Stormin

You are correct. I should have used "1st round" when referring to Jung and Sweeney.

The bigger point I was trying to make is it is not all about numbers - context matters. The Tigers never planned for Sweeney to be the primary shortstop until 3 center field options were injured. The Tigers wanted Bregman, but didn't get him. The situation was further complicated when Ibanez forgot how to hit during the first half of 2025 and McKinstry became the primary 3rd baseman (except for the 47 Jung at bats). Jung and Sweeney have a career OPS over .800 at the AAA level. I have been a baseball fan for a long time and I don't recall a former #1 draft pick with a AAA OPS over .800 not getting some run at the Major League level.

Releasing Candelario and trading Joe Jimenez seemed like penny pinching money saving moves. Could have got more for Soto, but Vierling has not been bad. Maeda signing was bad, Cobb signing was horrible. Flaherty and Torres were good signings McKinstry and Finnegan trades yielded good results. Lorenzen was a good signing and the trade for Lee doesn't seem bad. Have not given or received significant value in any other trade I can remember. Giving young players the opportunity to work through ups and down, and recover from injuries, has paid off (Dingler, Perez, Mize, Tork) Sweeney/Jung were former #1 draft picks who had hit well at AAA. Sweeney had contributed to the 2024 playoff run. Jung was given a total of 47 MLB at bats in 2025. Meadows, Vierling, Perez were injured in spring training precipitating Javy's move to CF. Tigers danced too long with Bregman/Boros and maybe should have found a better third base option. The Tigers probably gave Sweeney too much run. Inexcusable? meh The Tigers have made the playoffs the last two seasons and on paper the team looks better going into 2026 than 2024 or 2025.

I am not sure how much I care what credit Harris deserves or does not deserve, as long as the Tigers keep fielding playoff contending teams and make the playoffs on a regular basis.

I do want the Tigers to extend Skubal, but I am not a fan of the Free Press article portraying the Tigers as currently mediocre and the future hopeless without Skubal (42-20 when Skubal starts and 131-131 when Skubal does not start over the last two seasons). Since 2022 nearly every position on the Tigers roster has improved (Javy was the highest WAR player in 2022). The Tigers needed Skubal and improvement at other positions to make the playoffs. If Skubal does go elsewhere, the Tigers will need development and contributions from multiple players(Turn 5 losses into 5 wins in a season) to remain a playoff contender. Jobe, Melton, maybe a healthy Olson, McGonigle, Clark, ... are on the horizon.

I am encouraged by the Tigers direction. The Tigers recent actions seem in line with the 2000 to 2022 Cardinals. Always competitive, did not worry about windows, winning season 22 out of 23 years, in the playoffs 16 out of 23 years, and almost never signed a free agent for more than 4 years. Good things can happen if a team is consistently competitive. The 2006 Cardinals were 83-78 and beat the Tigers in the World Series. I think most free agents are over hyped, over valued. Long term contracts are high risks that can set the franchise back years. In the history of baseball most players decline substantially in their mid/late 30s (barring pharmaceutical assistance). Maybe the one free agent exception is a 6 WAR player who could go into the HOF with an English D on his hat. The current Tigers roster offers realistic 1.5 to 2.0 WAR potential at every position and throughout the starting rotation (counting on addition by subtraction at SS - sorry Trey Sweeney). Does a long term, high risk free agent with a ~3.5 WAR ceiling make sense if the team can consistently develop talent internally?

I think it will be interesting to see who is playing the majority of Center Field innings come June 2026. Parker Meadows: The job seems to be his if he can hit a little. Javier Baez: He was an All Star Center Fielder last year. It may be the only potential path for Javy delivering close to contract value in 2026. Matt Vierling: I think Matt Vierling has very good 4th outfielder skills. I kind of hope his days at third base are over. I would rather see a combination of Keith, Baez, and McKinstry at third. Wenceel Perez: For me, Wenceel Perez is sneaky good. Steadily improving at the plate and in the field, 103 OPS+ last year, above average in right field last year and maybe an average center fielder. Probably the highest floor of this group. If Baez ends up playing significant center field innings, and Jones is the lefty masher, I don't know if there is room on the active roster for Parker Meadows (1 option remaining), Matt Vierling (1 option remaining), and Wenceel Perez (2 options remaining).

