Five days before the trade deadline, Dave Dombrowski sat on the bench in the visitors dugout at Fenway Park, his computer flipped open on his lap, and he talked about the most significant impending decision faced by the Tigers.
In that moment, it was about whether the franchise would decide to become sellers and trade David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria for prospects. Dombrowski’s handling of the next 120 hours underscored the integrity of his work. Although he had no contract for 2016 and apparently no indication he would be retained -- in fact, the decision to cut him loose probably had already been made, even as Dombrowski did his work at Fenway -- he made deals for young players for a Tigers future he would not share, and along the way, he betrayed nothing about his tenuous status in those trade discussions.
Now that Dombrowski is out as the team president and general manager and Al Avila is in as the new general manager, there is a new overriding question for the Tigers -- and, by extension, their fans:
What will the Detroit payroll be in the years ahead?