2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[Tiger337]

8 hours ago, Shelton said:

If you view McGonigle as incapable of handling SS even for a year, such that his only reasonable path to playing time is 3B, then I agree with your conclusion (from your perspective). 

I disagree on that fundamental issue, so to me mcgonigle and Bregman have nothing to do with each other. 

Last spring we went in wondering if Tork would even make the team, and Keith had been moved to 1B (without a solution at 3B yet), so I don’t think signing Torres is a huge factor either. 

My thinking was not that McGonigle couldn't play shortstop, but that he potentially gives them a huge boost offensively to their infield while they continue to mix and match with Keith/McKinstry/Vierling/Baez.  That would give them more infield offense and depth than last year and allow them to concentrate on pitching.  However, I'd rather have Bregman and I would not worry about any of those guys getting blocked.  

[IdahoBert]

[gehringer_2]

4 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

I'm not really worried about Keith, to be honest... I think they'll find a place for him. Even in 2026 if we sign Bregman. Bregman Tork and Torres are all RH'ers... which should give Keith a day or two per week at 2B, or 3B, or 1B, or DH. Hinch will fit him in... somewhere.

I think I would put it a little differently - it's not a matter of being 'worried about Colt' for Colt's sake,  I think it's more a matter of how the team sees how much marginal value there is to spending money on a position, and that depends directly on how good they project themselves to be at the position. So I think a good GM is and should always be looking at not just what do I get for my dollars signing guy 'X' (which is the piece the fans focus mostly on - will his production be worth the dollars on an absolute scale) but how much more do I get than I already had. So there are two sides that evaluation of any FA decision. The fastest way to get better is addressing the weakest part of your team. Do they think 3B with Keith is going to be weaker than SS with Javy or CF with Meadows/Vierling? They brought Torres in because they thought the biggest hole was going to be a 2B. Tork crossed them up on that plan but I don't think their approach will have changed for that.

[1984Echoes]

You can do that if EVERY player is available...

But they're not.

There are one or two FA position players who are great fits for Detroit and specifically Harris's hitting profile.

Therefore, forget your "attack the weakest link" theory...

Just get a player or two who add the most to the Tigers and move the rest of the existing roster around to fit.

IMO.

[Shelton]

3 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

My thinking was not that McGonigle couldn't play shortstop, but that he potentially gives them a huge boost offensively to their infield while they continue to mix and match with Keith/McKinstry/Vierling/Baez.  That would give them more infield offense and depth than last year and allow them to concentrate on pitching.  However, I'd rather have Bregman and I would not worry about any of those guys getting blocked.  

Just like pitching, you can never have enough offense and defense

[Shelton]

As far as I’m concerned, McGonigle is a lock for this team and will be the starting SS. Maybe Keith is your 3B and Vierling is the RF. Just operating from there and going with the standard 4 bench players, what is your bench?

Rogers and Baez feel like locks. And for that matter Jones feels like a lock to pair with Kerry. 
 

So who is the last bench player? As of now we have McKinstry, Sweeney, Malloy, and Wenceel on the 40.  There are also the kids that just got added but leave them out of it. 
 

Wenceel would seem to provide the most value given the rest of the roster. Of course, things will change from this point. If Bregman were added then Wenceel or Vierling probably get the boot, but you could also argue that Baez is the one to go. 
 

Our first half all stars were fun, but these guys stink. 

[Tiger337]

12 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Just like pitching, you can never have enough offense and defense

True, but you can never have enough money either.  

[Graterol]

25 minutes ago, Shelton said:

As far as I’m concerned, McGonigle is a lock for this team and will be the starting SS. Maybe Keith is your 3B and Vierling is the RF. Just operating from there and going with the standard 4 bench players, what is your bench?

Rogers and Baez feel like locks. And for that matter Jones feels like a lock to pair with Kerry. 
 

So who is the last bench player? As of now we have McKinstry, Sweeney, Malloy, and Wenceel on the 40.  There are also the kids that just got added but leave them out of it. 
 

Wenceel would seem to provide the most value given the rest of the roster. Of course, things will change from this point. If Bregman were added then Wenceel or Vierling probably get the boot, but you could also argue that Baez is the one to go. 
 

Our first half all stars were fun, but these guys stink. 

Every time I do this exercise I come to the conclusion that Carpenter could/should be traded. On some level, massive platoon splits are a good thing for someone like Hinch. But Carpenter was a 1.5 WAR guy because his defense sucks and he doesn’t get on base. Add in the need to carry Jones as a platoon partner, and I don’t think this is how Harris and Hinch ideally would allocate two roster spots. Not sure you would get much for Carpenter, but I would certainly explore it.

That would also open up more ABs for Keith. Would giving Keith ABs and 1B/2B/3B/RF/DH make more sense than locking him in to one position? Would especially like a Carp trade if there was a Kim/Bregman/Polanco signing.

 

[TcFlint]

Devin Williams signs for three years with the Mets.  As expected from Scott Harris, crickets.

[Tiger337]

I'd rather be a Tigers fan than a Mets fan.  

