Tenacious D

During the Michigan Gubernatorial debate this week, Big Gretch did promise to fix the “damn fence,” so that has to be encouraging if she’s re-elected.

Have the fences really prevented that? I know it freaked out Nick, but have there been other comments reported?

do you think the changes in player development can help existing players in the organization, or will we really see the impact in future draft classes? I did see some promising developments, with guys like Meadows and Perez, and nice debuts from the 2021 group (i.e, Madden and Smith). Is that a result of some of the Los Angeles Dodgers guys that were brought in last season?

I was looking at Jeremy Pena, the Astros SS, who had a nice rookie season and has been a postseason hero. He was selected in the 3rd round in 2018, many picks after we selected Parker Meadows and Kody Clemens. Was it a smart pick, or were they just really good at developing him? I suspect it's both.

the point I was making about the Pudge and Ordonez signings was that they had very limited options at the time, as I believe Correa will too (for different reasons). I hope that isn't lost on anyone--don't make me unleash the full wrath of Jim Cowan on all of you.

I'll do it with you. Everyone tells me I have a face for Podcasts.

of the teams you listed, I think the Cubs are viable. The Yankees could have tried to sign Correa last season and didn't--I think they believe either Poraza or Volpe will work there, allowing them to apply resources elsewhere. Perhaps the Phillies--maybe less likely if they win the WS, but I would not put it past Dombrowski. I really don't care if we sign Correa or not--I just want to upgrade SS, and realize we'll likely need to do it via free agency as we have few tradable assets (which would only create other holes). I think his relationship with Hinch would work in our favor, but I don't see him excluding us from consideration based on last season's record.

Gage also has 15 K's in 37 AB's--worse than his 40% K rate at Erie. The tools are there, and he is young for the league, so hopefully he can learn some plate discipline to make him more viable. On a positive note, Colt Keith is raking down there, Joey Wentz has a 0.00 ERA in 3 starts and Parker Meadows, while not hitting for high average, has a low K rate, which is encouraging.

I don't disagree with this--Chafin is a great example, as he wanted to be close to Ohio. I seriously doubt that Correa circled Minneapolis on the map and said, "I really want to be there." It came down to his best, and likely, only option. If Correa's market this offseason is very different than last year's, he might take other things into consideration. I don't think his prospects will be that much improved, if at all. He's again in a crowded class of elite free agent shortstops, and there really aren't a lot of teams in need of one, depending on where everyone lands.

actually, what started all of this was your assertion that Correa would not come to Detroit given their recent performance. Which I disagree with--again, if he faces similar limited opportunities as he did last offseason, and the Tigers are willing to make the commitment and investment he is looking for, I believe we are a very viable option for him. Not dissimilar to the situations that both Pudge and Ordonez were in when they both signed.

I’m sure it factors in, unless you meant for Jim Cowan to respond.

to clarify, Jim Cowan always speaks for me. He has my unconditional proxy on all of my personal affairs, including responding here. I do believe that Correa will/would sign with the Tigers if given the most attractive contract offer. I also believe we are one of a few teams in a position to provide that to him, and have the need. Most of the traditional big spenders don't have a need at SS. Now, if any of the teams with free agent SS's (i.e., Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves), prefer Correa and pivot to him, I think we would be in the mix for the displaced SS (i.e., Swanson, Turner, Boegarts). I also believe that no one, including Correa, would be short-sighted enough to get hung up on last season's performance. A savvy agent and/or player would recognize that this is a team trying to win--we increased our payroll last season and made some very progressive hires at manager and in the front office. Further, anyone with any reasonable intelligence would look at the Tigers and recognize that the team had a ton of bad luck in '22. All bets are off, though, if a player prefers a different geography. Given that Correa signed in Minneapolis, which has a similar climate to Detroit, it shouldn't be an issue, though it was clear he had no other viable options last offseason. My point is that geography and/or perceptions of the market might factor in, but I don't think our W-L record last season will matter.

This. Twins offered the best deal (and helped him save face).

You could have ended your sentence after contract.

Why 5 years? He may require a 7-8 year deal, and at his age, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. He’s going to go to whoever will give him the best contract.

The difference is that there was no market for Correa last year. Maybe it will be different for him this year, but he’s in another good SS free agent class.

I wish some of you guys would do a Tigers Podcast. There really isn’t a good one out there.

What positions do we attempt to upgrade? C, 2B, 3B and LF are the opportunities. C—I’d be surprised if we go big here. Haase, Jake Rogers and a Garneau-type outsider will likely be in the mix. 2B—I think this is solved by getting a new SS and sliding Baez over. LF—likely achieved through free agency (Benintendi or Nimmo)? Either would become our lead off hitter. 3B—could be one of Candy or Schoop, or someone outside the org. Likely every option would be a stopgap.

If the Yankees and Giants are interested, the Detroit tax would make signing him prohibitive.

if he is viewed as a detriment, I hope he's not going anywhere near any players.

I see Schoop and Candy as fairly redundant--both will make ~$7M next season, but we're only on the hook for Jonathan. $7M might not seem like much, but if it actually makes a difference relative to other players we want to add (free agents, bad contracts), then cutting Candy loose and applying his salary is fine by me.

I'll get excited when I hear that Chadd is no longer with the org.

where I might be different from others here, is that I expect the next two seasons to be awful. that's why I'm open to this solution, though I'd rather we ship him to the Yankees to take on Donaldson's contract with an elite prospect.

At this point, I'd be OK with rolling the dice on moving Schoop to 3B next season if we can't come up with a better option. He's already signed and will be without a position next year, once we acquire a real SS and move Baez to 2B. For consideration, the Yankees will need to desperately cut payroll to attempt to keep Judge next season. If we could get one of their better prospects, I think it might be worth taking on Josh Donaldson and the remaining year on his crappy contract. The Yankees would probably throw some money into the mix, too, like we did with Verlander. He seems like a bit of a douche, but that's OK for one season if we can get a very good prospect as part of the deal. This is why this offseason will be fun to watch--with few tradable assets, it will be interesting to see how innovative Harris will get.

Last game as a Yankee? I don’t see how they can sign him with their current payroll. SF Giants next season? If Mr. I were still alive, I would have put the Tigers in the mix.