2024 - 2025 Detroit Tigers Offseason

[romad1]

6 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

I think we have to ride the kids again to see what we have in a full season of Meadows, Jung, Sweeney, Dingler and Malloy.  Can’t bury any of them—get them 400-500 AB’s.  Could lead to an improved team, or some regression.  Lots of variability.  

External reinforcements should be at 1B, maybe OF.

Lots of kids coming fast.  Not all will make it, but we have enough depth and options.

Supplement the pitching staff.  A #2 and a solid bullpen dude.

I'd be wary of adding a lot of position player veterans unless those veterans were good cultural fits.  You can't help but notice that Javy Baez leaving the dugout signaled immediately the surge.  Is Alex Bregman that fit?  I dunno.   Spencer Torkelson would be a cultural fit if he could hit his weight.  Will that happen? I dunno.

The formula of the '84 Tigers to create a core of young players who all come up together and add via trade (Chet Lemon) and FA (Darrell Evans) those extra pieces seems more robust for our market than the 2006-2013 model of building via the checkbook and trading for pieces from the bottom of the woodpile because only a Dave Dombrowski can do that if he's backed by a hefty Mike Illitch checkbook and Scott Boros is on speed dial.

[Tiger337]

42 minutes ago, romad1 said:

I'd be wary of adding a lot of position player veterans unless those veterans were good cultural fits.  You can't help but notice that Javy Baez leaving the dugout signaled immediately the surge.  Is Alex Bregman that fit?  I dunno.   Spencer Torkelson would be a cultural fit if he could hit his weight.  Will that happen? I dunno.

The formula of the '84 Tigers to create a core of young players who all come up together and add via trade (Chet Lemon) and FA (Darrell Evans) those extra pieces seems more robust for our market than the 2006-2013 model of building via the checkbook and trading for pieces from the bottom of the woodpile because only a Dave Dombrowski can do that if he's backed by a hefty Mike Illitch checkbook and Scott Boros is on speed dial.

My impression based on everything I have read about Bregman suggests he would be a great Hinch fit.  The concern about him is a potential prohibitive contract length.  

[Tigermojo]

Only 147 days until opening day.

[ICroupier]

On 10/30/2024 at 9:09 AM, romad1 said:

a lot of playoff "lessons learned" about the Tiger kids who absolutely benefitted from the experience..  I'm not convinced that the Tiger LHH infielders were exposed at all.  In a short series a lot of things manifest that are based on scouting, matchups or just having a couple bad swings.   I'm optimistic about Trey Sweeny, Jace Jung and Colt Keith based on what i saw in the final two months of the season.   

I agree that preserving chemistry is important - and I'm not talking about wholesale changes up and down the lineup - but we should all be able to agree that there was a lot of luck involved in making it so far with a below average offense.

We finished 21st in runs per game this year. Over the last 3 years, no team that has made the CS round has finished lower than 14th - and the majority of the teams over that period finished in the top 7.

The idea that we "can't bury any of the kids" as Tenacious D proposes is the exact opposite mindset a team should take when looking to take things to the next level.

Can't bury Dingler? Seriously? He doesn't even factor into my medium- to long-term thinking, let alone my short term. And while Jung holds more promise and I'm certainly not writing him off, he hasn't displayed anything to make us think he's ready for 500 ABs.

I believe we need at least 2 significant offensive upgrades for this team to take the next step. I don't care whether that comes via FA, trade, or homegrown development. But it needs to happen. And based on what I saw from Sweeney, Tork, Jung, Dingler, JHM, etc., I don't think any can be counted on a significant step forward next year.

[SoCalTiger]

On 10/31/2024 at 4:34 AM, Tiger337 said:

My impression based on everything I have read about Bregman suggests he would be a great Hinch fit.  The concern about him is a potential prohibitive contract length.  

Big NO for me on Bregman. too much $$$ and I agree the years will be too many. 

[1776]

On 10/31/2024 at 11:52 AM, Tigermojo said:

Only 147 days until opening day.

I reached out to the Lakeland office the other day. They plan to put the spring training single game tickets on sale in December-exact date undetermined as of now. 

[Tigermojo]

1 minute ago, 1776 said:

I reached out to the Lakeland office the other day. They plan to put the spring training single game tickets on sale in December-exact date undetermined as of now. 