Edited 14 hours ago by Tiger337

[Shinzaki]

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail

[papalawrence]

I'd rather be a cassowary than a shoebill stork

[gehringer_2]

10 hours ago, Shinzaki said:

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail

Whenever I hear that tune now it makes me think of Al Avila. 🤷‍♂️

[Tiger337]

25 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Whenever I hear that tune now it makes me think of Al Avila. 🤷‍♂️

Here is the Harris song:

 

[Shelton]

10 hours ago, Graterol said:

Every time I do this exercise I come to the conclusion that Carpenter could/should be traded. On some level, massive platoon splits are a good thing for someone like Hinch. But Carpenter was a 1.5 WAR guy because his defense sucks and he doesn’t get on base. Add in the need to carry Jones as a platoon partner, and I don’t think this is how Harris and Hinch ideally would allocate two roster spots. Not sure you would get much for Carpenter, but I would certainly explore it.

That would also open up more ABs for Keith. Would giving Keith ABs and 1B/2B/3B/RF/DH make more sense than locking him in to one position? Would especially like a Carp trade if there was a Kim/Bregman/Polanco signing.

 

I somewhat agree with this premise. But whoever replaces carpenter is also going to have reduced value assigned when playing DH or below average RF. Carpenter’s low-ish WAR was also due to missing a substantial chunk of time due to injury (and maybe that’s something to consider if it seems likely to recur).

Carpenter or not, I think you are still keeping Jones because of how good his bat against lefties was.
 

My main point of this was that I think there is a decent chance that we move on from McKinstry. 

[Sports_Freak]

Is Finnegan worth a $20M, 2 year contract? I say, yes please.

[RatkoVarda]

11 minutes ago, Shelton said:

My main point of this was that I think there is a decent chance that we move on from McKinstry. 

why exactly are they moving on from the Allstar/Silver Slugger award winning guy who had over 3 WAR while making peanuts, who allowed Hinch to make whatever move he wanted by playing 5 different positions?

[Tiger337]

2 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

why exactly are they moving on from the Allstar/Silver Slugger award winning guy who had over 3 WAR while making peanuts, who allowed Hinch to make whatever move he wanted by playing 5 different positions?

He's not likely to match that or even come close next year, but I agree there is no reason to move on from him.  He should still be a good role player.  

Edited 3 hours ago by Tiger337

[Sports_Freak]

11 hours ago, TcFlint said:

Devin Williams signs for three years with the Mets.  As expected from Scott Harris, crickets.

Does that mean the Mets won't sign Edwin Diaz?

[gehringer_2]

11 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

He's not likely to match that or even come close next year, but I agree there is no reason to move on from him.  He should still be a good role player.  

like all guys over 30, you are just waiting for the bat to drop off a cliff, but since it's almost impossible to guess whether that will be this season or few more seasons into the future, hope for best and have a fall back plan for the worst.

Edited 3 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Tenacious D]

40 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Is Finnegan worth a $20M, 2 year contract? I say, yes please.

If we’re gonna write a big check for a closer, I’d prefer a K artist like Diaz.

[4hzglory]

17 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

If we’re gonna write a big check for a closer, I’d prefer a K artist like Diaz.

Except Diaz would be at least double that per year and at least double the years.  Think more like $80 mil over 4 years instead of $20 mil over 2.

[chasfh]

12 hours ago, Graterol said:

Every time I do this exercise I come to the conclusion that Carpenter could/should be traded. On some level, massive platoon splits are a good thing for someone like Hinch. But Carpenter was a 1.5 WAR guy because his defense sucks and he doesn’t get on base. Add in the need to carry Jones as a platoon partner, and I don’t think this is how Harris and Hinch ideally would allocate two roster spots. Not sure you would get much for Carpenter, but I would certainly explore it.

That would also open up more ABs for Keith. Would giving Keith ABs and 1B/2B/3B/RF/DH make more sense than locking him in to one position? Would especially like a Carp trade if there was a Kim/Bregman/Polanco signing.

 

I can be talked into parting with Carpenter. His skill set is fairly narrow, and is not about to get substantially better. In fact, at age 28, it's all but certain to get worse. We might be able to trade the guy to a perennial second division team who could use his pop and aw shucks media demeanor as a way to goose interest in their flagging teams. I'm thinking Angels, Pirates, Nats, and especially Colorado. Might get a halfway decent under-utilized or close-to-big-league-ready asset in return, although not a numbered prospect. And trading Kerry does not necessarily leave us uncovered in right—between Jahmai, Wenceel, and Zach, plus now Vierling presumably coming back, we should be OK in right for another year, and most depth charts have Kerry at DH anyway. (This is all predicated on Harris not bringing in a RF asset from outside.)

The one thing I will push back on is the implication that Hinch actually likes extreme platoon splits. I can't imagine there is a manager alive who prefers a roster of platoon guys over a roster of as many regulars at as many positions as possible. It's just that Hinch is playing the hand of the imperfect roster he's been dealt, and he's very good at leaning into deploying their strengths judiciously, as opposed to trying to shoehorn eight big-platoon-split guys into everyday jobs they are ill-suited for.

[chasfh]

45 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Does that mean the Mets won't sign Edwin Diaz?

Yankees.

Duhhh.

😉

[4hzglory]

20 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

If we’re gonna write a big check for a closer, I’d prefer a K artist like Diaz.

And Finnegan's K's went way up when he came here.  They adjusted his pitch usage among other things.