Food for thought McGonigle League / Age / Plate Appearances / BA / OBP / SLG / OPS A / 18-20 / 339 / .324 / .408 / .463 / .872 A+ / 19-20 / 228 / .337 / .439 / .583 / 1.021 AA / 20 / 206 / .254 / .369 / .550 / .919 AZFL / 20 / 90 / .362 / .500 / .710 / 1.210 Keith League / Age / Plate Appearances / BA / OBP / SLG / OPS A / 19 / 181 / .320 / .436 / .422 / .858 A+ / 19-20 / 292 / .264 / .339 / .467 / .806 AA / 20-21 / 276 / .325 / .391 / .585 / .977 AZFL / 20 / 80 / .344 / .463 / .541 / 1.003 AAA / 21 / 301 / .287 / .369 / .521 / .890 Probably not a popular opinion, but my gut tells me that McGonigle starts the season at AAA and the Tigers start the season with a Baez / McKinstry platooning at short. I know many say McKinstry can't repeat 2025, but the Tigers may want to keep McKinstry in the lineup on a regular basis until he proves he can't repeat the 3.2 fWAR silver slugger season.

My dog's name is Norman. I have been a Tiger fan for awhile.

Another Bregman article in the Detroit Free Press today in an attempt to rile up fans. Some Baseball Savant comparisons: Bregman: 18 HRs in 495 plate appearances, Batting Run Value 79 Percentile, Arm Strength 36 percentile, Fielding Run Value 72 percentile, Base Running Value 15 percentile Keith: 14 HRs in 468 plate appearances, Batting Run Value 53 Percentile, Arm Strength 31 percentile, Fielding Run Value 28 Percentile, Base Running Value 89 Percentile Bregman has benefited from playing home games in stadiums with a short left field porch tailored to his heavy pull swing. In Comerica Park, Bregman's and Keith's 2025 HRs per plate appearance numbers would be similar. Hopefully Keith can continue to gain back arm strength - before his injury Keith's arm strength was highly rated. Keith takes a hit in Fielding Run Value because of the number of games he played at DH in 2025 (There is a negative positional adjustment in the FRV calculation for games played at DH)

If Colt Keith's throwing arm does not get injured again, and the Tigers can stop playing musical chairs with his fielding position, I think Colt will be fine at third base. He is an above average athlete - his base running value on baseball savant is in the 89 percentile. He is not a Castellanos, Malloy, or Jung. Colt has played the majority of his innings as a professional at third base. Colt is already an above average MLB hitter (107 OPS+) and getting better. Contrary to what media talking heads are saying, the Tigers have every reason to provide opportunities for Colt to improve over the next 7 years on a team friendly contract - as opposed to paying Bregman $200 million and watch the 30 something decline over the next 7 years.

Numbers from Forbes Business of Baseball Article (The Business Of Baseball - Full List) Current Franchise Value is 22 of 30 Teams ($1.55 Billion) 2025 Revenue 25 out of 30 Teams ($320 Million) 2025 Operating Income + $30 Million Total Operating Income from 2016 to 2025 - $11 Million Payroll Ranking from Cot's Cot's Baseball Contracts Detroit Tigers | Cot's Baseball Contracts 2026 40 man Roster Payroll Projection 15 out of 30 Teams: $161.3 Million (~ $94 million in free agent contracts) Chris Ilitch is not perfect, but there are much worse owners in MLB. Mike Ilitch was a fan's dream owner and I don't know if Detroit will ever have another owner like him.

Who claims Malloy? Royals, Twins, or Guardians?

