1 bold prediction for each MLB team in 2018

Detroit Tigers – They finish with the worst record in the American League

The bill has come due for the Tigers after all their years of spending to try to win a World Series. Their roster is in shambles and they might potentially have one of the worst contracts in baseball still on their roster in first baseman Miguel Cabrera. In fairness, the top of the list of major league baseball salaries are littered with very poor contracts. The Tigers still owe Miggy another $184 million through at least 2023. He’s the one remaining star on the team and the immediate future is bleak around him.

Detroit has embraced the rebuild by trading outfielder Justin Upton, starting pitcher Justin Verlander, second baseman Ian Kinsler among others last year. The Detroit News points out that the Tigers have drawn praise in most circles for dramatically improving their farm system and deservedly so. Still, those efforts are a long ways away from bearing any fruit. If they could, Detroit should explore trading Cabrera but that would be almost impossible to do. They would have to eat a significant portion of his salary and the number of teams that have the flexibility to play him at DH as he continues to age would be small.

The Tigers seemed locked into a poor finish this season by almost everyone. They will be in an unfamiliar position this year when they finish at the very bottom of the league. They need to hope last season wasn’t the start of a steep decline for Cabrera so they can get some worth out of his contract. For some teams, the adage is true: money can’t buy championships.