The Tigers, who ranked fourth in the A.L. in steals last season, ranked first through their first nine games this season, with 13 stolen bases. In 2013 they ranked last, with only 35 all season. They lost in the A.L.C.S. that fall to Boston, then engineered a franchise-shifting deal by shipping first baseman Prince Fielder to Texas for Kinsler.

Fielder had seven years left on his bloated nine-year, $214 million deal, and while the Tigers sent $30 million to Texas, it was a small price to pay for their reinvention. Cabrera shifted to first base, opening third base for Nick Castellanos, 23. Kinsler was an All-Star at second last season and has started off well again.

Shedding so much of Fielder’s contract also made it easier for Detroit to re-sign Martinez, who was the runner-up for the Most Valuable Player Award last season and, when healthy, is part of a strong middle of the order with J. D. Martinez and Cabrera. After off-season surgery to repair his ankle and foot, Cabrera looks rejuvenated, with a .439 average through Friday.

“You notice a significant difference in the way he’s moving around,” Dombrowski said. “You can tell it’s not bothering him when he plays the game. That’s why when people said they weren’t sure how Miggy’s going to play, we kept saying, ‘Well, he hasn’t been really healthy,’ and now you see he’s as much a force with the bat as he’s ever been.”

The Tigers lost starter Max Scherzer to Washington in free agency, but prepared for his departure by trading for Price last July. Price has been overpowering so far — helped by a curveball he learned from Oakland’s Sonny Gray while training last winter at Vanderbilt — and so has Greene, who came from the Yankees in the three-way deal that brought Didi Gregorius to New York from Arizona.

“We saw him firsthand a couple of times last year, he threw the ball well, and we had good scouting reports on him, too, over the last couple of years,” Dombrowski said of Greene, who is 2-0 and has not allowed an earned run in 16 innings. “He has premium stuff: fastball, slider and cutter; he’s worked on a changeup that’s continuing to develop, and he’s thrown strikes. He’s been ahead of hitters on a consistent basis, and when you do that, you’re putting yourself in a good spot.”

Price is facing free agency after the season, and while Dombrowski would not comment on his contract status, he said the Tigers had not closed any doors on keeping him. They are committed to Justin Verlander, who is out with a triceps strain, for $28 million per season through 2019.