For the Detroit Tigers, 2015 was a season to forget.
The pitching was abysmal and almost unwatchable at times, while the hitting sputtered and simply was not enough to make up the gap.
Detroit star Miguel Cabrera missed nearly half the season due to injury and other injuries to Alex Avila, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez hindered the Tigers.
David Price was sent away in a trade once it was clear the Tigers would not be in contention.
Seemingly everything that could have gone wrong for a team that had potential to compete in the playoffs went wrong.
But baseball is unpredictable and the Tigers could be on their way to a resurgent 2016 season.
Old faces return in good health, and new arrivals, young and old, have arrived through free agency and trades.
Headlining these acquisitions are 28-year-old outfielder Justin Upton, 22-year-old starting pitcher Daniel Norris and 34-year-old closer Francisco Rodriguez.
These new faces look to aid veteran stars Cabrera, Verlander and Ian Kinsler in shocking the MLB world this year and leading them back to glory.
The Martinezes, Victor and J.D., no relation, will play a large role in this as well, especially breakout outfielder J.D., who smacked a team-high 38 homers last season. His production and improvement were major bright spots in an otherwise lackluster 2015 campaign.
The 2016 AL Central, however, may be the best overall that it’s been in a long time.
The defending champion Kansas City Royals are the primary concern for obvious reasons.
The Cleveland Indians boast a plethora of great, young talent such as Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, Corey Kluber and Francisco Lindor.
The White Sox could also turn heads with their acquisition of all star and Tiger killer Todd Frazier and the return of playmakers Chris Sale and Jose Abreu.
But competition is nothing new to the world of baseball, and if the Tigers are the team Detroit fans believe they could be, they will find a way to sneak into the playoffs and maybe even make a run once there.
