So that’s how you cut payroll. Last year the big names for Detroit at baseball’s Winter Meetings were Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, with Edgar Renteria acquired in a trade just beforehand. All-stars all.

This year it’s Gerald Laird and Adam Everett. It confirms the end of Detroit’s short-lived attempt at a Murderer’s Row lineup.

Farewell to five-time All-Star Edgar Renteria; godspeed to perennial All-Star and former AL MVP Pudge Rodriguez. Bon voyage to Renteria’s $9 million 2008 salary; au revior to Pudge’s $13 million.

Hello to Everett, the new shortstop, and Laird, the new catcher. Their names are less glossy. They are much, much cheaper than their predecessors: Everett, who will turn 32 this offseason, is signed for $1 million and Laird, 29, will likely get about $2 million in arbitration. There are reasons for this: Everett doesn’t hit well and he’s been hurt the last two years. Laird fares just a little better at the plate, and while, like Pudge, he’s made his name as a Texas Ranger, his resume isn’t in Pudge’s stratosphere.

But what these new guys can do is play defense. Lee at Tiger Tales calls Everett the best defensive SS in the game from 2003-2007. The case for Laird is a little less dramatic but still promising. At shortstop, Everett’s expert glove was so much better than Renteria’s in 2006 and 2007 that he represented an upgrade of 20-25 runs allowed in each of those seasons.

And on offense, remember that we’re contrasting Everett and Laird with the present-day Renteria and Pudge, not their reputations.

At shortstop, the hitting dropoff from Renteria to Everett won’t be nearly as dramatic as the one from Carlos Guillen to Renteria: Renteria’s .699 OPS in 2008 pales in comparison to Guillen’s numbers as the Tigers’ shortstop from 2004-07, when you could pencil Guillen in for an OPS around .900. Everett’s career OPS, in contrast, is .653, just 46 points behind Renteria. (The flip side of this line of thinking is that the two-year dropoff from Guillen to Everett is pretty depressing.) [Note: OPS, on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, is the Mitten's preferred hitting stat. Learn all about it.]

At catcher, the light-hitting Laird had an OPS of .727 last season. That’s better than Pudge’s 2007 season and in line with all of Pudge’s work in Detroit except for his terrific .893 Tigers debut in 2004. (Brandon Inge, for the record, has a career .695 OPS.)

So, best case, the Tigers are looking at a significant defensive upgrade and a wash on offense. Last winter, Detroit’s lineup looked terrifying on paper. Now it’s much less scary, but it could be equally effective.

Here’s the outlook: Laird could be a long-term fixture; Everett is a stopgap until minor leaguers Cale Iorg and Danny Worth are ready for the bigs. Short-term, the Tigers have now addressed two big needs at a cost of minus-$19 million compared to 2008. And lest you think this means Mike Ilitch has ordered the Tigers to start budgeting like a small market team, word on the street is that the Tigers are parlaying their savings into an opportunity to go after a top closer like Kerry Wood or J.J. Putz.

I like these moves. The Tigers addressed their needs with solid defensive players who came with affordable pricetags. And considering Dave Dombrowski’s tradition of taking chances on guys with troublesome injury histories, it seems like destiny that Detroit will sign Wood or Putz.

If that happens, there are just a few question marks standing between the Tigers and the World Series: whether new pitching coach Rick Knapp can bring the Twins’ magic to Detroit; whether Dontrelle Willis can find the strike zone; whether Jeremy Bonderman can heal and take his game to the next level; whether Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson can regain their old form; whether Fernando Rodney can be less erratic; whether Joel Zumaya can recapture his fastball and avoid freak injury; whether Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen can stay healthy and effective; and whether Everett is really over the injuries that cost him most of last season.

Um.

On second thought, let’s just be hopeful about these moves and thankful for Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco.