Tigers Hire Scott Harris as President of Baseball Operations

[sabretooth]

3 hours ago, chasfh said:

Based on my understanding of the public information we all have, I agree with a few things in your post. For one, I agree that Baby Doc is a more hands-off owner than Pap Doc was, so he’s unlikely to force something silly like another 8/300 extension for Miggy. I also agree that obtaining impact free agents, as opposed to stopgap free agents, is something we can benefit from right away even if we believe this is not the year to contend. And I agree that even if they don’t make a move this winter, they can cobble together 70-75 wins assuming all the luck levels out on bouncing balls, injuries, and the like.

I don’t agree that Miggy’s contract will be bought out and that he’ll be given the gate. Not only will a significant portion of revenue-producing fans object to that, I think a lot of the players, the Latin players in particular, may take a bad message from him being basically banished from the clubhouse. They may not play him, but I do think they’ll find either roster spot or an IL spot for him which will keep him in the dugout during games. So I think we can plan on zero wins from him, as opposed to -1 or -2, in 2023.

As for who’s going to stay and who’s going to go … I need to think on that some. I think Brieske, Hill, Cisneros, Hutchinson, and Alexander might all be gone. Norris too, of course. On the bat side I see both Castros, Reyes, and of course, Tucker being shown the door. Maybe there will be more, I don’t know. But my impression of Scott Harris is that he will not be sparing when it comes to making decisions on who to cut and replace.

My projection is based on Miggy either being gone or being here for 250 PAs or less, either way, not a starter, so I didnt rate his impact as an individual above, but rather as a member of the bench group.  I hope that he is no worse than zero give or take, by virtue of not being overused too much.

My stand-pat projection also doesnt take into account who specifically they are going to keep/play on the bench, just that whoever constitutes the bench group will likely, as a group, amount to zero WAR give-or-take, which is typical for a losing team.

[sabretooth]

2 hours ago, casimir said:

 

In a toss between Reyes and Cameron as 4th OF..... what's behind door number 3?

Yeah, whatever they do I sure dont want to see Reyes starting again.  Lee was always right about this guy, there is no "there" there.

[chasfh]

3 hours ago, sabretooth said:

My projection is based on Miggy either being gone or being here for 250 PAs or less, either way, not a starter, so I didnt rate his impact as an individual above, but rather as a member of the bench group.  I hope that he is no worse than zero give or take, by virtue of not being overused too much.

My stand-pat projection also doesnt take into account who specifically they are going to keep/play on the bench, just that whoever constitutes the bench group will likely, as a group, amount to zero WAR give-or-take, which is typical for a losing team.

I know this is probably weird, but one of the things I am excited to see is whom Scott Harris will shitcan this winter. Almost as much as whom we will pick up to replace them. I think I might be disappointed if more than half the guys I named were on the 40-man next April. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by chasfh

[sabretooth]

2 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I know this is probably weird, but one of the things I am excited to see is whom Scott Harris will shitcan this winter. Almost as much as whom we will pick up to replace them. I think I might be disappointed if more than half the guys I named were on the 40-man next April. 

I dunno, I dont think that any of these guys individually are the problem if they are in a proper support role. 

Any or all of the pitchers you mentioned can go. 

I dont mind if they have one of the Castros on the bench, as long as neither are starting.

[Tenacious D]

30 minutes ago, sabretooth said:

I dunno, I dont think that any of these guys individually are the problem if they are in a proper support role. 

Any or all of the pitchers you mentioned can go. 

I dont mind if they have one of the Castros on the bench, as long as neither are starting.

Agree—unfortunately, the Castro Boys have been better options than others.

[chasfh]

1 minute ago, Tenacious D said:

Agree—unfortunately, the Castro Boys have been better options than others.

Tallest m*****s in the circus. 

[gehringer_2]

3 hours ago, sabretooth said:

Yeah, whatever they do I sure dont want to see Reyes starting again.  Lee was always right about this guy, there is no "there" there.

Reyes with 300AB. It took a lot of things conspiring together to get him that many. If Greene or Meadows is healthy all season, if Baddoo didn't crash and have to go back to AAA, if Grossman had hit any RHP, if Daz and/or Hill hadn't fallen on their faces, he'd likely have less, or even be gone already. Probalby don't need to worry that all that will repeat to his benefit again.

[Tigermojo]

How often do teams turn over half of their roster? I can't see giving up team control over young guys.

[sabretooth]

51 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Tallest m*****s in the circus. 

Pretty much

[mtutiger]

12 hours ago, Tigermojo said:

How often do teams turn over half of their roster? I can't see giving up team control over young guys.

There will be a lot of churn on the 40 man roster, but I doubt it hits the Brieske or Alexander's of the world unless it happens via trade.

[casimir]

32 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

There will be a lot of churn on the 40 man roster, but I doubt it hits the Brieske or Alexander's of the world unless it happens via trade.

Yeah, with all of the pitchers that found themselves on the 40 out of necessity and with the guys on the 60 day IL that will need to be reinstated, plus the players hitting the rule 5 eligibility, the Tigers probably have some moves to be made.

