Already we've seen major roster changes for the Tigers this off-season. You can find plenty of analysis on this very website about whether the moves are good or bad, but there is one thing that is without question. The Tigers will be less heavy in the 2014.

Let's compare the 2013 opening day roster with a projected 2014 roster. For simplicity we will use listed weights even though they are complete works of fiction.

Note there are a couple of pitching spots available. I've simply inserted the league average weight (196 lbs) for these two spots.

2013

2014 (Projected)

Pitchers Weight

Pitchers Weight Net gain (loss) Al Alburquerque 195

Al Alburquerque 195 0 Joaquin Benoit 220

Joe Nathan 230 10 Phil Coke 210

Phil Coke 210 0 Octavio Dotel 230

Bruce Rondon 275 45 Darin Downs 210

Luke Putkonen 215 5 Doug Fister 210

RP 1 196 -14 Brayan Villarreal 170

RP 2 196 26 Rick Porcello 200

Rick Porcello 200 0 Anibal Sanchez 205

Anibal Sanchez 205 0 Max Scherzer 220

Max Scherzer 220 0 Drew Smyly 190

Drew Smyly 190 0 Justin Verlander 225

Justin Verlander 225 0 Pitcher subtotal 2485



2557 72 Catchers Weight

Catchers Weight

Alex Avila 210

Alex Avila 210 0 Brayan Pena 230

Bryan Holaday 205 -25 Infielders Weight

Infielders Weight

Miguel Cabrera 240

Nick Castellanos 210 -30 Prince Fielder 275

Miguel Cabrera 240 -35 Omar Infante 195

Ian Kinsler 195 0 Don Kelly 190

Don Kelly 190 0 Jhonny Peralta 215

Jose Iglesias 185 -30 Ramon Santiago 175

Steve Lombardozzi 200 25 Outfielders Weight

Outfielders Weight

Matt Tuiasosopo 225

Rajai Davis 195 -30 Andy Dirks 195

Andy Dirks 195 0 Torii Hunter 225

Torii Hunter 225 0 Austin Jackson 185

Austin Jackson 185 0 Other Positions Weight

Other Positions Weight

Victor Martinez 210

Victor Martinez 210 0 Hitter subtotal 2770



2645 -125 Grand totals 5255



5202 -53

A couple of things stand out. We are actually adding some girth to the pitching staff. Of course Bruce Rondon makes up the bulk of that. Imagine adding Melvin Mercedes to the group! The hurlers project to add about 72 pounds this year. This amount is more than offset by the hitters who are projected to drop a whopping 125 lbs. What does this all mean? I expect the number of fat jokes to decrease by approximately 34%.

Somewhere Lynn Henning is smiling.