Verlander’s status unchanged by Sale trade

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Chris Sale trade has a big impact on the Tigers in terms of their division competition. Fittingly, it happened on a day when manager Brad Ausmus said he’d like his team to strike out less in 2017.

But if anybody thought Sale’s trade to Boston could impact the trade market for another American League Central ace, general manager Al Avila indicated Justin Verlander probably won’t see any effect.

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Around baseball, Avila said, “I would assume there will be a domino effect, because that’s one more guy that gets taken up and maybe some teams now move on. But I don’t believe it’s going to affect our situation at all.”

In other words, Verlander is still likely to stay in Detroit.

• White Sox trade Sale to Boston

While a weak free-agent market and the Tigers’ desire to pare down payroll put Verlander in focus as a potential big name on the trade block, two key differences put him in a different situation:

First, Verlander turns 34 years old in …

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