05/13/2026 7:10p EDT Detroit Tigers at New York Mets

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Are you done with Tork, then? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I could be talked into that, but then what do we do with him while his value is at low ebb?

Tork is a mixed bag right now - he's walking enough to be keeping one of the better OBPs on the team but he's fallen back into the his usual rut of taking so many strikes looking for perfect that his K rate is too high. He strikes me as a guy who just can't get out of his own way mentally to maximize the physical talent he does have and it's frustrating to watch. He needs to go to RF more and he needs to swing at strikes both of which he is perfectly capable of.

If we had a LHB that could play first you could sit him against tougher RHP ( of course Anderson is a RHB) - you'd think that guy could be Keith, but he's a worse defender and until he finds some ISO he's no more productive than Tork has been.

This team just is not gelling according to plan.

Edited 5 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Klondike99]

9 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

Something has to change.    Just make a move to make a move.   Shake them up.   This team is in a Coma.  Perez, Short, Jones - no business being on a major league roster.   Dump them and call up Malgeri, DeJong and Max Anderson.  Do something.  Please.     The two starting pitchers you count on right now, Montero and Valdez give you really good starts and you waste them.    Get rid of Torkelson too.   Is there someone better to play first?  I don't know, but I've just had enough.   My patience with him is over now.   With the injuries he's one of the guys that needed to step up and he's been brutal the last two weeks.   Last 14 games 7 for 50 for a robust .140 BA.  4 RBI.  Just go away.   Just put Colt Keith over there.    

Reminds me of the Devi Cruz,Tony Clark, Damien Easly, Bobby Higgison, Juan Encanarcian era where it was just time to get rid of the crew and on to the next

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Tork is a mixed bag right now - he's walking enough to be keeping one of the better OBPs on the team but he's fallen back into the his usual rut of taking so many strikes looking for perfect that his K rate is too high. He strikes me as a guy who just can't get out of his own way mentally to maximize the physical talent he does have and it's frustrating to watch. He needs to go to RF more and he needs to swing at strikes both of which he is perfectly capable of.

If we had a LHB that could play first you could sit him against tougher RHP ( of course Anderson is a RHB) - you'd think that guy could be Keith, but he's a worse defender and until he finds some ISO he's no more productive than Tork has been.

This team just is not gelling according to plan.

Hard to gel with eleven of the 17 guys on your injured list would be on the active roster right now.

[SoCalTiger]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

If you would choose to stop playing Tork, what would you do with him? Bench him and use him as a pinch-hitter like Jahmai? Exile him to the minors indefinitely? Trade him for whatever you could get? Release him outright?

We essentially have no choice but to play him and hope he helps the team or at least improves his value for trade. But we also need to be planning for a new first baseman next season and if one become available before to make the move. 

[SoCalTiger]

28 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Hard to gel with eleven of the 17 guys on your injured list would be on the active roster right now.

Very true but none of them address first base except maybe Bricieno in the minors who's not ready. 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Hard to gel with eleven of the 17 guys on your injured list would be on the active roster right now.

indeed. doesn’t fully explain why guys that are playing are playing below optimum, but you can’t discount the snowball effect. 

[monkeytargets39]

It pains me to say this because I had high hopes not that long ago….

We are getting dangerously close to the point where are going to have to break apart this core a bit.  Not saying a full rebuild is needed or anything that dramatic—but it’s just obvious that some of these guys just don’t work together on the same roster.

Offensively and defensively, you can easily build around McGonigle, Dingler and Riley Greene.  Greenes defense isn’t great, but you can live with it if he’s going to hit like he is.  He’s made adjustments from last year and has exceeded my expectations.

Unless they all have huge second halves, I think we are going to have to choose to keep one of Tork, Carpenter and Keith after this year.  My vote would be Keith, but then the plan has to be primary DH/backup 1B.   Carp is fun but can’t stay healthy and has gotten worse overall as time has gone by aside from his occasional heroic moments.  Tork just isn’t gonna figure it out here.  Maybe another org can help him, but it’s just not clicking and there’s no reason to re-sign him in the future.  We need to either look at Max Anderson as a 1B option next year or go find an everyday 1B somewhere.
 

2B needs to be McGonigles home every day next year.  Nothing against Torres, but we can do a lot with that $22 million to fix other holes.

