2024 - 2025 Detroit Tigers Offseason

[Tenacious D]

5 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

Not sure how Santander is a fit here.

Would rather spend that money on pitching.

If you sign Santander, you’re committing to Jung/Vierling platoon at 3B.  He’d be in the RF/DH mix.

[Motor City Sonics]

4 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

they are still woefully thin at SS. Harris must address the position. Kim may be worth the risk at some price point + years.

Sweeney - a complete question mark, who has performed the opposite of the conventional wisdom surrounding him (supposed to have a sure bat and would likely move to 3b)

McKinstry - fine as your 13th position player, as he can fake at SS for 20 games a season, but he is a LH bat like Sweeney

Baez - generously estimating there is a 10% chance he gets 50 ABs in Detroit before he is released.

Kreidler - not a ML hitter

Navigato - really?

Navigato - the surprise that nobody talks about.    But he's a Super Utility Guy more than an everyday SS, but don't sleep on this guy.      I would be more interested to see Navigato get a first chance than Kreidler getting a 5th chance. 

 

[monkeytargets39]

1 hour ago, Tenacious D said:

If you sign Santander, you’re committing to Jung/Vierling platoon at 3B.  He’d be in the RF/DH mix.

I guess you’d do:

vs RHP

C- Rogers/Dingler

1B- Keith

2B- Torres

SS- Sweeney

3B- Jung

LF- Greene

CF- Meadows

RF- Santander

DH- Carpenter

vs LHP

C- Rogers

1B- Keith/Ibanez

2B- Torres

SS- Baez

 3B-  Vierling

LF- Greene

CF- Meadows

RF- Santander

DH- Whichever of Tork/Malloy makes the team

So you’d basically be dropping one of Tork or Malloy, but then also McKinstry and Wenceel.  Or Jung starts in Toledo and McKinstry platoons 3B with Vierling?

Santander being an every day RFer would really reduce the platoon options that Hinch likes to use

These would both be improved lineups offensively, but I really want to see Perez, Malloy and Jung be a part of the team.  

Edited December 30, 2024 by monkeytargets39

[Edman85]

His numbers aren't good, but I've been blown away when I see him pitch. Rangers DFA'ed Grant Anderson, and I would consider kicking the tires there, even if 40 man roster spots are a bit more scarce than they used to be.

[Tenacious D]

32 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

His numbers aren't good, but I've been blown away when I see him pitch. Rangers DFA'ed Grant Anderson, and I would consider kicking the tires there, even if 40 man roster spots are a bit more scarce than they used to be.

Call Harris on your hotline 📞 

[papalawrence]

From what I am reading, right now Bregman is linked to Det and Boston. While Detroit's roster seems to be a better fit (Devers at 3rd), the green monster must be appealing to Alex.

[Tigermojo]

Sounds like the Tigers have not met with Sasaki.

[Tiger337]

9 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

Sounds like the Tigers have not met with Sasaki.

Harris said they are preparing to meet with him.  

Or maybe he meant they were making a pitch to get a chance to meet him.  

Once good thing is that he looking for a team that is very good at developing pitchers.  

Edited December 31, 2024 by Tiger337

[buddha]

32 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Harris said they are preparing to meet with him.  

Or maybe he meant they were making a pitch to get a chance to meet him.  

Once good thing is that he looking for a team that is very good at developing pitchers.  

i think that's lip service.  all the teams he supposedly has on his list are glamour teams that someone who looks at mlb from afar would think are quality clubs: dodgers, mets, yankees, giants, cubs.  throw in the west coast clubs and you get an idea where he's going.

like you, i thought that if he was ACTUALLY concerned about development he would consider a club like detroit, but i would be shocked if that,'s the case.

i suspect he ends up in new york or california because those are the destinations that foreigners see as "the best."  i equate it to soccer, players see the big clubs like barca and madrid as status symbols for having "made it big."  they think the same in baseball.

counterpoint" shohei ends up with the ANGELS, lol.

but i still have hope that youre right and he ultimately does consider the upstart club from the rust belt with a recent history of developing pitchers.  heck, we can even guarantee that we'll deal him to a major market in 3 years!   just give us a shot!

