On Thursday, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press that the club fully intends to bring their payroll under the luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season. While this should come as no surprise to those who have been taking in Avila’s comments this offseason, the team should still be able to field a contender with over $47 million in salaries coming off the books due to expiring contracts after the 2017 season.
For tax purposes, the Tigers have a payroll of almost $215 million for the 2017 season, or $20 million above the $195 million luxury tax threshold.