I went to check out the field once but it wasn't during spring training or the minor league season. Beautiful complex though.

[monkeytargets39]

I think some of you are being a bit dismissive of the rookies as though they aren’t going to take what they’ve learned this year and improve heading into next year.

 

A lot of quick triggers on here just assuming that Jung/Sweeney/Perez/JHM/Dingler are only ever going to provide what they did this year.  I’d much rather ride with that group again and instead invest in the pitching staff.  
 

if you were expecting a lineup that was 50% rookies every night to be in the top half of the league in offensive numbers, then I assume you also expected a run of 8 straight World Series runs once they collectively all reached their primes.

 

Its exciting that the Tigers had a great year this year, but we have to exercise some patience and some faith in the coaching staff to elevate them more as they grow.

[Tenacious D]

20 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I think some of you are being a bit dismissive of the rookies as though they aren’t going to take what they’ve learned this year and improve heading into next year.

 

A lot of quick triggers on here just assuming that Jung/Sweeney/Perez/JHM/Dingler are only ever going to provide what they did this year.  I’d much rather ride with that group again and instead invest in the pitching staff.  
 

if you were expecting a lineup that was 50% rookies every night to be in the top half of the league in offensive numbers, then I assume you also expected a run of 8 straight World Series runs once they collectively all reached their primes.

 

Its exciting that the Tigers had a great year this year, but we have to exercise some patience and some faith in the coaching staff to elevate them more as they grow.

Completely agree—to suggest that Jung or Dingler aren’t any good based on less than 100 AB’s in MLB is stoopid. They might not pan out, but we don’t know it yet. Bailing on Tork, or at least having a contingency at 1B, makes sense.

 

[IdahoBert]

14 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I think some of you are being a bit dismissive of the rookies as though they aren’t going to take what they’ve learned this year and improve heading into next year.

 

A lot of quick triggers on here just assuming that Jung/Sweeney/Perez/JHM/Dingler are only ever going to provide what they did this year.  I’d much rather ride with that group again and instead invest in the pitching staff.  
 

if you were expecting a lineup that was 50% rookies every night to be in the top half of the league in offensive numbers, then I assume you also expected a run of 8 straight World Series runs once they collectively all reached their primes.

 

Its exciting that the Tigers had a great year this year, but we have to exercise some patience and some faith in the coaching staff to elevate them more as they grow.

I bow to you. Great post. John Smoltz didn’t have a great first year in the 12 games he pitched for the Braves either. Had a 5.48 ERA and a 2–7 record and gave up 10 home runs in something like 60 innings. I bet Atlanta is glad they didn’t give up on him. I think it’s a bit early to pull the plug on some of our young rookies who didn’t appear to be finished products when they were thrown into the fire. 

[Tenacious D]

9 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

I bow to you. Great post. John Smoltz didn’t have a great first year in the 12 games he pitched for the Braves either. Had a 5.48 ERA and a 2–7 record and gave up 10 home runs in something like 60 innings. I bet Atlanta is glad they didn’t give up on him. I think it’s a bit early to pull the plug on some of our young rookies who didn’t appear to be finished products when they were thrown into the fire. 

We won 86 games with about a dozen rookies on the roster.

[Tigermojo]

32 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I think some of you are being a bit dismissive of the rookies as though they aren’t going to take what they’ve learned this year and improve heading into next year.

 

A lot of quick triggers on here just assuming that Jung/Sweeney/Perez/JHM/Dingler are only ever going to provide what they did this year.  I’d much rather ride with that group again and instead invest in the pitching staff.  
 

if you were expecting a lineup that was 50% rookies every night to be in the top half of the league in offensive numbers, then I assume you also expected a run of 8 straight World Series runs once they collectively all reached their primes.

 

Its exciting that the Tigers had a great year this year, but we have to exercise some patience and some faith in the coaching staff to elevate them more as they grow.

What we post here really doesn't matter. Ultimately, Harris determines the course of the team and he's not going to give up on young talent. He's obviously focused on aquiring young talent so all those guys will be on the roster unless they are traded. We can dream here because it's fun but he has a serious job to do and I've had my doubts in the past but now he seems very capable of fielding the best 40 man roster possible.

[IdahoBert]

Has Soto signed yet?