[Tiger337]

19 minutes ago, buddha said:

i think that's lip service.  all the teams he supposedly has on his list are glamour teams that someone who looks at mlb from afar would think are quality clubs: dodgers, mets, yankees, giants, cubs.  throw in the west coast clubs and you get an idea where he's going.

like you, i thought that if he was ACTUALLY concerned about development he would consider a club like detroit, but i would be shocked if that,'s the case.

i suspect he ends up in new york or california because those are the destinations that foreigners see as "the best."  i equate it to soccer, players see the big clubs like barca and madrid as status symbols for having "made it big."  they think the same in baseball.

counterpoint" shohei ends up with the ANGELS, lol.

but i still have hope that youre right and he ultimately does consider the upstart club from the rust belt with a recent history of developing pitchers.  heck, we can even guarantee that we'll deal him to a major market in 3 years!   just give us a shot!

I don't expect the Tigers to get him, but he sounds like a smart guy.  He is apparently giving teams "homework assignments" to learn about how they think.  I don't think he'll necessarily go for only the glamour teams, but there are a lot of smart teams now and they'll all have slick presentations, so the Tigers probably won't be able differentiate themselves from other teams very easily.  

I think the only heavily pursued player they might get is Bregman.   

Edited December 31, 2024 by Tiger337

[Edman85]

What kind of prospect capital are people willing to part with to acquire the cap space to get Sasaki... assuming a majority of the bonus pool is spoken for between Rodriguez and others.

[Tiger337]

7 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

What kind of prospect capital are people willing to part with to acquire the cap space to get Sasaki... assuming a majority of the bonus pool is spoken for between Rodriguez and others.

Why don't you tell us how it works.  I think this is an area which a lot of us don't understand a lot about.   I understand that teams can only spend so much on international players, but I don't know the details.  Are the Tigers currently in a position which puts thm at a disadvantage compared to oher teams?  What kind of prospects would they have to lose in order to get Sasaki?    

[papalawrence]

I believe the Tigers are currently tied for most money in their international pool. You can trade players to teams for part of their pool, to add on. So right now they can offer as much as any team.

His agent is saying a lot, but I have to believe LAD or SD get him. He's a big fan of Yamamoto and Ohtani, and close friends with Darvish and closer distance for Japanese press to travel. And recently he was seen wearing a Dodgers hat

[Edman85]

9 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Why don't you tell us how it works.  I think this is an area which a lot of us don't understand a lot about.   I understand that teams can only spend so much on international players, but I don't know the details.  Are the Tigers currently in a position which puts thm at a disadvantage compared to oher teams?  What kind of prospects would they have to lose in order to get Sasaki?    

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-international-signing-bonus-pools-for-each-mlb-team/

Every team gets a set bonus pool. The top two pool amounts are tied to the opposite of the previous year's competitive balance picks. Teams who picked in the second round of the balance picks get the highest pool the next international pool (this is a relic of the international period starting in July and trying to stagger that benefit). Teams that lose a draft pick (in the 2023-24 offseason) also lose some money as well. The Tigers are in the highest pool.

• Tigers (and others): $7,550,000
• 2024 Draft Comp A: $6,908,600
• All others: $6,261,600
• Astros (Josh Hader), Cardinals (Sonny Gray): $5,646,200
• Giants (Blake Snell and Matt Chapman), Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani): $5,146,200

Back in 2012-16, you could go over and pay a tax on that. You cannot do that any more. Contracts under $10,000 do not count. You can acquire up to 60% of that money in trades. The Tigers have an agreement with one of the top pics in this class (Cris Rodriguez), who is likely taking up about half of this. The Angels and Mariners made a bunch of trades leading up to Ohtani's posting to free up space. Those trades aren't always logged as such in the transactions logs. If you are going to move space around, you will either have to reneg on contracts resulting in long term damage, or make some trades to acquire that $4.35M in cap space. Bear in mind the Mariners in 2017. They moved money around, Ohtani didn't sign with them, and they were left holding the bag.

 

 

[Tiger337]

9 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-international-signing-bonus-pools-for-each-mlb-team/

Every team gets a set bonus pool. The top two pool amounts are tied to the opposite of the previous year's competitive balance picks. Teams who picked in the second round of the balance picks get the highest pool the next international pool (this is a relic of the international period starting in July and trying to stagger that benefit). Teams that lose a draft pick (in the 2023-24 offseason) also lose some money as well. The Tigers are in the highest pool.

