DETROIT -- The last time the Tigers went into an offseason looking to trade established talent with payroll in mind, their masterpiece came at the Winter Meetings. It was the three-team trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees, Edwin Jackson to the D-backs, and Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke to Detroit.
It happened in 2009 in Indianapolis, the last northern city to host baseball's Winter Meetings -- until next week, when executives, managers and other baseball officials gather near Washington, D.C.
Dave Dombrowski was the Tigers' general manager then, but Al Avila was his top assistant.