The Detroit Tigers added more than $32 million to this year's payroll -- Miguel Cabrera ($11.3 million), Edgar Reintera ($9 million), Dontrelle Willis ($7 million) and Jacque Jones ($5 million) -- to bolster a lineup that won 88 games in 2007.
Yet, it might be the lowest wage-earning players on the team that decide its fate.
The Tigers are just a few days from breaking camp in Lakeland, and there is concern about the bullpen. Manager Jim Leyland is even hinting a trade for a reliever could be in the works.
Detroit's dilemma, of course, stems from injuries to Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney. If those two were healthy, end of concern.
Nonetheless, it always intrigues me how general managers put together their rosters, where they put their emphasis.
The Tigers will have a payroll pushing $135 million in 2008, according to Cots, a clearinghouse for MLB contracts. For the eight everyday starters, the salaries will range from $15 million for Magglio Ordonez to $4.6 million for second baseman Placido Polanco.
Detroit could carry as many as seven relief pitchers on its 25-man opening day roster. Their combined salary will be somewhere around $10 million -- and $7 million of that belongs to closer Todd Jones.
Rodney, once he comes back, will bump that total up slightly. He'll earn $1.7 million.
Add that up, and the bullpen will constitute more than 25 percent of the roster, but will account for only 7-8 percent of the total team budget.
If you look at most bullpens -- long relievers, situational pitchers, set-up men and closers -- the closers are usually the only ones who command big bucks on a consistent basis. A lot of the others make under $1 million, which is modest by today's bloated standards.
Yet, bullpens can often make or break a team's season. Boston, which won the 2007 World Series, had the second best bullpen ERA a year ago, just behind San Diego, another playoff qualifier. But then San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman imploded in the playoffs. He couldn't hold leads in the series with Colorado and it proved costly to the Padres.
Relievers, to me, are much like NFL kickers. Kickers often determine outcomes, too, and they're usually among the lowest paid players on the team. Lawrence Tynes of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants was 47th on the team in terms of salary.
Maybe, general managers consider relievers -- with the exception of some closers -- and kickers a dime a dozen. But never underestimate their true value.
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