DETROIT — Scott Harris sat inside Comerica Park’s service level Monday morning and wrestled with the same emotions his players expressed less than 48 hours before.
“I’m still struggling to reconcile the gut punch that we felt on Saturday with what was a wildly successful season for this whole organization,” Harris said.
“Getting your heart ripped out on one of the biggest stages in our game is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a curse for all the obvious reasons, but it’s a blessing because it means you’re playing for something. It means the last game of the season really matters. It means this is a winning group that had an incredible chance to be the last team standing at the end of the year. That’s a change for this organization.”
That change will carry over to this offseason, where the Tigers trek into the fall and winter in a much different state. Harris and the Tigers now stand face to face with another blessing and curse: Expectations.
Entering the team’s biggest offseason in years, and a period that could be definitive in Harris’ tenure as president of baseball operations, here are the biggest takeaways from the Tigers’ end-of-season news conference.
Seeking a right-handed upgrade
The Tigers went 2-for-23 with runners in scoring position in Games 4 and 5 of the ALDS. Given that the Tigers ranked 29th in the regular season with a .300 on-base percentage, it’s encouraging that the Tigers had that many runners on base in the first place. Sometimes the baseball gods grant you a single that falls and drives in two. Sometimes they don’t. But the Tigers’ lack of timely hits in the postseason also reflects a bigger issue that contributed to their postseason demise: Talented as parts of this young core are, the Tigers still lack thump. They ranked 19th in runs, 24th in home runs and 24th in OPS.
Even under Harris’ “dominate the strike zone” mantra, the Tigers ranked 20th in walk rate and had the league’s eighth-highest strikeout rate. The 2021 Tigers offense scored more regular-season runs than this year’s team.
Much of that volatility was to be expected given the team’s youth. After Aug. 13, the Tigers had a 104 wRC+, which signifies their improvement throughout the year. So after a thrilling and successful season, this one question will be the biggest focus all winter: How can the Tigers solidify themselves as an above-average offense?
“Regardless of what we do this winter,” Harris said, “the majority of our growth has to come from within. … That’s not to say there won’t be external additions. There will be external additions. I don’t know exactly what position they are going to come (at) yet because it’s been 48 hours since we played.”
The one addition Harris talked about in specific terms: a right-handed bat. Harris mentioned the usefulness of Matt Vierling, who can play both third base and the outfield, in giving the Tigers flexibility to sign either an infielder or outfielder.
“I think positionally, we got a little left-handed toward the end of the year,” he said. “I think we could use a right-handed bat to balance us out.”
The Spencer Torkelson conundrum
The Tigers have an obvious need at the corner positions. Tigers first basemen were worth a cumulative 0.7 bWAR this season. At third base, they were worth 0.6. At least one of those spots seems due for a significant upgrade. It’s unclear what the Tigers will do regarding first baseman Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 who has a career .693 OPS in 1,469 regular-season plate appearances.
“I think Tork is one of several players who needs to have a big offseason this year,” Harris said. “It’s no secret that Tork had a turbulent year.”
Harris maintained faith in Torkelson having a “promising future” but also acknowledged first base as an area where the Tigers “need to improve overall production.” If the Tigers were to add a first baseman, the high-end targets could be Pete Alonso or Christian Walker. The low end could include 31-year-old Rhys Hoskins, 38-year-old Carlos Santana or 39-year-old Justin Turner.
Will the Tigers actually be in on big free agents?
At third, the Tigers could run back a platoon featuring the likes of Vierling (.735 OPS) and left-handed hitter Jace Jung, who had a .362 OBP in his first 94 MLB plate appearances. This offseason may tell us what the Tigers really think of Jung, who could also be an intriguing piece if the Tigers were to seek a creative trade.
Harris has been rather clear in signaling he doesn’t love free agency as a primary source of roster building (and he’s not wrong) but it’s also hard to resist the temptation to get in on the Alex Bregman sweepstakes. Success doesn’t always come cheap.
In addition to Bregman’s ties with A.J. Hinch, he could bring proven leadership and winning experience and is coming off an age-30 season in which he was worth 4.1 fWAR. But the days of the Tigers being a luxury tax team like they were under Mike Ilitch aren’t coming back. It’s also worth noting the Tigers face uncertainty regarding their TV deal, something that has played a serious role in spending limitations for other teams.
