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Are the Detroit Tigers in better shape to win the World Series in 2014 than they were in 2013? "I can't say 'better,' but I can also say 'as good,' " Dave Dombrowski said. "This club has a chance to win the championship. That's how we feel about it."

(AP File Photo)

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers have had a very active offseason. They still have moves to make. The roster is not a finished product.

But Dave Dombrowski believes the Tigers have the ability to win it all.

Dombrowski was asked Wednesday afternoon whether he thought the Tigers were in better shape to compete for a title in 2014 than they were in 2013.

"I can't say 'better,' but I can also say 'as good,' " he said. "This club has a chance to win the championship. That's how we feel about it. We like our club."

The Tigers have made several changes since the end of the 2013 season. But while they certainly are a different team, it's tough to argue that they are better. To be fair, though, they were pretty good last season. They won 93 games. They won the division. They advanced to the American League Championship Series. They had enough talent to win it all last season. They just didn't.

Let's try to break things down and see how the Tigers stack up right now (again, it is more than two months until spring training) compared to last season.

Prince Fielder is out for the Detroit Tigers. So are Jhonny Peralta and Omar Infante. Who's in? Nick Castellanos, Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler.

STARTING LINEUP

Barring another big move, it is a good bet that the Tigers won't score as many runs in 2014 as they did in 2013, when they finished second in the majors with 796 runs.

Prince Fielder was a popular target for Tigers fans after he produced nothing in the postseason. But despite having one of his worst offensive seasons, he still hit 25 home runs and knocked in more than 100 runs in the regular season.

Yes, Victor Martinez will likely knock in more than 100 runs batting behind Miguel Cabrera. But that's not the point. There is a domino effect. Martinez might match Fielder's run production in the cleanup spot, but will the new No. 5 hitter match Martinez's production from last season? Fielder's bat will be missed.

The Tigers essentially have replaced Fielder, Jhonny Peralta and Omar Infante with Nick Castellanos, Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler. The offense might be more balanced. The Tigers might get shut out less often. They might be able to scrape together runs better. But it's difficult to argue that the starting lineup is better now than it was last season.

Verdict:

Drew Smyly replaces Doug Fister in the starting rotation this season.

ROTATION

It is fair to expect Justin Verlander to have a better season in 2014 than he did in 2013. It is unfair to expect Max Scherzer to match his Cy Young season. So let's make this easy and stick to the one change that the Tigers have made in their rotation.

Doug Fister is one of the most underrated starters in the majors. Drew Smyly has excellent stuff and great potential. But will he be as good in 2014, in his first season in the majors as a starter, as Fister was in 2013? It would be a shock if he were.

Verdict:

The Detroit Tigers will rely heavily on Bruce Rondon again next season.

BULLPEN

The Tigers signed free-agent closer Joe Nathan on Wednesday, so there will be no question about who will close. Bruce Rondon will not be under the microscope during spring training. Brad Ausmus will not have to mix and match closers for the first month or so of the season. Jose Valverde will not be back.

But it's worth noting that Joaquin Benoit was a very effective closer during the regular season. The issues the Tigers had with the bullpen were with others. The supporting cast remains mostly unchanged.

The Tigers are relying heavily on Rondon, who had elbow issues at the end of the season. If Rondon is healthy and effective, he has the potential to be a solid setup man. If he gets hurt or struggles, the domino effect might be ugly.

The Tigers likely will make at least one more move this offseason to bolster the bullpen, but by all indications, they will leave the eighth and ninth to Rondon and Nathan. That means the Tigers will be seeking a middle reliever or two, which won't drastically change the overall look of the bullpen.

Expect the bullpen to feature Nathan, Rondon, Al Alburquerque, Ian Krol and Phil Coke. Luke Putkonen likely has the best shot at earning one of the two remaining spots, while guys like Evan Reed, Melvin Mercedes, Luis Marte and Jose Ortega could be in the mix depending on what other moves Dombrowski makes.

Verdict:

Shortstop Jose Iglesias will anchor an improved infield defense for the Detroit Tigers next season.

DEFENSE

This is the most obvious area of improvement. The Tigers should be better at every position on the infield.

Miguel Cabrera is better at first than Fielder. Nick Castellanos is not a great defensive third baseman, but neither was Cabrera, especially when injuries slowed him late in the season. A full season of Jose Iglesias will make for a major improvement at shortstop. Ian Kinsler is a plus defender at second base. At this point, the defensive alignment in the outfield remains unchanged.

Verdict:

The Detroit Tigers recently re-signed utility man Don Kelly.

BENCH

Last season, the bench for the most part consisted of Don Kelly, Brayan Pena, Ramon Santiago and Matt Tuiasosopo. At this point, it consists of Kelly, Bryan Holaday, Steve Lombardozzi and a player who is difficult to identify at this point.

Verdict:

So what does it all mean? To be fair, it will mean more in a couple months, depending on what moves the Tigers make the rest of the way.

The first step to winning the World Series, of course, is to make the playoffs. The Tigers have been huge favorites to win the Central Division the past couple years. They will not be runaway favorites in 2014. At this point, they have not made major improvements. It would be easier to argue that they have taken a step back than a step forward. The Kansas City Royals are making plenty of moves to try to close the gap. The Cleveland Indians finished one game behind the Tigers last season. Both could challenge the Tigers this season.

If the Tigers can make the playoffs in 2014 they will have a shot to win it all. Every playoff team does. The Tigers will still have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. They still have Cabrera and Martinez in the middle of a solid starting lineup. They are still a very talented team.

Dombrowski is a believer.

"I think our club has a chance to win the championship. Sure," he said. "We have a dominant closer. We have three of the best starting pitchers in baseball with a couple of other solid guys behind them. We like some other arms in our bullpen. We've got a good offensive ballclub.

"We're a little bit different, because we're a little bit more athletic than we used to be. We're going to play a little bit better defense. We may not score quite as many runs."

The Tigers made two major trades this offseason. The trade of Fielder freed up a lot of money over the long term. The trade of Fister, which was panned by many observers, freed up more money and gave the Tigers a prospect in Robbie Ray that they think very highly of.

Time will tell whether those moves were the right ones. But Dombrowski is clearly making tradeoffs at this point, trying to find a balance that helps the team win now while remaining poised to compete in the future, all while keeping the salary structure under control.

"Those perfect players that are great offensively, great defensively, run fast and sign cheaply, I don't know where they all are," Dombrowski said in reference to the challenges of building a team. "If people can give me an indication of where they all exist. So you do the best job you can of putting together a club."

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