Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers general manager Al Avila has said often that he considers third baseman Jeimer Candelario one of the club’s foundation pieces.
“For sure, he’s a guy that we would count on here going into the future,” he said at the end of last season.
But you can’t fault Candelario for being at least a little skeptical about that. When the Tigers did not approach him about a multi-year extension this offseason, he signed a one-year deal for the second straight year, this one for $5.8 million, a $3 million raise from last year.