2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[Sports_Freak]

4 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

I agree. In fact he will always play the left side even when Torre is gone. Both positions are hard to fill so he will take one of them and he seems a natural at 3B. I think he will out hit Bregman playing third this season. The kid's  a freak unicorn. 

I still like Peck for shortstop or of course Rainer. Farm system  making bank !!

That all sounds great but what to do with Keith? Give up on him? I think this is the last year for Javy...isn't it? 

[theroundsquare]

no, next year too 

[SoCalTiger]

4 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

That all sounds great but what to do with Keith? Give up on him? I think this is the last year for Javy...isn't it? 

Second base opens next year and 1B/DH. Can always trade him. 

[gehringer_2]

35 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

Second base opens next year and 1B/DH. Can always trade him. 

Out of the pool of 4 positions Colt can play - 1b,2b, 3b, DH, it's at least 50/50 one player at those positions will be down at any point in the season to an injury or slump. Or you just give 6 guys 500 AB instead of 5 guys 600 AB. Finding AB for one extra player isn't much of a struggle in 26 man roster.  Now if McKinstry were to hit so well again that they wanted to get him another 450 AB, then it can start getting a little crowded.

[Sports_Freak]

49 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

Second base opens next year and 1B/DH. Can always trade him. 

I don't see that happening. Trade low? He's more valuable to us than what we could get in return. Besides, Harris doesn't trade players...

Edited yesterday at 08:07 PM by Sports_Freak

[Tenacious D]

3 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

I agree. In fact he will always play the left side even when Torre is gone. Both positions are hard to fill so he will take one of them and he seems a natural at 3B. I think he will out hit Bregman playing third this season. The kid's  a freak unicorn. 

I still like Peck for shortstop or of course Rainer. Farm system  making bank !!

Keith is full-time DH this season?

[SoCalTiger]

28 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

Keith is full-time DH this season?

Not full time but often plus moving around unless Meadows flames out and Baez moves to CF but even saying that Verling could take center and Perez back up to RF. It's a tough pill once again for Colt but he just seems limited in the field and McGonigle at 3B with Baez/McKinstry at SS is far superior defensively. 

Colt has two problems - Defense and Power. Until one or the other emerges he's the odd man out in my book. 

[1984Echoes]

12 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

Not full time but often plus moving around unless Meadows flames out and Baez moves to CF but even saying that Verling could take center and Perez back up to RF. It's a tough pill once again for Colt but he just seems limited in the field and McGonigle at 3B with Baez/McKinstry at SS is far superior defensively. 

Colt has two problems - Defense and Power. Until one or the other emerges he's the odd man out in my book. 

He's also LH'ed and a perfect platoon partner at 1B whilst Tork is struggling at .215 again.

IMO.

[tiger2022]

Colt Keith is just a guy.  He's not awful, he's not good.  He would be the worst starting 1st baseman in the league...low power numbers, mediocre average, and terrible glove.

And there is no way they are going to be moving Mcgonigle around to different positions.  Playing in the majors is tough enough without getting moved back and forth from short to 3rd.  It would seem that Javy will be at short and McGonigle at 3rd.

Meadows has about 30 games left as a Tiger and then he'll be in Toledo and then an ex Tiger 

[TigerNation]

1 hour ago, tiger2022 said:

Colt Keith is just a guy.  He's not awful, he's not good.  He would be the worst starting 1st baseman in the league...low power numbers, mediocre average, and terrible glove.

And there is no way they are going to be moving Mcgonigle around to different positions.  Playing in the majors is tough enough without getting moved back and forth from short to 3rd.  It would seem that Javy will be at short and McGonigle at 3rd.

Meadows has about 30 games left as a Tiger and then he'll be in Toledo and then an ex Tiger 

Keith's 109 wRC+last year wouldve tied for 16th amongst 1B. Even if he doesn't improve he'd be a top 20 starting 1B. Of course, he was 23 last year, so there's reason to expect him to perform better than he did in his second season.

You are so overdramatic.

[SoCalTiger]

Problems with finding playing time for Colt and sending Perez down are only good for the organization. Plus more players emerging. Sustainability is here provided we can keep pitchers healthy . Good times folks. Strap in we have a pennant to chase. Maybe more ?

[chasfh]

Colt Keith will be both batting and playing third tomorrow night.

[Tiger337]

5 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Colt Keith will be both batting and playing third tomorrow night.

I think he will be batting third, but I believe it will most commonly be Baez at SS and McGonigle 3B.  I think that gives them the best defense.  There will, of course, be lots of different combos.  

[chasfh]

I don’t think Baez will be playing short much after he begins the season batting .118 with no walks.

[Tiger337]

2 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I don’t think Baez will be playing short much after he begins the season batting .118 with no walks.

That is a possibilty!  In fact, I am less optimistic about him than Meadows.  However, I believe Hinch will give both of them a chance to show they can hit well enough to justify putting them in the line-up for their defense.   

[Sports_Freak]

2026; Parker's Last Stand!

[Shelton]

I really am surprised by the efforts of people to shoehorn Javy into 500 plate appearances this year between CF and SS. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s being viewed as a “regular” by the org, but to me he’s still a bench/utility player.
 

Anyway, I think the default defensive alignment is clearly:

Dingler 2

Tork 3

Torres 4

Keith 5

Kevin 6

Riley 7

Parker 8

Vierling 9

Kerry DH

The nice thing is that our bench does provide some obvious solutions to amend the above depending on matchups.

We really have been fortunate this spring. Today’s roster is exactly how I drew it up all offseason (although had Wenceel had a stronger spring I think you could still argue for getting rid of McKinstry), which is usually a pointless exercise because some projected regular will get hurt. As it is, everyone stayed healthy and Wenceel rightfully goes to Toledo as depth.

 

 

[Tiger337]

1 minute ago, Shelton said:

I really am surprised by the efforts of people to shoehorn Javy into 500 plate appearances this year between CF and SS. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s being viewed as a “regular” by the org, but to me he’s still a bench/utility player.
 

 

He was in the line-up more often than not last year and hit well enough to justify it.  I am skeptical he can do that again, but I believe he'll be given a chance to do so at the beginning of the season.  I am happy with your alignment though.    

[Sports_Freak]

33 minutes ago, Shelton said:

I really am surprised by the efforts of people to shoehorn Javy into 500 plate appearances this year between CF and SS. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s being viewed as a “regular” by the org, but to me he’s still a bench/utility player.
 

Anyway, I think the default defensive alignment is clearly:

Dingler 2

Tork 3

Torres 4

Keith 5

Kevin 6

Riley 7

Parker 8

Vierling 9

Kerry DH

The nice thing is that our bench does provide some obvious solutions to amend the above depending on matchups.

We really have been fortunate this spring. Today’s roster is exactly how I drew it up all offseason (although had Wenceel had a stronger spring I think you could still argue for getting rid of McKinstry), which is usually a pointless exercise because some projected regular will get hurt. As it is, everyone stayed healthy and Wenceel rightfully goes to Toledo as depth.

 

 

Mostly agree but against LH pitching, Hinch may use a more RH lineup. Kerry and Parker to the bench. I dont think Hinch has much confidence in Carpenter against LH pitching, even though I think he should be given a chance. And he may not want to expose Meadows against lefties, we'll see. The good thing is Hinch has other options for CF.

[chasfh]

12 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Mostly agree but against LH pitching, Hinch may use a more RH lineup. Kerry and Parker to the bench. I dont think Hinch has much confidence in Carpenter against LH pitching, even though I think he should be given a chance. And he may not want to expose Meadows against lefties, we'll see. The good thing is Hinch has other options for CF.

A.J. will definitely do that, running Javy at SS or CF and Jahmai at DH out there, and perhaps even Zach (who crushes LHPs!) in RF, but since two-thirds of the starters we face will be RHPs, Shelton's current lineup looks to me like it's going to be the default until the IL heats up.

[Tiger337]

I think Keith may be a utility guy (1B, 2B, 3B, DH) but that's because I have less confidence in his defensive skills than some other people have.  He'll be in the line-up every game versus RHP, but not necessarily as the third baseman.  It's kind of fruitless figuring out who the "regulars" are going to be anyway, since there will be a new line-up every night and the roster is constructed in a way which makes that work.  

[gehringer_2]

18 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I think Keith may be a utility guy (1B, 2B, 3B, DH) but that's because I have less confidence in his defensive skills than some other people have.  He'll be in the line-up every game versus RHP, but not necessarily as the third baseman.  It's kind of fruitless figuring out who the "regulars" are going to be anyway, since there will be a new line-up every night and the roster is constructed in a way which makes that work.  

and the bottom line is that if you hit you are going to play and we can only guess who is going to hit. Green, Torres and Dingler are probably the only guys on the team guaranteed to get really long runways if they don't hit, every one else is going to have to earn their keep from pretty early on.

Edited 6 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Shelton]

1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said:

Mostly agree but against LH pitching, Hinch may use a more RH lineup. Kerry and Parker to the bench. I dont think Hinch has much confidence in Carpenter against LH pitching, even though I think he should be given a chance. And he may not want to expose Meadows against lefties, we'll see. The good thing is Hinch has other options for CF.

Agree, LHP starters are one of those circumstances where you depart from the default. None of those lefties will be straight platooned, so you are modifying relative to the standard when inserting Javy and Jahmai on those days. There will be days with Kerry in RF and Jahmai at DH. There will be days with Javy at SS and Parker in CF.

I’m just pushing back on the idea that Colt Keith is somehow in a utility role or DH because Javy Báez is your starting SS and Kevin plays 3B. Seeing that a lot. 
 

[gehringer_2]

20 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Agree, LHP starters are one of those circumstances where you depart from the default. None of those lefties will be straight platooned, so you are modifying relative to the standard when inserting Javy and Jahmai on those days. There will be days with Kerry in RF and Jahmai at DH. There will be days with Javy at SS and Parker in CF.

I’m just pushing back on the idea that Colt Keith is somehow in a utility role or DH because Javy Báez is your starting SS and Kevin plays 3B. Seeing that a lot. 
 

the other wild card is McKinstry. Seems unlikely his bat is as productive as it was last year, but if he does earn starting playing time a lot it would be on the left side of the IF. Good problems to have but also a ton of variables in the mix.

I think the difference with Javy is that regular playing time is his to lose. He may well lose it, but I think it's his to start just because they are paying him and he will catch the ball where ever they put him.

Edited 5 hours ago by gehringer_2

[SoCalTiger]

23 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Agree, LHP starters are one of those circumstances where you depart from the default. None of those lefties will be straight platooned, so you are modifying relative to the standard when inserting Javy and Jahmai on those days. There will be days with Kerry in RF and Jahmai at DH. There will be days with Javy at SS and Parker in CF.

I’m just pushing back on the idea that Colt Keith is somehow in a utility role or DH because Javy Báez is your starting SS and Kevin plays 3B. Seeing that a lot. 
 

McKinstry is going to get reps at short and it won't be Keith playing third when that happens. It will be the new guy. It will be interesting to see who starts the most games at third base in 2026 and does anyone approach even 80. But IF Keith can play it defensively that does provide the best offensive upside.