• Tigers (and others): $7,550,000
• 2024 Draft Comp A: $6,908,600
• All others: $6,261,600
• Astros (Josh Hader), Cardinals (Sonny Gray): $5,646,200
• Giants (Blake Snell and Matt Chapman), Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani): $5,146,200

Back in 2012-16, you could go over and pay a tax on that. You cannot do that any more. Contracts under $10,000 do not count. You can acquire up to 60% of that money in trades. The Tigers have an agreement with one of the top pics in this class (Cris Rodriguez), who is likely taking up about half of this. The Angels and Mariners made a bunch of trades leading up to Ohtani's posting to free up space. Those trades aren't always logged as such in the transactions logs. If you are going to move space around, you will either have to reneg on contracts resulting in long term damage, or make some trades to acquire that $4.35M in cap space. Bear in mind the Mariners in 2017. They moved money around, Ohtani didn't sign with them, and they were left holding the bag.

 

 

Thank you.  So, if some team wanted to make a bid for Sasaki, they would have to move money around BEFORE signing him and then they might not get him.  So, I would say that he is worth that risk, but only if they are pretty confident they'll sign him.  

[1984Echoes]

Would anyone trade a Tork+ package for Bo Bichette? (Plus being I'm not certain what else it would take)

OR: Alternatively... if anyone has an interest in Bo Bichette... what would you trade to land him...?

[chasfh]

On 12/29/2024 at 6:06 PM, gehringer_2 said:

Not to mention if you want to talk to Miguel you have a much better chance of getting through in Spanish. Petzold hable espanol?

Spanish, English, or Pig Latin, I think if Miggy were really, truly involved with the team and he were named in an article as welcoming a player, he would have consented to be interviewed about it. After all, his purported welcoming is the subject of the article.

[chasfh]

13 hours ago, papalawrence said:

From what I am reading, right now Bregman is linked to Det and Boston. While Detroit's roster seems to be a better fit (Devers at 3rd), the green monster must be appealing to Alex.

I think Bregman would take somewhat less money to go to Fenway. I also think if he agrees to Detroit, he’ll do so only if he has an escape clause.

[chasfh]

11 hours ago, buddha said:

counterpoint" shohei ends up with the ANGELS, lol.

 

Because the Angels were the one team who committed to allowing him to be a two-way player.

And maybe Disneyland, who knows.

[RatkoVarda]

42 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

Would anyone trade a Tork+ package for Bo Bichette? (Plus being I'm not certain what else it would take)

OR: Alternatively... if anyone has an interest in Bo Bichette... what would you trade to land him...?

yes to Bo; no to Tork. they are committed to Vlad at 1B, so Tork is worth little to most teams and very, very little to Tor.

really hard to match up with Tor as Bo coming off his worst year and multiple injuries

Toronto needs to make playoffs or everyone is out at the end of the season, so any trade needs to be for ML players who can help them reach WC.

sounds like they are hopeful they can sign Vlad, but know Bo is leaving, so maybe?

Jung is the start, but what to add? Jung + Vierling is too much IMO for just 1 sure year of Bo

[Edman85]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Thank you.  So, if some team wanted to make a bid for Sasaki, they would have to move money around BEFORE signing him and then they might not get him.  So, I would say that he is worth that risk, but only if they are pretty confident they'll sign him.  

Worth noting the Mariners sold off some of the pool money after not getting him and got some useful pieces.

I guess this is to say, if a team is trading players for pool money come January 15, it's likely a sign they think they have a chance.

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

I think Bregman would take somewhat less money to go to Fenway. I also think if he agrees to Detroit, he’ll do so only if he has an escape clause.

Why would he need an escape clause for Detroit, but not Boston?  If he doesn't hit in Detroit, he's not going to opt out because he'd be better off staying with the contract.  He would only opt out if he hit well and thought he could get a better contract.  

Edited December 31, 2024 by Tiger337

[monkeytargets39]

I’m so confident that we won’t get Sasaki that if we do, I’ll watch all 162 White Sox games next year.

[Sports_Freak]

1 minute ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I’m so confident that we won’t get Sasaki that if we do, I’ll watch all 162 White Sox games next year.

Sleep well......😆

[chasfh]

40 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Why would he need an escape clause for Detroit, but not Boston?  If he doesn't hit in Detroit, he's not going to opt out because he'd be better off staying with the contract.  He would only opt out if he hit well and thought he could get a better contract.  

I didn't say he would need an escape clause to go to Detroit but not to Boston. I said only that if he agrees to Detroit, he’ll do so only if he has an escape clause.