2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[gehringer_2]

the other question is how Hinch manages McGonigle. There is a fair amount of opinion here that you don't want to move the rookie around. OTOH, IMO it is the very fact he can play both SS and 3B that helped make his call-up happen in the end. So we don't know  what Hinch and McGonigle think and that makes a big difference in how it goes. And if they don't want to move him around, do you start him at 3b or SS? You already have Baez and McKinstry, both of whom they they like at SS, while they have no proven 3Bs. Seem that leans the decision to putting him at 3b where he has been through a lot of ST. But we'll see.

[monkeytargets39]

I just want Hinch to start getting away from platooning a few of these guys as much as he tends to.

I’m fine with platooning Meadows and Vierling or Javy and McKinstry.  But you gotta let these top prospect types play in all situations and learn to elevate their games.  Keith, McGonigle and Carpenter need to be playing every day and having at least a decent degree of consistency in defensive positioning.  

[Tigermojo]

Hinch will play the hitting matchups. Not necessarily all lefties or righties and he will have late game strategies with the bench. We have seen in the past, this leads to some head scratching defense. Jones should never be in the field.

[Tiger337]

Dylan Smith DFA per Woodberry.  That is a bit surprising since I thought he was an OK prospect.  I am guessing it will be a small trade for a lower level guy.  

I am sure Edman is going to tell me why they can't do that.  😄

Edited 1 hour ago by Tiger337

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour 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. 
 

I could see Javy being the odd man out against RH pitchers. Keith at 3rd and Kevin at SS. Unless Meadows doesn't hit, then Javy moves to CF. We don't have another LH hitter for CF until Perez comes back.

[monkeytargets39]

4 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Dylan Smith DFA per Woodberry.  That is a bit surprising since I thought he was an OK prospect.  I am guessing it will be a small trade for a lower level guy.  

I am sure Edman is going to tell me why they can't do that.  😄

I wonder if something happened with him?  Certainly doesn’t seem warranted based on performance. 

[Sports_Freak]

57 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

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.

It still amazes me that he was an All Star in CF last season. If Meadows doesn't hit, at least a little, it's good to have Javy to play out there. Defense is still strong.

[Tiger337]

Even Jason Beck said DFAing Smith was a surprise move.  He hasn't questioned anything in three decades.  

[tiger2022]

14 hours ago, TigerNation said:

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.

Sweet...cherry picking a stat while ignoring his lack of power and defensive liability...very nice.  And thanks for the juvenile personal insult...doesn't surprise me in the least though. 

And he's going to be 25 in August.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by tiger2022

[Tiger337]

6 minutes ago, tiger2022 said:

Sweet...cherry picking a stat while ignoring his lack of power and defensive liability...very nice.  And thanks for the juvenile personal insult...doesn't surprise me in the least though. 

And he's going to be 25 in August.

 

wRC+ looks at his hitting ability as a whole, so it does include power.  He is 9% better than the average hitter.  It is correct to say that it doesn't consider defense.  

[Tenacious D]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

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.

Barring injuries, I don’t see a path to McKinstry getting significant playing time.  And his roster spot could be vulnerable if Anderson, Lee, Cruz and/or Clark are pushing for a promotion at some point this season.

[gehringer_2]

27 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

I could see Javy being the odd man out against RH pitchers. Keith at 3rd and Kevin at SS. Unless Meadows doesn't hit, then Javy moves to CF. We don't have another LH hitter for CF until Perez comes back.

Javy sat against a fair number of RHP last season so that's more or less a given, it's just a matter of how much.

[gehringer_2]

2 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

Barring injuries, I don’t see a path to McKinstry getting significant playing time.  And his roster spot could be vulnerable if Anderson, Lee, Cruz and/or Clark are pushing for a promotion at some point this season.

If he gets off to a start like he did last season they'll make a path! That's the thing, you just don't know about this stuff until it happens. I don't think he'll do what he did last season, but I can't say I know he won't.

In the end, that's really the whole point of having all these multiple position capabilities, it's to be able to put the bats that are hitting into the lineup and still cover all the positions. Or conversely, it means you don't need to stay with a guy who is not hitting because you don't have another player at his position.

[Edman85]

42 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Dylan Smith DFA per Woodberry.  That is a bit surprising since I thought he was an OK prospect.  I am guessing it will be a small trade for a lower level guy.  

I am sure Edman is going to tell me why they can't do that.  😄

Trade for cash so you can get a CBT discount!