Sharp: Tigers GM reaffirms his value, should return in '16

The earliest that anyone can honestly grade the minor league anonymity the Detroit Tigers acquired at the trade deadline would be next July 31 — the 2016 trade deadline.

The Tigers are confident that the struggles of 2015 are merely an aberration. They'll win in 2016. They'll contend for the postseason. And more importantly, they'll buy the necessary pieces at this same time rather than holding a garage sale. If the six minor leaguers obtained for David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria provide the Tigers' general manager — whomever that is next year — with more farm system ammunition for big-name acquisitions, then there can be no complaint.

The Tigers' farm system is much stronger now than it was 48 hours ago.

That doesn't instantly salve the wounds of a torturously brutal season. But Dave Dombrowski successfully reached the first goal of the Tigers' "reboot." He beefed up the organization's young pitching. It must start there. Five of the six players acquired were pitchers, including three lefties from Toronto in the Price deal.

Baseball prospects never excite because maybe a third of them actually become decent major league contributors, another third wash out completely due to injury and ineffectiveness while another third are used as trade bait for adding veteran pieces. And there's far less of a definable timetable for developing young baseball talent as opposed to football, basketball and hockey.

But this was a necessary first step, testing the patience that the Tigers still aren't too far away from renewed World Series contention while also testing the faith that Dombrowski remains the correct general manager pulling the strings.

Dombrowski doesn't have a contract beyond this season, but the best chance for the Tigers making a long playoff run next season rests with Dombrowski returning. It's never as simple as saying "He screwed up. He needs to go." There must be a clear vision from ownership as to the responsibilities of his successor. If Mike Ilitch's goal remains winning it all as soon as possible, he's better off entrusting that task with one of the top five chief executives in baseball rather than potentially rolling the dice with a young, unproven replacement.

If everyone thinks Brad Ausmus has become an unmitigated disaster because he got the keys to a Ferrari with no prior driving experience beyond a Fiat, then why would Ilitch repeat that mistake when considering the most important position in his baseball hierarchy?

Dombrowski reaffirmed his value to this team the last three days. He deftly played trading partners against each other, creating a massive stir when he put Price on the trade market at the last minute. Fearful that American League East Division leader New York would swoop in, Toronto blinked and probably surrendered more than it should have for a two-month rental.

Dombrowski also appreciated that trading Cespedes now would improve the chances of the Tigers re-signing him as a free agent this winter. He has a clause in his contract prohibiting a free-agent qualifying offer. If the Tigers didn't sign Cespedes five days following the conclusion of the World Series, they must release him and couldn't sign him until May 15. With him gone, the Tigers can treat Cespedes like any other available free agent the coming off-season.

He could come back and the Tigers got two pitching prospects from the Mets.

It's challenging finding silver linings the next two months even with the help of a microscope. The final 60 games basically become an open audition for several positions heading into 2016. The Tigers can better evaluate the major league readiness of many of their minor leaguers. And that will better prepare them for the even more critical winter shopping season.

Trusting somebody other than Dombrowski for that job might momentarily appease the critics, but it won't improve the Tigers' chances of making this "reboot" a quick one.

Contact Drew Sharp: dsharp@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewsharp.