2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[Tiger337]

Riley Greene may be down to one tool in a couple of years.  

Edited yesterday at 03:34 AM by Tiger337

[Edman85]

8 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Lol- It's not like Christin Stewart had "Fail" tattooed on his forehead at UT. He still looked like a pretty good pick up through high A. You'd like to believe your system can tell those things before a guy has ever come close to seeing MLB pitching, but it's not always that easy. 

You probably can fault the Tigers for hanging on to him too long after it had become clear his bat wasn't going to play in the majors though.

I need to find @microline133 's old scouting reports where he had it pegged that Stewart couldn't catch up to velocity.

[microline133]

32 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I need to find @microline133 's old scouting reports where he had it pegged that Stewart couldn't catch up to velocity.

I sat on back-to-back series when he was with Erie and he didn't make contact in anything over 92, if memory serves. It wasn't particularly close either. That report was less than flattering when I wrote it up and I heard it from the org when it was published.

[casimir]

10 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Riley Greene may be down to one tool in a couple of years.  

If the Tigers were looking to shop someone for prospects, Greene might be the best that the Tigers can offer in order to bring back talent.  I wouldn’t want any part of extending him beyond his controllable years.

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, microline133 said:

I sat on back-to-back series when he was with Erie and he didn't make contact in anything over 92, if memory serves. It wasn't particularly close either. That report was less than flattering when I wrote it up and I heard it from the org when it was published.

was  Erie still A+ then? By the numbers the big production drop was going to AA so if you were seeing it at A+ he really wasn't close!

Edited yesterday at 03:03 PM by gehringer_2

[microline133]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

was  Erie still A+ then? By the numbers the big production drop was going to AA so if you were seeing it at A+ he really wasn't close!

No, it was AA.

[1984Echoes]

14 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Lol- It's not like Christin Stewart had "Fail" tattooed on his forehead at UT. He still looked like a pretty good pick up through high A. You'd like to believe your system can tell those things before a guy has ever come close to seeing MLB pitching, but it's not always that easy. 

You probably can fault the Tigers for hanging on to him too long after it had become clear his bat wasn't going to play in the majors though.

IIRC...

Stewart had no speed, no arm, and no glove. 

Not much of a hit tool... weak 40 or 45, IIRC.

But he had some power. 

And that was before he was drafted. That's not a "fail" tattooed on his forehead...

But...

Yeah...

I hope Harris can tell the difference.

[Tenacious D]

4 hours ago, casimir said:

If the Tigers were looking to shop someone for prospects, Greene might be the best that the Tigers can offer in order to bring back talent.  I wouldn’t want any part of extending him beyond his controllable years.

Greene is only 25.  We’d be trading for more Riley’s that we hope could hit 30 HR’s

[Edman85]

4 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

was  Erie still A+ then? By the numbers the big production drop was going to AA so if you were seeing it at A+ he really wasn't close!

Erie was never A+

[casimir]

57 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

Greene is only 25.  We’d be trading for more Riley’s that we hope could hit 30 HR’s

I have a feeling he’s going to age not gracefully.  I’m certainly no expert.  I just think his value won’t be higher given his age, production, and contract.  They could find another corner OF if need be, maybe even in the same deal.

I’ll admit this is probably contrary to my opinion of keeping Skubal and getting into the playoffs this season.  But I think it’d be easier to replace Greene’s production than it would be to replace Skubal’s production.

[SoCalTiger]

2 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

IIRC...

Stewart had no speed, no arm, and no glove. 

Not much of a hit tool... weak 40 or 45, IIRC.

But he had some power. 

And that was before he was drafted. That's not a "fail" tattooed on his forehead...

But...

Yeah...

I hope Harris can tell the difference.

Or watch Jace Jung hit like Carl Yaztremski in college and "see" it won't work in the majors and therefore draft the shortstop Neto who was the very next pick by the Angels after Al took "Yaz". Or just take the shortstop over the second baseman. 

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

Or watch Jace Jung hit like Carl Yaztremski in college and "see" it won't work in the majors and therefore draft the shortstop Neto who was the very next pick by the Angels after Al took "Yaz". Or just take the shortstop over the second baseman. 

It seems like Harris's preference is high school 5-tool guys that take some time to develop... But have the higher upside.

With a focus on MUST have a high hit tool to recognize pitches and strikes (command the zone) as a priority... and power to develop as however it may (low or high... hit seems more important than power, but he's not searching for zero power guys either, it seems, at least in the earliest rounds...).

That doesn't mean he won't trade for a "professional hitter" type like JHM or draft a Max Anderson... even if they don't have a glove... but those appear to be secondary options not his 1st option. And I'm not going to blame him for trying to get "professional bats" into our system that meet his strike zone criteria. It'll take a while to change the system from Avila's 45-hit 55-power (if they develop properly and can find the ball) approach into Harris's 60-Hit 55-Power (if it develops) 5-tool athlete approach.

It least it seems that way to me. 

So, no more Jung's in the 1st... or Rey Rivera's or Stewart's in the 2nd... would he have drafted Parker? I don't think so, with that weak hit tool... doesn't fit Harris's profile... Same with Izaac Pacheco... hit tool is just too low.

I've always wanted a high hit tool first over power... with excellent defense included...

Harris fits my draft philosophy to a "T".

But I hope he can find some pitching too...

[1984Echoes]

5 hours ago, casimir said:

I have a feeling he’s going to age not gracefully.  I’m certainly no expert.  I just think his value won’t be higher given his age, production, and contract.  They could find another corner OF if need be, maybe even in the same deal.

I’ll admit this is probably contrary to my opinion of keeping Skubal and getting into the playoffs this season.  But I think it’d be easier to replace Greene’s production than it would be to replace Skubal’s production.

I'm just going to guess here...

2026 will go a long way in determining just how much future Tork, Carpenter, and Greene have with this team.

Some runway still with the Tigers...

Or the offseason 2026-27 may see a couple guys get moved along...

[gehringer_2]

6 hours ago, Edman85 said:

Erie was never A+

who swapped with west Mi? Thought it was Erie....

Edited 18 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Tenacious D]

35 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

I'm just going to guess here...

2026 will go a long way in determining just how much future Tork, Carpenter, and Greene have with this team.

We thought this last year, and I’d say they all rose to the challenge.  I think the microscope is more on Meadows and Keith this season.

[Edman85]

39 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

who swapped with west Mi? Thought it was Erie....

Pre 2021, it was

AAA: Toledo

AA: Erie

A+: Lakeland

A: West Michigan

SS-A: Connecticut/Oneonta

Now it is:

AAA: Toledo

AA: Erie

A+: West Michigan

A: Lakeland

 

[1984Echoes]

41 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

who swapped with west Mi? Thought it was Erie....

Lakeland.

[gehringer_2]

15 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

Lakeland.

ah  so it was WM that went up one. I remember they had reordered the system but forget which way. What I remembered was one group of guy got promoted to the same place they were which was pretty different, so it was WM to WM not Erie to Erie.

Edited 16 hours ago by gehringer_2

[1984Echoes]

Yep. Promoted from Low-A WM to High-A WM.

[chasfh]

On 1/23/2026 at 7:45 PM, Edman85 said:

So the answer is Bill LaJoie, since I am not counting McDonald's interim stint for a team that LaJoie mostly built. 2002-2003 was a big hole for DD to dig out of.

And it took Dombrowski until his fifth full season to achieve his first winning record; his tenth full season to win his first division title and second playoff appearance; and his eleventh season to turn in his first consecutive playoff appearance.

[Tenacious D]

39 minutes ago, chasfh said:

And it took Dombrowski until his fifth full season to achieve his first winning record; his tenth full season to win his first division title and second playoff appearance; and his eleventh season to turn in his first consecutive playoff appearance.

No one inherited a worse situation than DD did. Those were bleak days as a Tigers fan. 

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

And it took Dombrowski until his fifth full season to achieve his first winning record; his tenth full season to win his first division title and second playoff appearance; and his eleventh season to turn in his first consecutive playoff appearance.

Apples and Oranges.  When Dombrowski took over, they had no useful MLB ready players in the organization and very few future players.  He had to build from scratch.  I like Harris's long-term vision better than Dombrowski's short-term vision, but it's disingenuous to compare the two in terms of how quickly they had winning teams.  

Edited 2 hours ago by Tiger337

[Edman85]

I went down a 1997 Expansion Draft rabbit hole this morning...

Anyways, you could protect 15 players in total... after both teams took turns picking one player combined from each team, you could protect 3 more, and again in the next round. Anybody in the organization with major league service, or who has reached Rule 5 eligibility was eligible to be drafted.

Let's say MLB very abruptly decides there are two expansion teams starting in April and you need to protect 15 eligible players*, who would they be? Which 4 would you protect in the next round (assuming 1 of your top 4 gets taken)? Which 4 would you protect in the next round (again, assuming 1 of your top 4 gets taken)?

*Safe to assume that any prospects who need to be protected were protected from the Rule 5 Draft, so you can likely just focus on the 40-Man Roster unless any of the minor league signings this year really catch your fancy.

I'll go:

Pitchers: Kyle Finnegan, Jack Flaherty, Kenley Jansen, Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton, Casey Mize, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Will Vest

Catchers: Dillon Dingler

Infield: Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres

Outfield: Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Wenceel Perez

Round 2: Tyler Holton, Kenley Jansen, Parker Meadows, Zach McKinstry

Round 3: Drew Anderson, Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, Matt Vierling

 

 

Pretty tricky, but I thought I'd put that out there.

[casimir]

16 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

I'm just going to guess here...

2026 will go a long way in determining just how much future Tork, Carpenter, and Greene have with this team.

Some runway still with the Tigers...

Or the offseason 2026-27 may see a couple guys get moved along...

The only thing I expect for the 2026-27 offseason is that no baseball fan will be happy.

[Tiger337]

18 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I went down a 1997 Expansion Draft rabbit hole this morning...

Anyways, you could protect 15 players in total... after both teams took turns picking one player combined from each team, you could protect 3 more, and again in the next round. Anybody in the organization with major league service, or who has reached Rule 5 eligibility was eligible to be drafted.

Let's say MLB very abruptly decides there are two expansion teams starting in April and you need to protect 15 eligible players*, who would they be? Which 4 would you protect in the next round (assuming 1 of your top 4 gets taken)? Which 4 would you protect in the next round (again, assuming 1 of your top 4 gets taken)?

*Safe to assume that any prospects who need to be protected were protected from the Rule 5 Draft, so you can likely just focus on the 40-Man Roster unless any of the minor league signings this year really catch your fancy.

I'll go:

Pitchers: Kyle Finnegan, Jack Flaherty, Kenley Jansen, Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton, Casey Mize, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Will Vest

Catchers: Dillon Dingler

Infield: Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres

Outfield: Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Wenceel Perez

Round 2: Tyler Holton, Kenley Jansen, Parker Meadows, Zach McKinstry

Round 3: Drew Anderson, Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, Matt Vierling

 

 

Pretty tricky, but I thought I'd put that out there.

I wish they had one of these every year - not an expansion draft, but more like a high level rule 5 draft.  There would  probably be some legal or contractual reasons why it wouldn't be liked by certain parties, but it would make the off-season so much fun.