by Holly Horning
With just a little over a year of observation, it’s become apparent that the Detroit Tigers have completely changed how they operate from a business perspective. The Colt Keith contract is just the latest example.
Part of the reason lies in the backgrounds of the Tigers’ PoBO, Scott Harris and GM Jeff Greenberg. They are part of the sweeping changes that have come to professional sports, esp. baseball.
Gone are the days when top baseball executives came from the game, scouted, managed or coached. Today, almost every single President and GM has a degree from an elite college with majors that are directly applicable to the sport – psychology, business, sports economics, finance, etc. Almost none of them played baseball outside of college.
This applies to both Harris and Greenberg, however they also belong to an even higher level of baseball executives.
They have advanced degrees as well. Greenberg has a law degree and Harris has an MBA. A perfect match of both fields that helps a team make bigger and smarter decisions.
They are among the very few in MLB who possess those double degrees.
Who would have thought the Tigers would be leading the way?
Best of all, it’s paying off.
Gone are the days when the Tigers threw big bucks at ageing players for what they did in the past by signing them to long-term expensive contracts. IF they ever do this again, it will be because of desperation, a sense of urgency and an immediate need that cannot be filled on-house.
Miguel Cabrera’s contract was owner-fueled and belonging to a much more complicated set of circumstances than those offered to Victor Martinez, Jordan Zimmermann and Javier Baez. In all cases, contracts were offered despite the statistical red flags that offered proof that their skills were on a downward trend.
And despite all those years of winning, those contracts offered by Mike Ilitch, Dave Dombrowski and Al Avila had the Tigers operating in the red for over a decade.
This strategy simply didn’t make for good business acumen and was not a sustainable strategy. And we saw it first-hand during a particularly nasty and lengthy tear down necessitated by ageing players and a drop in performance.
The Keith contract shows us that the Tigers are not going to continue this pattern but will instead invest in players who appear to be on the upswing and will create long-term value.
Sure, there are risks involved and some of these signings will fail. But at least any loss will be minimal and won’t set the team back significantly.
The Tigers now are being proactive, instead of reactive.
Harris did inherit some bad contracts. Eduardo Rodriguez (for the character and behavior issues), Miguel Cabrera and Javier Baez.
The Baez contract is the only 1 that remains.
And in his case, as well those involving ERod’s and Andrew Chafin, the former GM willingly handed out player opt-outs. Every single one came back to bite the Tigers.
If you notice now, the Tigers don’t give those out anymore. They only offer team opt-outs as they did with Mark Canha, Colt Keith, Carson Kelly and Casey Mize.
And Harris has added something new in offering those contracts. A specific incentive plan. Pay for play.
A golden carrot dangled out there to reward players for reaching certain performance levels. It keeps them motivated throughout the year.
Remember the phrase “He’s playing for his next contract” to describe how a player suddenly turned it on in his last year because he needed another contract for the next season?
This new strategy of loading contracts with yearly incentives appears to be a method to keep a player motivated each and every year.
The simple fact is that Tigers are now operating from a position of power. No more giving in to players during contract negotiations.
We saw Scott Harris refuse to re-negotiate Eduardo Rodriguez’s contract when he came calling before opting out.
We saw Harris refuse to take Andrew Chafin back after the 2022 season when he opted out and couldn’t get a new contract. This year, he’s back – while also publicly admitting that he made a mistake.
And recently, the message sent not once, but twice to Casey Mize. A powerful message over a measly $25K and then the symbolic $10K that Mize had wanted in arbitration.
Message received by Mize. He got a new highly-incentivized contract for the 2024 season that will reward him in 2025 if he performs well. Oh, and it’s also a team option just in case.
Harris simply knows how to negotiate. And he does it well. It’s all part of the tool kit he developed in business school.
It will be interesting to learn more about how Jeff Greenberg’s legal background comes into play. But right now, he’s new – and silently lurking somewhere in Harris’ shadow.
Last but not least, there’s the contract extension given to A. J. Hinch. Done 2 years before his current agreement is set to expire. Most teams only extend managers a full year before their contracts end.
Details are not released but the Tigers have stated that Hinch will be in Detroit “for a very long time.”
This tells us 3 things. That A. J. is their long-term guy.
That they are very happy with him.
That he is part of their long-range vision of building a sustainable winner.
And you better believe that his contract is also incentive-laden.
Isn’t that just the best way to motivate and get the best performances out of everyone?
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