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In ’17, Tigers might be in store for shakeup
- Updated: December 30, 2016
DETROIT — Change is coming to the Tigers, as general manager Al Avila warned in September.
But change isn’t here yet.
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At some point, 2017 will be the year of change for the Tigers. It could come early, if the club finds some late-offseason trades that it likes. It could come in July if Detroit falls out of contention, setting up some big names to be dealt at the Trade Deadline. At the latest, it will come next offseason, when J.D. Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton, Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe all could become free agents, reducing the team’s payroll through attrition.
Until change arrives, the Tigers remain a win-now team. So in all likelihood, this will be the last go-round for the team as it’s constructed. Here are a handful of question that could determine the team’s fate:
1. What can Michael Fulmer do for an encore?
Fulmer won the American League Rookie of the …