The Detroit Tigers are working on a long term deal for Justin Verlander?

I suspect trading away Granderson and Jackson was done in large part to get Verlander signed. The Tigers clear a ton of salary off the books after next year and signing Verlander long term has to be their #1 priority. It appears they realize they need to build a team based on pitching and defense with a couple of big bats (kinda the Cardinals way of doing things) because of the ballpark they play in and the fact they have some very talented young pitchers both in the bigs and in the system. They will get it done...the bar is set with Seattle signing Felix Hernandez so Verlander knows where he fits contract wise, and so do the Tigers. Expect a done deal before they go to spring training...both sides want a deal done so there is little that could get in the way.