8 Sabathia (1–0) Pelfrey (0–1) — 32,419 3–1 — April 10 Yankees Postponed (inclement weather). Makeup date TBD. 5 April 11 Pirates L 4–7 Niese (1–0) Verlander (0–1) Melancon (3) 26,271 3–2 6 April 12 Pirates W 8–2 Sánchez (2–0) Nicasio (1–1) — 26,489 4–2 7 April 13 @ Pirates W 7–3 Greene (1–0) Caminero (0–2) — 21,175 5–2 8 April 14 @ Pirates W 7–4 Zimmermann (2–0) Cole (0–2) Rodríguez (2) 18,751 6–2 9 April 15 @ Astros L 0–1 Keuchel (2–1) Pelfrey (0–2) Gregerson (3) 30,092 6–3 10 April 16 @ Astros W 5–3 Verlander (1–1) McHugh (1–2) Rodríguez (3) 30,013 7–3 11 April 17 @ Astros L 4–5 Fiers (1–1) Sánchez (2–1) Gregerson (4) 30,657 7–4 12 April 19 @ Royals L 6–8 Ventura (1–0) Greene (1–1) Davis (6) 26,889 7–5 13 April 20 @ Royals W 3–2 Zimmermann (3–0) Kennedy (2–1) Rodríguez (4) 28,928 8–5 14 April 21 @ Royals L 0–4 Vólquez (3–0) Pelfrey (0–3) — 30,763 8–6 15 April 22 Indians L 1–2 Tomlin (2–0) Verlander (1–2) Allen (5) 25,086 8–7 16 April 23 Indians L 1–10 Kluber (1–3) Sánchez (2–2) — 31,163 8–8 17 April 24 Indians L 3–6 Bauer (1–0) Greene (1–2) Allen (6) 31,947 8–9 18 April 25 Athletics W 7–3 Zimmermann (4–0) Graveman (1–2) — 21,671 9–9 19 April 26 Athletics L 1–5 Hill (3–2) Pelfrey (0–4) — 22,256 9–10 20 April 27 Athletics W 9–4 Verlander (2–2) Gray (3–2 — 22,636 10–10 21 April 28 Athletics W 7–3 Sánchez (3–2) Bassitt (0–2) Rodríguez (5) 26,200 11–10 22 April 29 @ Twins W 9–2 Fulmer (1–0) Hughes (1–4) — 23,049 12–10 23 April 30 @ Twins W 4–1 Zimmermann (5–0) Duffey (0–1) Rodríguez (6) 31,109 13–10
May (1–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 24 May 1 @ Twins W 6–5 Lowe (1–0) Pressly (1–2) Rodríguez (7) 24,749 14–10 25 May 3 @ Indians L 3–7 Tomlin (4–0) Verlander (2–3) — 11,022 14–11 26 May 4 @ Indians L 0–4 Kluber (2–3) Sánchez (3–3) — 8,766 14–12 27 May 5 @ Indians L 4–9 Bauer (2–0) Fulmer (1–1) — 10,350 14–13 28 May 6 Rangers 29 May 7 Rangers 30 May 8 Rangers 31 May 9 @ Nationals 32 May 10 @ Nationals 33 May 11 @ Nationals 34 May 13 @ Orioles 35 May 13 @ Orioles 36 May 14 @ Orioles 37 May 15 @ Orioles 38 May 16 Twins 39 May 17 Twins 40 May 18 Twins 41 May 20 Rays 42 May 21 Rays 43 May 22 Rays 44 May 23 Phillies 45 May 24 Phillies 46 May 25 Phillies 47 May 27 @ Athletics 48 May 28 @ Athletics 49 May 29 @ Athletics 50 May 30 @ Angels 51 May 31 @ Angels
June # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 52 June 1 @ Angels 53 June 3 White Sox 54 June 4 White Sox 55 June 5 White Sox 56 June 6 Blue Jays 57 June 7 Blue Jays 58 June 8 Blue Jays 59 June 10 @ Yankees 60 June 11 @ Yankees 61 June 12 @ Yankees 62 June 13 @ White Sox 63 June 14 @ White Sox 64 June 15 @ White Sox 65 June 16 @ Royals 66 June 17 @ Royals 67 June 18 @ Royals 68 June 19 @ Royals 69 June 20 Mariners 70 June 21 Mariners 71 June 22 Mariners 72 June 23 Mariners 73 June 24 Indians 74 June 25 Indians 75 June 26 Indians 76 June 28 Marlins 77 June 29 Marlins 78 June 30 @ Rays
July # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 79 July 1 @ Rays 80 July 2 @ Rays 81 July 3 @ Rays 82 July 4 @ Indians 83 July 5 @ Indians 84 July 6 @ Indians 85 July 7 @ Blue Jays 86 July 8 @ Blue Jays 87 July 9 @ Blue Jays 88 July 10 @ Blue Jays 89 July 15 Royals 90 July 16 Royals 91 July 17 Royals 92 July 18 Twins 93 July 19 Twins 94 July 20 Twins 95 July 21 @ White Sox 96 July 22 @ White Sox 97 July 23 @ White Sox 98 July 24 @ White Sox 99 July 25 @ Red Sox 100 July 26 @ Red Sox 101 July 27 @ Red Sox 102 July 29 Astros 103 July 30 Astros 104 July 31 Astros
August # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 105 August 2 White Sox 106 August 3 White Sox 107 August 4 White Sox 108 August 5 Mets 109 August 6 Mets 110 August 7 Mets 111 August 8 @ Mariners 112 August 9 @ Mariners 113 August 10 @ Mariners 114 August 12 @ Rangers 115 August 13 @ Rangers 116 August 14 @ Rangers 117 August 15 Royals 118 August 16 Royals 119 August 17 Royals 120 August 18 Red Sox 121 August 19 Red Sox 122 August 20 Red Sox 123 August 21 Red Sox 124 August 23 @ Twins 125 August 24 @ Twins 126 August 25 @ Twins 127 August 26 Angels 128 August 27 Angels 129 August 28 Angels 130 August 29 White Sox 131 August 30 White Sox 132 August 31 White Sox
September # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 133 September 2 @ Royals 134 September 3 @ Royals 135 September 4 @ Royals 136 September 5 @ White Sox 137 September 6 @ White Sox 138 September 7 @ White Sox 139 September 9 Orioles 140 September 10 Orioles 141 September 11 Orioles 142 September 12 Twins 143 September 13 Twins 144 September 14 Twins 145 September 15 Twins 146 September 16 @ Indians 147 September 17 @ Indians 148 September 18 @ Indians 149 September 20 @ Twins 150 September 21 @ Twins 151 September 22 @ Twins 152 September 23 Royals 153 September 24 Royals 154 September 25 Royals 155 September 26 Indians 156 September 27 Indians 157 September 28 Indians 158 September 29 Indians 159 September 30 @ Braves
October # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 160 October 1 @ Braves 161 October 2 @ Braves