Harris didn’t discuss the TV factor Monday but did field multiple questions about payroll. The inference here: Rather than chasing the big names, it’s possible the Tigers could get more creative or seek trades to round out their roster.
“I understand that dollars spent is the most convenient measure of activity in a given offseason,” Harris said. “It’s not really how we think about it. We don’t chase payroll thresholds, we chase talent.”
Javier Báez: “There’s a role for him on this team”
The dark cloud looming over all this: What will the Tigers do with Javier Báez? Badly as Trey Sweeney struggled in the postseason, he showed enough to suggest he could handle primary duties at shortstop against right-handed pitching. Báez has three years and $73 million left on his deal, and so far the Tigers have not hinted at any intention to buy him out despite the fact he has been among the game’s very worst offensive players over the past two seasons.
Harris is in a difficult situation with a contract he inherited.
“As far as Javy, there’s a role for him on this team,” Harris said. “I just talked about needing a right-handed bat to balance out our infield that is increasingly left-handed. Javy is right-handed and he has performed as well as any shortstop in the game in periods in his career.”
Báez had hip surgery in early September and was present with the team for the ALDS. Harris said the Tigers expect Báez to participate in spring training and “have a fighting chance to be ready for Opening Day.”
Harris expressed hope for Báez if he can swing closer to the way he once did with his hip issues mended. But realistically, any expectations for Báez should be tempered. A platoon where Báez plays as little as possible may be the Tigers’ most realistic scenario.
“He’s got to get a lot better this offseason to demonstrate that he can make our infield better,” Harris said, “but there’s no reason to suggest that he won’t have a role on this team if he comes out of surgery feeling like he can rotate the way he used to when he was performing among the best players in the game. And he certainly fits the framework of our infield right now.”
What does next season’s rotation look like?
The Tigers made pitching chaos cool, so will they even attempt to construct a traditional five-man rotation?
Next year’s Tigers will return Tarik Skubal and Reese Olson as starters. Jackson Jobe should spend most of the year, if not all of it, in the rotation. After that, returning players such as Keider Montero have rotation cases, and it will be fascinating to see how the Tigers handle Casey Mize and Matt Manning, former cornerstones of the rebuild who have had varying degrees of struggles. Ty Madden and many others serve as depth that will help the Tigers next year.
“I don’t know that we’re going to do (modified bullpen games) as regularly as we did down the stretch,” Harris said, “because I think we have some really interesting starting pitching prospects that are coming up, including Jackson (Jobe). They have a real chance to be a traditional starter for us. So I think that’s TBD.”
Chances are the Tigers will pursue another traditional starter via free agency. If that’s not Jack Flaherty himself, they may seek another short-term free agent in the Flaherty mold. The success of Flaherty in 2024 and Michael Lorenzen in 2023 should make the Tigers an attractive destination for pitchers this winter.
It’s also unclear what role the Tigers expect for Kenta Maeda next season, but it sure sounds as if he will be back. Maeda is due $10 million in 2025 after posting a 6.09 ERA in 2024. Harris said the Tigers “could have done a better job of preparing him for the season last year.” They will talk with Maeda in exit interviews about altering his offseason plan in hopes of getting improved performance in Maeda’s age-37 season.
“There’s absolutely a place for him on this team,” Harris said, “and he has demonstrated that he can help very successful big-league teams.”
The Tigers should also have interest in adding at least one strikeout-heavy bullpen arm to the mix. Detroit’s 3.55 bullpen ERA ranked fifth in MLB despite a strikeout rate that ranked 24th. A proven back-end option could take this bullpen from very good to truly one of the game’s best.
A Skubal extension? Who knows?
Lastly, everyone wants to know whether the Tigers have any chance of signing Tarik Skubal to a long-term extension. Skubal is under team control for two more years. The Tigers’ run to the playoffs serves as proof they can build a winner before he hits free agency. But Scott Boras represents Skubal and generally prefers his star players test the open market. So is an extension even a possibility?
Harris didn’t tip his hand regarding Skubal or any other potential extension candidates (Riley Greene, anyone?) Monday.
“I don’t think it’s constructive for me to comment on any individuals and I don’t think it’s fair to them given the sensitivity of those talks,” Harris said. “But it’s another one of those questions you want to keep getting asked because it means you have players that are really talented that want to be here and that are a big part of us winning.”
(Top photo of Javier Báez: Griffin Quinn / Getty Images)
