Orlando, Fla. — Tigers general manager Al Avila was about as transparent as anyone in his position could be.
“Yeah, we need pitching help,” he said during the general managers’ meetings Monday. “Probably one, maybe two starting pitchers. You can never have enough pitching. But take a look around. There are 29 other teams here and they are all looking for starting pitching and bullpen help.”
The Tigers, in full rebuild-austerity mode, aren’t in the bidding for top-shelf starters like Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta. Nor are they likely to get in on second-tier guys like Alex Cobb, Tyler Chatwood, Michael Pineda, Hector Santiago, Jason Vargas or Lance Lynn.