Current roster

Detroit Tigers roster
Active roster				Inactive roster		Coaches/Other
Pitchers Starting rotation 32 Michael Fulmer 37 Mike Pelfrey 19 Aníbal Sánchez 35 Justin Verlander 27 Jordan Zimmermann Bullpen 45 Buck Farmer 65 Blaine Hardy 21 Mark Lowe 56 Kyle Ryan 54 Drew VerHagen 30 Alex Wilson 38 Justin Wilson Closer 57 Francisco Rodríguez		Catchers 39 Jarrod Saltalamacchia 34 James McCann Infielders 14 Mike Avilés 24 Miguel Cabrera  9 Nick Castellanos  1 José Iglesias  3 Ian Kinsler 17 Andrew Romine Outfielders 12 Anthony Gose 28 J. D. Martinez  8 Justin Upton Designated hitters 41 Víctor Martínez		Pitchers 48 Matt Boyd 26 Jeff Ferrell 61 Shane Greene 53 Jairo Labourt 60 Ángel Nesbitt 44 Daniel Norris 43 Bruce Rondón 58 José Valdez Catchers -- John Hicks Infielders 49 Dixon Machado Outfielders 63 Wynton Bernard 18 Tyler Collins  4 Cameron Maybin 33 Steven Moya		Manager  7 Brad Ausmus Coaches 29 Mick Billmeyer (bullpen) 25 Dave Clark (third base) 52 Rich Dubee (pitching) 20 Wally Joyner (hitting) 22 Gene Lamont (bench) 59 David Newhan (assistant hitting) 13 Omar Vizquel (first base) 88 Matt Martin (defense coordinator) 25 active, 14 inactive 7- or 15-day disabled list ^† Suspended list ^# Personal leave Roster and coaches updated May 3, 2016 Transactions • Depth chart → All MLB rosters