[RatkoVarda]

they were just above average offsensively during their 2 month sprint

no one really knows if they are in store for a regression, will produce the same, or are about to explode in what would be a remarkable player development success story

if some of Tork, Jung, Sweeney, Perez, Malloy and Dingler join Green, Meadows, Carpenter and Keith as consistently productive major leaguers - that's going to be great

but logic dictates not all of them will make it and some might regress

he has not made a BIG TRADE yet, but all of Harris' trades have been good, and it's possible some might turn out great - so I would be confident in the return if he made an impactful trade in addition to spending money for impactful bat

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

they were just above average offsensively during their 2 month sprint

no one really knows if they are in store for a regression, will produce the same, or are about to explode in what would be a remarkable player development success story

if some of Tork, Jung, Sweeney, Perez, Malloy and Dingler join Green, Meadows, Carpenter and Keith as consistently productive major leaguers - that's going to be great

but logic dictates not all of them will make it and some might regress

he has not made a BIG TRADE yet, but all of Harris' trades have been good, and it's possible some might turn out great - so I would be confident in the return if he made an impactful trade in addition to spending money for impactful bat

At one point the scouting on Sweeney was 'can't miss bat - won't stay at short'.  I thought he looked OK at short as far as it went - we can hope scouts weren't wrong on both counts.

Like Malloy, though to a lesser degree, Jung's MiLB OPS had a big walk component  - but not a particularly high average hitter, so you always have to wonder if that is going to translate. In Jace's short stint in the majors the BB rate was good (better than Malloys even). If he keeps that up his OBP might make him valuable until he develops more ISO. However I haven't been impressed with him as 3B. I hope he comes up with better D if they are going to leave him there.

Edited November 2, 2024 by gehringer_2

[RandyMarsh]

Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres declined his player option and is now a FA.  Could be a potential target for the Tigers, he's a right handed bat that can play all over the infield and will only be 29 next season.

[Tiger337]

Ha-Seong Kim is the Korean Tony Phillips!  He is definitely someone I'd like to see the Tigers pursue.  

[casimir]

3 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres declined his player option and is now a FA.  Could be a potential target for the Tigers, he's a right handed bat that can play all over the infield and will only be 29 next season.

I think he’d be a great fit.  He might not have the power, but his right handed bat and his defensive versatility (SS included) would be a welcome addition to the team.

[casimir]

On 11/1/2024 at 4:08 PM, IdahoBert said:

Has Soto signed yet?

He’s waiting to see what Maybin gets.

[RatkoVarda]

Kim had surgery on his throwing shoulder, might be out until May (June?). insanely risky to sign a guy long term whose value relies so much on his defense coming off a shoulder injury,

but could be an opportunity there

[Tiger337]

7 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

Kim had surgery on his throwing shoulder, might be out until May (June?). insanely risky to sign a guy long term whose value relies so much on his defense coming off a shoulder injury,

but could be an opportunity there

Without the injury, he'd be one of the elite free agents on the market and I think the Tigers would not get involved in that.  With the injury, perhaps they can get him on a shorter-term deal.   

[casimir]

14 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

Kim had surgery on his throwing shoulder, might be out until May (June?). insanely risky to sign a guy long term whose value relies so much on his defense coming off a shoulder injury,

but could be an opportunity there

I didn’t realize he was out that long.  But as far as the opportunity goes, they have Baez and maybe that’s the grace period they give him next season.  One or two months, if he’s still lost at the plate, Kim steps into that roster spot?  I don’t know.

[casimir]

9 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Without the injury, he'd be one of the elite free agents on the market and I think the Tigers would not get involved in that.  With the injury, perhaps they can get him on a shorter-term deal.   

Do you think he’d be considered elite?  I suspect he might have been an under the radar guy with all of the attention given to Soto and Bregman.

[IdahoBert]

Are there any one-armed, peg-legged infielders who can get on base who’re coming off the disabled list mid-year that would come to Detroit and be within our budget constraints?

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

Do you think he’d be considered elite?  I suspect he might have been an under the radar guy with all of the attention given to Soto and Bregman.

I think he's under the radar because he moves around so much, but he's been really good - gets on base, runs well and is a strong defender.  The only thing missing is power.  He is also two years younger than Bregman.  If he didn't get injured, I think he would atract more attention than Bregman.