We have one more year of Javy after this one—just stick him at SS and maybe platoon him with McKinstry.

We are going to need a 3B.  Keith ain’t it.  Aside from Hao Yu Lee, I don’t know what we do here.  There’s nothing coming open via Free Agency.  We need someone who is above average defensively for this pitching staff.

As for OF, Riley is locked in, and you’d have to assume Max Clark will be given every chance to take CF by next spring.  Vierling can be the backup to all 3 spots.  Jones needs to go.  Perez is at the point now where he’s almost valueless because of his defense.  You could run Carpenter in RF, but expect him to miss time, and then we run into the problem of having 3 LH outfielders again.  You could probably shop Carpenter to a team with a short RF porch and get something good in return.  Meadows needs to either make the team and perform or stay in AAA.  If we end up not trying to retain Skubal, then maybe you throw a bunch of money at Seiya Suzuki.

Dingler is at C.  Rogers can stay until Briceno/Liranzo/etc are ready.  

The obvious key with the pitching staff is health, but a planned 2026 rotation of Valdez, Mize, Jobe, Melton, Montero should at least be competitive.  Add in Olson as a wildcard plus there are actually plenty of decent mid-rotation free agents we could go after.  If we can shore up the defense and catch a bit of a break health-wise, this unit can be acceptable.

Bullpen needs a lot of work and hopefully the last year and a half has drilled that into Harris’ brain.  Holton, Hurter, Vest and Finnegan are the only keepers.  Brieske is a wildcard.  Hanifee could be useful if we have a good infield defense.  Otherwise, for the love of god get some guys with legit swing and miss and who can pound the strike zone effectively.  No more bargain bin hunting.  
 

If the Diamondbacks fall out of the race this year, maybe look to try and do Carp/Tork for Arenado/prospects so we can have a competent glove at 3B next year.  AZ needs an outfielder/DH and maybe Tork plays better if he’s closer to home.

 

if you can run this out next year:

C- Dingler/Rogers

1B- Anderson/Keith

2B- McGonigle/Anderson

SS- Baez/McKinstry

3B- Arenado/McKinstry

LF- Greene/Vierling

CF- Clark/Meadows

RF- Suzuki/Vierling

DH- Keith

I think you dramatically improve the defense both with a regular starting lineup as well as the bench.  You have an even LH/RH amount in the lineup and can mix and match to play platoons if you really need to.  No one on the roster has to absolutely be benched due to handedness except maybe Keith.  Even if there are injuries, you have a bit more competent depth with Lee, Jung, Malgeri, Cruz all having youth, defensive versatility and slight offensive upside.

SP- Valdez, Mize, Jobe, Melton/Olson/Montero

RP- Vest, Hurter, Holton, Hanifee, Finnegan (whomever doesn’t make the rotation), plus 2 premium free agent signings.

We just have to get more athletic, consistent and healthy.  Unfortunately the players we need to start moving on from quickly are some of the ones fans are attached to.  Harris has to make tough decisions this offseason if we can’t get this ship righted.  A wildcard berth this year shouldn’t be celebrated as a win even with the injury issues.  We spent a lot of money and need it to pay off.

[Tiger337]

I don't think the Tigers hitters are playing below their optimum as a group.  The following players with 50 or more at bats have played ABOVE their PECOTA projections:

Greene

McGonigle

Dingler

Baez

AS EXPECTED

Carpenter

Keith

Torres

Torkelson

BELOW EXPECTATIONS

Vierling

McKinstry

Perez

Jones

Lee

They are just an average offense with some injured players right now.  They are not going to carry a team which has been decimated by pitching injuries.  

 

[NorthWoods]

4 hours ago, chasfh said:

If you would choose to stop playing Tork, what would you do with him? Bench him and use him as a pinch-hitter like Jahmai? Exile him to the minors indefinitely? Trade him for whatever you could get? Release him outright?

Any of the above.   If he's not contributing he needs to go.

[Tiger337]

27 minutes ago, NorthWoods said:

Any of the above.   If he's not contributing he needs to go.

As a former 1B, I am always protective of 1B's including Torkelson, but I agree it doesn't matter for a fan how they get rid of somebody who doesn't contribute.