ICroupier

Prior to his injury, Olsen was their 2nd best pitcher last year after Skubal. Once healthy and with sufficient ramp up, he's a lock for the rotation. If they can hold him back to the second half to limit his innings, one of the other guys (Ryan, Jobe) will need to move to pen so their innings can be limited.

Don't forget about Olsen in the second half. I think it will be Valdez-Melton-Ryan-Montero-Jobe. Second half, swap in Olsen for whichever of the last 3 who need innings relief and / or would help most in the pen.

I don't know how any of this works, but what are the implications for our draft comp pool if we have our own #1 pick, a Mize comp pick, a McG RoY pick? Do we get extra money to cover them? Does it mean we'd have to spend less on later rounds?

I'm not disputing the seemingly prevailing sentiment on Lee at all. I had hopes for him coming out the minors so I love to see that most believe he's legit. But as someone out of the area and bit able to watch many games and mostly following box scores, what is it about Lee that people like? His stats don't look bad by any means, but they don't jump off the page, either. So just looking for some insights from those who actually see him play.

Was at the last 2 games of the series, and some things really struck me seeing them in person: -- This is one of the worst defensive teams I've ever seen. Outside of McGonigle and Dingler, there's not a single guy who seems comfortable or a natural at their position -- This team has no identity. I get that with Skubal out that hurts, but there's not a single player, or team skill, or part of the lineup that opposing teams are concerned about or even aware of -- We need a full relief pitching overhaul. These guys are throwing batting practice out there, and I wouldn't be opposed to burning it all down and starting over

McGonigle jerseys are sold out on MLB site, and I'm taking my son (a Mets fan) to 2 games in NYC. Thinking I have to pivot to Dingler now.

The money, development resources, and reps wasted on Maeda, Paddack, Morton, Cobb and now Anderson are really bothering me. I honestly can't give Harris credit for any positives because I simply can't look past the atrocious decisions he's made regarding SP.

Baez is so bad at times. He's really hard to watch. I don't have high hopes, but I sure wish he was on a short leash this season. As others mentioned, we have McGonigle, Dingler, and Keith and then a whole lot of garbage. Roster has very little upside.

Half of the guys you listed in the "potential upside" section of your post will not see a single major league AB in 2026. I guess I could have specified I meant 2026 upside, but the topic was the state of - and upside of - the lineup in 2026. Under "big improvements", don't agree with any of those listed. Not sure why we'd expect big improvements from 28 and 29 year olds when their 2025 numbers were on par with or near the top of their career numbers. Vierling didn't play, so hard not to improve on that, but in terms of lineup impact, will he be an improvement over someone like McStinky or Baez (who would likely lose ABs to Vierling)? Maybe. Big improvement? Not likely. Under "still have another gear", I see 2 guys in Greene and Tork who should be in the "they are who they are" section. Re: Keith, I truly hope he has another gear and he's about the only guy I'm holding my breath on in terms of marked improvement.

So then what's your opinion on our lineup? Where is he wrong? What's the case for this projected starting lineup to be better than middle of the pack?

So where is he wrong? Grades: Hit: D- | Patience: C- | Power: C | Baserunning: F | Durability: D+ | Depth: A+ | vsR: D | vsL: D | Stars: 1 | Holes: 3 We had 1 starter hit over .260 last year. We were bottom 5 in the league in Ks. Dead last in SBs. The areas we performed best in, we ranked in the middle of the pack. Other teams below improved in the offseason. We didn't make a single move. We have a lineup with very little projection or upside. 6 out of 9 guys we know who they are. We need Dingler to at least maintain, and we need significant improvement from Keith and Meadows. Of those 3 things, I think 1 is likely to happen. Beyond that, maybe we get 200 ABs from McGonigle. Unlikely but maybe we get a contribution from Anderson or Lee. At best, we have a middle of the pack lineup. I believe the 18-20 range is more realistic.

ESPN has our lineup ranked 22nd. I think that's pretty spot on. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48017129/mlb-2026-ranking-baseball-best-lineups-dodgers-mets-mariners-braves-yankees-cubs

I'm not drawing meaning from these games. I drew meaning from their lack of improvement in the offseason and felt this way before spring training even started. We just now have the benefit of seeing it play out on the field.

Yes, it's only spring training. And yes, it's a small sample size. And yes, some of these guys will never see a major league roster. All the caveats. I still can't escape the fact that a team that struggled offensively through major stretches of last season did absolutely nothing to improve the offense and yet is somehow viewed as "all in" on this last season with Skubal. i think there's a 70% chance this team is a mess offensively this season. And maybe they're able to overcome that to a degree thanks to how terrible the Central is. But come playoff time, they will get smoked.

Just awful. If Harris goes this route, then I'm out on him. We need a #2 starter, not backend guys. Why would you spend precious FA dollars on the aging or injured, when you already have Anderson, Melton, Montero, and SGL? We also need a bat, so let's not throw away more money on Cobb 2.0.

If there wasn't video of it, I never would have believed that was a real Boras quote. I think Jason is correct in that Skubal told Boras something behind the scenes ("I'm staying in Detroit, so get the best deal you can from them") that broke his brain.

Completely agree

Was the "part" the hitters, pitchers and coaches?

Lordy, we wouldn't want to mess with the vibe of a team that completely **** the bed in a historic meltdown.

This is my thinking, as well. My hope is that Flaherty opts out, but I just don't see it happening, as I think he really likes it in Detroit. I'm fine with Melton as the #5, but only if we acquire a legit #2. A legit #2 is necessary no matter what else happens with the rotation and is the most important acquisition of the offseason. And yes, I have significant concerns with our offense and feel we need several upgrades there. But without a legit #2, this team isn't going anywhere. Olson is the only potential #3 on the roster, and with his return from injury, I'll be shocked if he gets 20 starts. So Mize will need to step up for part of the year (otherwise he's a #4). And I do like our depth guys - Urquidy, Montero, SGL - strictly as spot starters or back of the rotation types. We absolutely don't need to sign any #4-#5 starter types. Let's not make the Cobb mistake again.

The Mets prospects are very underwhelming. My son's a Mets fans, so I probably know more about them than any other team not the Tigers. I love McLean, but given his performance this year my guess is he's untouchable. I'm not nearly as high on Tong, Sproat, Scott is coming off injury. I'm meh on Benge, Williams is redundant with many of our MI prospects, and Clifford is the exact opposite of the type of guy we should target. I do like Reimer, but he's more a complimentary piece and not a headliner.

No chance we get that. I think we get a top 20-30 guy, a top 75-10 guy, and a couple of lottery tickets. And I'd make that trade all day. They're not re-signing him.

I LOVE this team!!!

Such a hard team to root for. Garbage hitters. Inconsistent pitchers. Too-smart-for-his-own-good manager.

Yeah, that's not what's happening at all. You're trying to assign some complex designation to something that is, in fact, the most basic, elementary issue there is. This team is filled - from top to bottom - with illiterate hitters. Guys who don't understand hitting at all. Guys who show no recognition of contact hitting, zero situational awareness, and not only no signs of progress, but rather increasing signs of regression. Coaching hasn't helped them, that's for sure. But there are professional ball players - many of them vets. The fundamental flaws they consistently display are no one's fault but their own.