DETROIT -- No, Thanksgiving isn’t until next week, but enough questions about the Tigers offseason came in last week that we’re serving up leftovers for this week’s Inbox. Re-heat and enjoy!

The unofficial timetable with the Tigers has been that they’ll have the payroll space to start pursuing higher-level free agents again next offseason. Jordan Zimmermann's contract will be done at that point, as will the payments to the Texas Rangers for Prince Fielder’s contract, leaving Miguel Cabrera's $30 million salary as the only guaranteed money on the books for 2021 and beyond. That doesn’t mean that the Tigers will look for a franchise-changing deal like the Ivan Rodriguez signing was for them 16 years ago, but they should at least have the flexibility to sign more than placeholders.

Bird -- who was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Wednesday -- is an intriguing option for the Tigers. But, like many teams, they have to figure out what the lefty-hitting first baseman has left after shoulder and foot injuries. He has 140 games of negative-WAR production over three years since his impressive stretch in 2015, but he’s still young, having just turned 27 on Nov. 9. As an arbitration-eligible player who made $1.2 million last season, Bird also comes with the potential of two years of control on a one-year contract, as did Mike Fiers and Leonys Martin in '18. The flip side is that even if Bird does get his game together, the trade market tends to be limited for first basemen, aside from Paul Goldschmidt last winter.

Michael Fulmer is still on a path to return at some point next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in March. The Tigers still plan to be cautious with him, which is why they’re expected to build up some starting pitching depth for early in the season. Whenever Fulmer does come back, the rest of his season will be about getting back on the mound and into a pitching routine, setting up hopefully a normal '21 season.

As for Franklin Perez, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Even when he has been able to get healthy, he has struggled to stay healthy.

A former MLB manager would probably be ideal for them, but those types of hires are tough to make for Triple-A jobs. They were fortunate to hire Lloyd McClendon for the job ahead of the 2016 season. Part of the reason for the delay this time around is that there are still Major League teams filling out their coaching staffs, and the Pirates still don’t have a manager yet. Once those get sorted out, then you’ll probably see the Tigers move to make a hire for Toledo.

Not true. The only time in recent memory the Tigers haven’t had a TigerFest is when they were doing renovations to Comerica Park. The Tigers have traditionally held it on the last Saturday in January. In 2020, that falls on Jan. 25, and though the Tigers haven’t officially announced anything, I would expect that to be the date for TigerFest this time around.