In the summer of 2011, former Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski knew he needed one more starting pitcher to complete a rotation that already included a historically dominant Justin Verlander, an emerging Max Scherzer and a very green Rick Porcello. The fourth spot in the rotation was being held down by Brad Penfrey. No. Mike Pelney. The fifth rotation spot initially belonged to Phil Coke, then rotated among “prospects” who were never going to be as good as we hoped, like Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner.
Even the bullpen was somewhat decent that year with Jose Valverde getting 49 saves, while Al Alburqurque had an ERA under 2.