References

1. "FOX Sports Detroit announces announcer rotation for 2016 Tigers season". foxsports.com. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
2. Schmehl, James (September 8, 2015). "A look at the Detroit Tigers full 2016 schedule with some highlights". MLive. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
3. Beck, Jason (October 20, 2015). "After distinguished career, pitching coach Jones retires". MLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
4. Beck, Jason (October 29, 2015). "Tigers name Dubee pitching coach". MLB.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
5. Beck, Jason (November 30, 2015). "Tigers ink Zimmermann to five-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
6. Beck, Jason (December 8, 2015). "Pelfrey signs 2-year, $16M deal with Tigers". MLB.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
7. Brown, David (December 6, 2015). "Tigers announce Mike Pelfrey and Jarrod Saltalamacchia signings". CBSsports.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
8. Beck, Jason (December 6, 2015). "Tigers ink catcher Saltalamacchia to 1-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
9. Beck, Jason (December 8, 2015). "Tigers strike 2-year deal with reliever Lowe". MLB.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
10. Roberts, Quinn (December 18, 2015). "Tigers reach deal with veteran infielder Aviles". MLB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
11. Beck, Jason (January 13, 2016). "Tigers avoid arbitration with Wilson". MLB.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
12. Beck, Jason (January 14, 2016). "Detroit avoids arbitration with Romine". MLB.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
13. Beck, Jason (January 15, 2016). "Tigers, J.D. exchange figures; Iglesias agrees". MLB.com. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
14. Beck, Jason (January 19, 2016). "Upton's 6-year deal has short-term flexibility". MLB.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
15. Beck, Jason (January 19, 2016). "This just in: Motown adds Upton for pop, hits". MLB.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
16. Beck, Jason (February 8, 2016). "Tigers, J.D. come to 2-year agreement". MLB.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
17. Berry, Adam (November 9, 2015). "Bucs claim righty reliever Knudson from Tigers". MLB.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
18. Merkin, Scott (November 25, 2015). "White Sox sign catcher Avila to one-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
19. Beck, Jason (December 2, 2015). "Tigers non-tender Feliz, Alburquerque". MLB.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
20. Beryy, Adam (January 6, 2016). "Bucs sign Feliz to one-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
21. Gonzalez, Alden (January 19, 2016). "Angels officially ink reliever Alburquerque". MLB.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
22. Fordin, Spencer; Kruth, Cash (December 17, 2015). "Tribe signs Davis; Napoli reportedly near deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
23. Sheldon, Mark (March 17, 2016). "Simon returns to Reds on 1-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
24. Beck, Jason (November 18, 2015). "Tigers get K-Rod from Brewers to be closer". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
25. Laymance, Austin (November 20, 2015). "Tigers acquire Maybin in trade with Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
26. Hoch, Bryan (December 9, 2015). "Yankees land pair of pitching prospects for Wilson". MLB.com. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
27. Beck, Jason (December 21, 2015). "Tigers trade Lobstein to Pirates for cash". MLB.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
28. Beck, Jason (January 27, 2016). "Tigers add prospect Eaves, deal Marte to Angels". MLB.com. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
29. Beck, Jason (March 29, 2016). "Tigers land catcher Wilson, righty for Holaday". MLB.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
30. Beck, Jason (May 3, 2016). "Tigers activate McCann off DL, trade B. Wilson". MLB.com. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
31. Beck, Jason; Frisaro, Joe (April 5, 2016). "Kinsler's 4th RBI saves Tigers in 11 after Fish rally". MLB.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
32. Beck, Jason (April 6, 2016). "V-Mart sets mark with 2 pinch-hit HRs in first 2 games". MLB.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
33. Beck, Jason (April 13, 2016). "100 grand: Salty's milestone HR memorable". MLB.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
34. Sipple, George (April 21, 2016). "'It means a lot': Tigers' Victor Martinez records 1000th career RBI". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
35. Beck, Jason; Flanagan, Jeffrey (April 20, 2016). "More zeros for Zimmermann as Tigers top KC". MLB.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
36. Bollinger, Rhett; Hall, Biran (April 30, 2016). "J-Up's homer keeps Zimmermann undefeated". MLB.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
37. Beck, Jason (May 2, 2016). "Zimmermann claims AL pitcher prize for April". MLB.com. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
38. Beck, Jason (April 9, 2016). "Tigers, Yanks play coldest game at Comerica". MLB.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.

External links

• Detroit Tigers official site