Tigers could put pitching surplus to good use come trade time

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Dave Dombrowski understands what spring training can and cannot do.

A temporary 2012 Tigers roster is decided during seven weeks in Florida, but that doesn't mean Dombrowski will take those same 25 players into the late-summer stretch drive, or into the playoffs, if Detroit cashes in on one of the more talented lineups and pitching staffs in baseball.

Dombrowski, the Tigers' front-office architect, will probably repeat history and swing a midseason trade for whatever the next four months reveals to be the Tigers' deepest needs.

And he will have trade chips. Perhaps several very good ones.

The Tigers are staring at a rare surplus of starting pitching. At no time in their history can you point to five skilled young pitchers competing for a No. 5 starting job, as is the case with manager Jim Leyland's 2012 rotation.

Some of the kid pitchers should be ready to work in Detroit by the end of spring camp. A couple of others should be all but primed for Comerica Park delivery by midseason.

And that's when Dombrowski and the trade wheels will start spinning.

He should be in position to deal a starter, as he did last summer with Charlie Furbush, who probably lacks the upside of the five or six pitchers Leyland is auditioning this spring.

Rather than allow pitchers to languish when his primary starters — Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello — are years from free agency, Dombrowski will do what he always aims to do when he drafts and signs pitchers ahead of position players.

He spins off any extras for a sweet return on the trade dollar.

Plenty of catching help

It ties in with another reason Dombrowski will try to pull off a World Series-clinching trade in midsummer. He happens to have a sudden glut of farm-system catchers.

The only thing most big-league teams need nearly as much as pitching is catching. The Tigers can testify there. They had a bare shelf for years, until they made a push a few years ago to draft catchers the way Cold War powers used to horde nuclear warheads.

James McCann and Rob Brantly have a shot at becoming starting catchers. Bryan Holaday, Patrick Leyland, and Gabriel Purroy could develop into big leaguers.

Don't be surprised if the Tigers trade a catcher in the same package with a pitcher for that missing link — second base? — Dombrowski hopes to upgrade ahead of the August-September playoffs sprint.

Jim Leyland knows what's coming. He sat in the Tigers dugout Saturday morning at Disney and talked about the cluster of pitchers he's interviewing for that No. 5 spot.

"I think we have four for sure, probably five," Leyland said, speaking of Jacob Turner, Duane Below, Adam Wilk, Drew Smyly, and Andy Oliver, with young Casey Crosby a sixth contender.

"We've got a beautiful scenario. We don't have to rush anybody."

A couple of caveats:

It could be that none of the above makes the grade during spring camp. That would appear unlikely, but the kid pitchers still need to graduate.

Or, let's say Turner or Below makes the cut but falls flat in April or May. Are any of the pitchers who received lovely parting gifts in Florida pitching with sufficient aplomb at Triple A Toledo to replace Turner or Below?

If not, then not only are you lacking a No. 5 starter, but the heady inventory of prime-time pitchers you thought you had at spring camp suddenly becomes less imposing — and less marketable.

But that would appear to be a negative, and unlikely, scenario.

Emphasis in right place

You can fault Dombrowski and his generals for coming up short on position talent since they took charge 11 years ago, at least in terms of infielders, who have not been developed in any kind of acceptable numbers.

But it's difficult to second-guess the fixation on pitching. Pitching is the primary reason the Tigers are contenders. Even with the Miguel Cabrera-Prince Fielder tandem stealing the show, pitching remains this organization's ongoing strength.

Not only has it helped supply the Tigers with a foundation for their rotation and bullpen, it has provided literally dozens of trade chips that have been used to bring aboard better pitchers or the position pieces Detroit, like any team, is obliged to add.

Suddenly, there's heavy competition in Florida for a No. 5 rotation vacancy. Just as suddenly, four months from now in Detroit, don't be surprised if Dombrowski converts some of the excess into a dramatic midsummer deal.

lynn.henning@detnews.com