[gehringer_2]

Harris wants players to believe they can get better if they come to Detroit. TBF, the Tigers are already decently positioned in their pitching development to be on their way there. The $64 question is whether he can build exactly what the Tigers seem to be missing, which is some kind of hitting instruction/support system that works.

[oblong]

Tigers are 5-1 since Harris was signed.

 

 

[sabretooth]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

Harris wants players to believe they can get better if they come to Detroit. TBF, the Tigers are already decently positioned in their pitching development to be on their way there. The $64 question is whether he can build exactly what the Tigers seem to be missing, which is some kind of hitting instruction/support system that works.

It seems that Hinch and Fetters wild success with the bullpen would be attractive to relievers who need to revive or improve themselves.

I think you're right that it's only "decent" so far because we haven't seen a successful development pipeline, especially for starters. 

Hinch and Fetters have so far done amazing work plugging guys in to fill 162 starts this year, but there aren't any developmental success stories on the starting pitching side to-date, Turnbull's promising developments last year, and Skubal's excellent first couple of months of 2022 notwithstanding. 

Manning is starting to look promising, Mize was doing OK before he blew out his arm, and if you squint at Wentz you can see something, but otherwise for 2023 it's all AAAA guys with mediocre stuff and peripherals.

The younger prospects like Flores and Madden who are a couple of years away would hopefully bear the fruits of improved development techniques.

Seems to this uneducated viewer that the next phase of development has to be to figure out how to maintain healthier arms.  I have no idea whether pitchers who might come here would care about the injuries here (probably not, it seems to be a problem league-wide), but if a team could be viewed as a place where you can improve and succeed **and** they have a better way to keep you healthy and on the mound, I would think that would be at least a modest plus factor in recruiting and signing Free Agents in addition to the $$$.

Edited September 26, 2022 by sabretooth

[bobrob2004]

17 minutes ago, oblong said:

Tigers are 5-1 since Harris was signed.

 

 

Hinch just needed a better GM to be a better manager.

[Stanley70]

Rather than "finding a right handed hitting outfielder" this off season will be devoted to finding undervalued talent. If they wind up with 3 decent corner left handed hitting corner outfielders outfielders, fine, they will trade one.  When they have a team that looks like they can win in the playoffs that mindset might change a bit, but for now they need talent obviously.

That will start with having a front office that knows how to find those players. So Chadd and Plies should be placed on a catapult and ejected from Comerica.

[1984Echoes]

Is Kelenic an undervalued talent/ target?

[1984Echoes]

I would look to some young MLB players like him who haven't solved MLB yet, on either side of the ball... and go after them.

Greene & Tork fit that definition. But hoping they can break out in 2023 and get off that list... Not interested in trading them.

Next Question: Would another team take a chance on a comeback by Candy or Schoop and trade for them? Should we trade those guys on that basis... that another team is taking that chance? Do we ask for a guy like Kelenic back for them? Both sides would then be taking the same chance: a comeback to prior expectations. With Candy & Schoop having more track record and Kelenic/ similar having more "potential".

[Tiger337]

5 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Harris wants players to believe they can get better if they come to Detroit. TBF, the Tigers are already decently positioned in their pitching development to be on their way there. The $64 question is whether he can build exactly what the Tigers seem to be missing, which is some kind of hitting instruction/support system that works.

They also need to figure out whether the pitching injuries are bad luck or whether they are doing something wrong.  

[alex]

1 hour ago, 1984Echoes said:

I would look to some young MLB players like him who haven't solved MLB yet, on either side of the ball... and go after them.

Greene & Tork fit that definition. But hoping they can break out in 2023 and get off that list... Not interested in trading them.

Next Question: Would another team take a chance on a comeback by Candy or Schoop and trade for them? Should we trade those guys on that basis... that another team is taking that chance? Do we ask for a guy like Kelenic back for them? Both sides would then be taking the same chance: a comeback to prior expectations. With Candy & Schoop having more track record and Kelenic/ similar having more "potential".

IMHO, Seattle would need more than one or both those players for Kelenic. I think because he was so highly rated prior and could/should still come around and that he costs next to nothing at this time are two good reasons for a higher demand.

With said I am all for going after him. It would probably take a P prospect or two added to a package of either or both of the previous mentioned players. Regardless if we have a mostly LH outfield or not next season that could be 'balanced' out a bit with more with RH Inf's.

I think a young player like Kelenic and another 'established bat' or two might be a good strategy to follow for position players this off season.

[gehringer_2]

3 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

They also need to figure out whether the pitching injuries are bad luck or whether they are doing something wrong.  

True dat.

[IdahoBert]

9 hours ago, oblong said:

Tigers are 5-1 since Harris was signed.

 

 

It all starts at the top.

[Cruzer1]

20 hours ago, oblong said:

Tigers are 5-1 since Harris was signed.

 

 

Hinch said when he talked to him on the day he was hired, he told Harris that he had already fixed the Tigers since they won big that day.

[casimir]

I'm not buying it as anything more than a mirage until we see some polo shirts.

[oblong]

I didn't hear Harris refer to "our ballclub" in his press conference neither did I hear the words "happy" or "quality".