Agree on Beck. He is good. Reporters I can't stand are the ones in the business of creating news as opposed to reporting news. Classic Example: Buster Olney makes a comment that negotiations between Bregman and Tigers may have become "Nasty" because Harris (and Hinch) said the Tigers can win without Bregman. Several other reporters pick this up and say the Tigers will struggle to sign Skubal because he is also a Boras client. No first hand sources, no insider information, just reporters reporting on the opinions of other reporters. A certain Detroit Free Press writer comes to mind ...

Peak trade value for a prospect seems to often be right before they are put on an active MLB roster. If a highly rated prospect does struggle initially, the team is almost obligated to keep him on the 40 man roster for a while and try and let him figure is out because the trade value drops substantially (Jace Jung, Coby Mayo, ..).

1972 Phillies were (29-13) when Steve Carlton pitched and (30-84) when he didn't. 1974 Tigers were (37-22) when John Hiller pitched and (35-68) when he didn't. Hiller had a (17-14) W L record, was 13 for 13 on save opportunities, pitched anywhere from 0.1 to 7.2 innings in a game on his way to accumulating 150 innings. Sorry for being a stat geek. Couldn't help myself.

Should the Tigers keep all their prospects and hope that a certain percentage become good MLB players? This seems to be the Tigers current direction. or Should the Tigers keep the prospects with the contact skills they desire (McGonigle and Clark) and trade away prospects with higher swing and miss while their stock is high (Briceno, Rainer, Liranzo)?

I give Harris credit for having the patience to let younger players develop. A year ago, many people wanted Christian Walker to be signed and Tork to get kicked to the curb - glad that didn't happen. Similarly many were ready to give up on Mize - now I wonder if the Tigers should extend Mize before he has another good season and the price tag goes up. Dingler has gone through alot of ups and downs. I think the only two free agent signings Harris has made that even approach upper level are Flaherty and Torres. Harris did well with these two signings. Getting high level FA signings wrong can set the team back years. Harris has spent significant $ on mid level free agents - a market that is high risk. Hope Harris spends less $ on mid level free agents in the future. As far as trades, has Harris made a real trade? Tigers have not got much in return but they haven't given much away either. If Finnegan is the best trade acquisition, he was non tendered at the end of 2024 so ...

If the return is Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, and Jake Rogers (Return for JV) or DL Hall, Joey Ortiz, and a draft pick (Brewers return for Corbin Burns), no Thank you. Or maybe Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Drew Thorpe, Rangy Vasquez, and one good year of Michael King for Trent Grisham and Juan Soto? Prospect deals are crap shoots. It is not uncommon that a haul of prospects ends up being maybe one average MLB player. If Chris Ilitch learned anything from his father, I hope it is that "fans come to see the stars." Tarik Skubal is the only real star the Tigers have right now. Every game he pitches, for the rest of his career in Detroit, will have above average attendance. A 1.0 to 2.0 war MLB left handed starter is getting over $20 million AAV these days. I think Skubal has at least a few above average seasons ahead of him. When it comes to trades, free agent contracts, and Tigers in 2026, the lowest risk projection might be that Skubal will have another good year and help the Tigers compete in 2026. That is why I won't be upset even if the Tigers ride it out, and just let Skubal pitch in 2026.

I give Chris Ilitch most of the credit for hiring Hinch. Avila was already on thin ice. Ilitch told him to find a "Scotty Bowman" type candidate and Hinch was the obvious and only choice. When AJ was hired he said: “I'd like to thank Chris Ilitch and Al Avila" and when Harris was hired I suspect Harris was told AJ is you manager. Back to the original question, yes I think the Tigers will pay Skubal. The Tigers have $60 million in free agent contracts coming off the books after the 2026 season and $34 million coming off the books after the 2027 season. Trading a future HOF player, in his prime, who wants to stay in Detroit, for prospects and 30 something past prime players does not make sense.