2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Let's say you take positional adjustment out if altogether and make WAR = OWAR + DRS.  That would be a stat which is totally based on what they do on the field.

I like that. For me it just goes back the idea that I find it nonsensical for an above average defender at any position to be considered as having cost his team runs/wins. That part is only a matter of the semantics of what the unit is called. If you are going to call it Wins above replacement, than no above average D player at any position should be rated as costing his team wins, because they didn't in any reasonable sense. He may not field like a SS, but his contribution was not negative. So if you call it something else that goes away. 😉

[Tiger337]

3 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

I like that. For me it just goes back the idea that I find it nonsensical for an above average defender at any position to be considered as having cost his team runs/wins. That part is only a matter of the semantics of what the unit is called. If you are going to call it Wins above replacement, than no above average D player at any position should be rated as costing his team wins, because they didn't in any reasonable sense. He may not field like a SS, but his contribution was not negative. So if you call it something else that goes away. 😉

I would have been happy to just keeping fielding separate from hitting and not trying boil everything down to one number.  If you do want to arrive at one number for a player's value though, I do think you need to consider the position they play.  If a DH goes into the Hall of Fame or wins an MVP, he should have to hit better than his peer who plays a position.  

Edited 15 hours ago by Tiger337

[gehringer_2]

44 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I would have been happy to just keeping fielding separate from hitting and not trying boil everything down to one number.  If you do want to arrive at one number for a player's value though, I do think you need to consider the position they play.  If a DH goes into the Hall of Fame or wins an MVP, he should have to hit better than his peer who plays a position.  

no arg on that.

[Edman85]

Did Longenhagen's roster crunch post make it in here?

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2025-american-league-40-man-roster-crunch-analysis/

Trevin Michael wasn't on my Rule 5 protection radar.

[4hzglory]

43 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

Did Longenhagen's roster crunch post make it in here?

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2025-american-league-40-man-roster-crunch-analysis/

Trevin Michael wasn't on my Rule 5 protection radar.

Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me at all.  And the fact that he places Lee, likely a top 125-50 overall prospect who is 22 and played a full season at AAA behind Cruz is crazy to me.  I do think Cruz has a chance to be selected, but losing Lee for nothing would be significantly worse than losing Cruz for nothing IMO as Lee has a significantly higher offensive floor and upside than Cruz IMO.  Lee could still be part of a trade, but I think he absolutely needs to be protected if he isn't traded.

[Tiger337]

So, who wants to talk about Park Factors today?😃

[Edman85]

34 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

So, who wants to talk about Park Factors today?😃

I am sad I missed out on a lot of the nitty gritty talk last week. I probably won't have much nerd time until after Christmas though 😀 

[Tiger337]

42 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I am sad I missed out on a lot of the nitty gritty talk last week. I probably won't have much nerd time until after Christmas though 😀 

I don't have time either, but nerd time is a priority!

[chasfh]

WAR is replacement based and DRS is average based so that’s a mismatch. It would be closer to say WAA = oWAA + DRS. I dont know whether that would be the answer either. 

Edited 2 hours ago by chasfh

[Tiger337]

2 minutes ago, chasfh said:

WAR is replacement based and DRS is average based so that’s a mismatch. It would be closer to say WAA = oWAA + DRS. I dont know whether that would be the answer either. 

Average DRS is considered replacement level.  The reasoning is that a terrible hitter who can field his position at an average level is not hard to find.  If your starting player goes down with an injury, you can usually find a find a weak hitter who can field reasonably well.  

[gehringer_2]

53 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Average DRS is considered replacement level.  The reasoning is that a terrible hitter who can field his position at an average level is not hard to find.  If your starting player goes down with an injury, you can usually find a find a weak hitter who can field reasonably well.  

It's a funny thing though, it certainly is true that good fielders are a dime a dozen compared to good hitters, but just because that is true, we (well at least 'I'..😉) tend to think they should be more common than they are -- so I'm always a bit surprised when a minor leaguer with a weak bat or a utility guy gets called up and their glove is only mediocre at best. If you don't have a big bat and can't field how do you even get to AAA? 🤷‍♂️

[Tiger337]

2 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

It's a funny thing though, it certainly is true that good fielders are a dime a dozen compared to good hitters, but just because that is true, we (well at least 'I'..😉) tend to think they should be more common than they are -- so I'm always a bit surprised when a minor leaguer with a weak bat or a utility guy gets called up and their glove is only mediocre at best. If you don't have a big bat and can't field how do you even get to AAA? 🤷‍♂️

I think we may underestimate the difference between fielding in the majors and minors.  When I see minor league games, I notice the difference in fielding between majors and minors as as much as I notice the hitting and pitching differences.  It's a whole different game in the majors.