Monday, November 02

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DETROIT -- The question about free agency has become an offseason ritual for Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris. It came up again when Harris had his end-of-season press conference.

“We're not building through free agency. I've been very consistent on this point since the day I got here,” Harris said. “We are building through development. We are participating in free agency, and we always will participate in free agency. But that is meant to, and it's designed to, supplement the core that we are developing.”

Under Harris, the Tigers have been strategic about dipping into free agency. Aside from last winter’s three-year contract with Framber Valdez and their pursuit of Alex Bregman a couple offseasons ago, Detroit has focused on short-term deals to plug holes. Some, like Jack Flaherty and Gleyber Torres, turned into multi-year stays. Others were here and gone. In most cases, they’ve filled gaps where their farm system hasn’t produced a ready internal option.

As the Tigers prepare for a unique market and a lineup full of homegrown players, there’s every reason to believe they’ll stick with that trend.

“At positions where we think we don't have a player coming that we think is going to develop into a better player than we can reasonably acquire in free agency, then we're going to go out in free agency,” Harris said.

“Whatever we do this winter, we're not going to block our young players. I think the volume of young players we have and what they've done at the big league level is notable. If we can find a free agent to supplement what they are doing and to proactively correct the vulnerability in our roster, we're going to do it. And I think that's going to be the calculus every single winter.”

This might be the free-agent market to fit their style. It’s not deep on star power after two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but it has options to fill holes on short-term deals.

So where could the Tigers use help this offseason?

Infield

The Tigers haven’t pinned Kevin McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee or Colt Keith to one everyday position. Beyond lineup flexibility, they’re using their versatility to leave room for a potential addition. It’s not just about adding another bat. One of the themes from Harris’ end-of-season remarks was that the infield defense, which struggled out of the gate, improved at midseason and sputtered down the stretch, needs to support their pitching better. 

McGonigle rated better at third base than shortstop by defensive runs saved (+8 vs. +2), though the metrics were more even on Statcast (minus-2 outs above average at third, minus-1 at shortstop). Javier Báez finished at +1 outs above average at shortstop, but turns 34 next month and was useful in a superutility role. The Tigers already made one move for a defense-first shortstop by trading for Tsung-Che Cheng last week. The free-agent shortstop market is thin, but if the Tigers wanted a stopgap on a short-term deal, would a solid defender like Mauricio Dubón (who also plays outfield) or Ha-Seong Kim (who has battled injuries the past two years) make sense?

If the Tigers opt to add at second base instead, as they did two years ago with Torres, Jazz Chisolm Jr. could be a bounceback candidate coming off a career high in stolen bases but a lower-than-usual OPS.

Righty outfield bat

The Tigers have a solid outfield trio with Riley Greene, Max Clark and Kerry Carpenter, but all are left-handed hitters, as is top prospect Zyhir Hope and superutility player Zach McKinstry. They called up Ben Malgeri at midseason for a right-handed bat, and used Báez around the outfield in spots. Matt Vierling has filled the role the past few years, but he has had two rough, injury-plagued seasons since his 16-homer, 2.8-bWAR year in 2024. 

Randy Arozarena is a back-to-back All-Star coming off a career-best 5.7 bWAR season, but it’s hard to see the Tigers committing a long-term deal to an everyday outfielder and potentially blocking Hope. A platoon specialist like Randal Grichuk, who posted a 1.025 OPS off southpaws and a key cog for the White Sox, might be more of a fit. A versatile player like Dubón could fit in the mold of Andy Ibáñez or Jahmai Jones, but with better defense.

Starting pitching

The Tigers finished the season with a solid quartet of young starters in Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton, River Ryan and Keider Montero, plus Drew Anderson if Detroit picks up his contract option. But even in years when the Tigers have had a good group, they’ve usually tried to add depth with a veteran starter on a short-term deal (Justin Verlander), sometimes a pitcher looking for a bounceback (Flaherty, Michael Lorenzen). A reunion with Skubal seems difficult, but would a Casey Mize reunion make sense coming off a struggling stretch run in San Diego?

Relief pitching

The Tigers have to decide on Kenley Jansen’s $12 million contract option by Monday, but their bullpen could see changes either way. The free-agent closer market isn’t deep after David Bednar, whom the Tigers had interest in at the 2025 Trade Deadline, and Raisel Iglesias. Could a more versatile, high-strikeout setup arm like right-hander Bryan Abreu or left-hander Adrian Morejon be a fit? Or can Detroit duplicate its success with sneaky pickups Jacob Waguespack (technically a trade acquisition in June) and Tyler Kinley?

Dillon Dingler joined Ivan Rodriguez, Lance Parrish and Bill Freehan as Tigers catchers with back-to-back Gold Glove Awards, earning his second straight honor Sunday night. Dingler was a force all season, starting with his plus-17 fielding run value that well outpaced the rest of MLB and easily topped his plus-12 value from last year. He led the Majors in catcher framing runs at plus-9, according to Statcast, up from plus-7 last year. His three catcher blocking runs tied for second, and his 11 blocks above average tied for fourth.

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