DETROIT -- Tigers general manager Al Avila walked into a thinned out Detroit clubhouse and quietly explained why he decided to stand pat when the 4 p.m. Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline passed.
The results of that decision will start to play out Tuesday night (6 pregame, 7:10 first pitch on FOX Sports Detroit) when Detroit hosts the also relatively quiet Chicago White Sox in the middle segment of a nine-game homestand.
James Shields (5-12, 4.68 ERA overall, 3-5, 5.17 ERA with the White Sox) will start for Chicago against Detroit's Anibal Sanchez (5-11, 6.56 ERA) in a rematch of a series two weekends back that saw the White Sox stun the Tigers with a pair of walk-off wins July 24 that included a start by Sanchez.
Avila had warned folks not to expect anything "sexy" from Detroit as the trade deadline drew near and was more expansive Sunday after Detroit completed a three-game sweep of Houston.
He reiterated the Tigers biggest boost will come when pitchers Jordan Zimmerman (neck) and Daniel Norris (right oblique), along with right fielder J.D. Martinez (elbow), return from the disabled list. All three could be back this week.
It was the cost of doing business that kept Detroit off the market.
For major help, teams were asking Detroit for Michael Fulmer, Norris and Matt Boyd. Any major move the Tigers could have made, Avila said, "would have set us back five years" in terms of player development.
Avila zeroed in on some of the pitching Tampa Bay offered, but was told up front "you don't have enough" to offer.
There was a lot of noise about Chicago shedding players in favor of a rebuild, but apparently the White Sox have put that off until the winter.
Over the weekend, Chicago traded southpaw Zach Duke to St. Louis for minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson, 23, a left-handed hitter with some speed who immediately was slotted among the top White Sox prospects. He was batting .282 with four home runs, 34 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Lefties Chris Sale and Jose Quintana remain with the club despite almost daily rumors they would be dealt for a flock of prospects.
Sale was supposed to pitch against Detroit little more than a week ago but was suspended when he cut up throwback uniforms in a tizzy over comfort and corporate promotions.
Detroit took the first two games of that four-game set, but the third game was suspended by rain. When it resumed, Chicago quickly walked off with a win and then came back in the regularly scheduled game to win in walk-off fashion again.
Shields was the losing pitcher in the first game of that series, a rain-shortened, seven-inning 2-1 affair in which he gave up a pair of solo home runs to Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera.
This will be Shields' 11th start for the White Sox, matching the number he made for San Diego. He is 3-3 with a 1.71 ERA over his last six starts.
Sanchez's record for 16 starts is 3-10 with a 7.13 ERA. He lost his spot in the rotation with a string of disastrous outings early in the season and pitched relatively well in low-pressure relief outings. He was returned to the rotation, however, when Zimmermann and Norris were sidelined by injury in early July.
Norris could have been slotted in favor of Sanchez because his last rehab appearance was last Thursday, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus apparently wants him pitching against the New York Mets this weekend.
