Tigers rebuild won't end until Chris Ilitch spends like the real Pizza Pizza king

It's been a while since the Detroit Tigers were relevant to MLB fans outside of Detroit. They haven't made the postseason since 2014 and haven't even put together a winning season since 2016. That's seven straight losing seasons heading into the 2024 campaign.

Before this recent stretch of losing, the Tigers were a consistent winner. Yes, they haven't won a World Series since 1984, but Detroit made the postseason in four straight seasons from 2011-2014, and had a .500 record or better in nine of the 11 seasons before the consistent losing began.

Part of why the Tigers were winning had to do with their spending. Their owner at the time, the late Mike Illitch, former owner of Little Caesars Pizza, used to have his team consistently near the top of the payroll ranks but under his son, Chris, the Tigers have scaled back considerably. They've ranked in the bottom half of payroll in each of the last seven years. Until that changes, it's hard to envision this team doing much winning.

It's time for Chris Illitch to end Tigers rebuild by spending like his father

The Tigers were seen as a sleeper team by many to win the AL Central in large part due to their strong starting rotation. The Tigers had a strong rotation on paper and despite rough showings from Casey Mize and Kenta Maeda, they still rank 11th in the majors in starting pitching ERA. What's held Detroit back is some inconsistency from their bullpen and especially their lineup.

Detroit has some nice building blocks with guys like Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter and did make a strong move spending on Mark Canha, but it has been a struggle for them to find offense from anyone else. Not only has recent high draft pick Spencer Torkelson struggled, but one player Detroit did spend considerable money on, Javier Baez, has been a disaster.

"From the moment I got here, Chris Ilitch said that we would have the resources we need to build a really competitive club and to build a club that can sustain winning over a long period of time. We’re not quite there yet as far as spending at that level because we need to build the foundation of this team to put us in a position to supplement it with some free agent signings in the upcoming winters," Harris said Tuesday on MLB Network.

Scott Harris says that Illitch has given him the green light to spend as long as he has built a strong enough foundation to justify it. With their starting rotation being as young and talented as it is, plus some position players to build around, there's no excuse for Detroit to not be big players in the free agent market as soon as this upcoming offseason.

This Tigers team has the foundation to compete for a long time as long as Illitch lets them. Spending on some hitting to go along with their starting pitching should help the Tigers compete for a sustained period. For now, it's in Illitch's hands. Harris has done enough to earn the right to spend some money.,