How would you grade Harris's job performance as GM post Trade Deadline 2026

[AlaskanTigersFan]

I'm giving him an A. I think he did the right thing by selling off Skubal and Mize. I think this franchise is set to compete very well next year and beyond. 

[Tigermojo]

B. Room for improvement. He took responsibility for the failures but he also gets credit for successes. He has already replaced Skubal. McGonigle is the new star of the team and will replace Skubal's value on the team. Now Harris needs to address the lack of performance from a lot of players who were capable of so much more. He also needs to do something about all the injuries. He's done a nice job of creating depth on the roster and that's the only reason they aren't in a much worse position. 

[Archie]

Maeda, Cobb, Morton, Paddock, Jensen, Verlander all busts.  He still thinks he can field a contending team through the waiver wire. Vest went bad last year and they were still sticking with him almost a year later.  Jensen might have deserved a look but not at $12M he is getting.  On the positive side he did better this year at the deadline but he completely failed last year so overall I gave him a D.

[theroundsquare]

B.  There are things that have turned out great but there have been things that, even at their inception, a middle-aged, bald lawyer could have told you weren't going to work

[Hongbit]

He gets an A for the turnaround and playoffs the last 2 years.  He gets a solid C for this year.   Average them out and it’s a solid to high B. 

I like how he handled this deadline.  He was realistic and understanding the team has flaws and it wasn’t worth throwing future resources at the hope they can make the playoffs.

[1984Echoes]

A.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

As he comes across weaknesses in the Org... he fixes them and sets us up for the future. I like his vision, his analytics, his player specifications (the talent guidelines he uses to acquire "his" types of players... and also the guidelines he uses to determine contract values), his drafting, and yes... even his trading acumen. Soem of his low-budget or contract mistakes, IMO, are made by every single GM in baseball... so maybe that makes it an A- but it doesn't take away the A. If this team gets built in his image and is an ANNUAL threat for the playoffs/ World Series... I'm changing it to an A+. And he's nearly there.

He's the guy. 

But...

Is he Julius Caesar?

Or Caesar Augustus?

[monkeytargets39]

I think he’s doing fine.  Just stop signing old dudes to big ticket contracts.

 

I like what he’s done with the minor league system and he’s making moves internationally.  I think he’s maybe 2 years away from having a Guardians/Rays type organization but one that will actually spend some money occasionally.

Edited August 4 by monkeytargets39

[Turnbuckle]

Building an exciting, talented young team - He gets an A.

Veteran FA signings - He gets a C

Overall:  A-

I weigh the building of a solid, young team more heavily than the free agent busts.  

I'm also glad we've not been buyers the last 2 trade deadlines.  
I also don't believe the act of selling is tantamount to throwing in the towel.
We still have a solid chance this year, and a better chance in future years than we otherwise would had we traded our future for rentals.

I think we're building towards being one of those example organizations for how to field a competitive team without the constant boom-bust cycles.  Hopefully one with a bigger budget though.

[Tiger337]

There is always a chance when you are 2 1/2 games out, but I wouldn't call it a solid chance.  They weakened their current pitching staff considerably at the deadline and yes they probably increased their future ofdds.  

[AlaskanTigersFan]

16 minutes ago, Turnbuckle said:

Building an exciting, talented young team - He gets an A.

Veteran FA signings - He gets a C

Overall:  A-

I weigh the building of a solid, young team more heavily than the free agent busts.  

I'm also glad we've not been buyers the last 2 trade deadlines.  
I also don't believe the act of selling is tantamount to throwing in the towel.
We still have a solid chance this year, and a better chance in future years than we otherwise would had we traded our future for rentals.

This is dead on. I am hoping next year we don't buy, but in 2028 we should be in a true position to buy if needed. This core plus two years of FA additions, we should be in an absolute fantastic position. That line though was perfectly said and dead on. 

[Tenacious D]

I gave him a B, but it easily could have been a C. Drafts have been good, free agent signings not so much. Trades of any significance have been infrequent.  Still interested in seeing trades outside of the deadline when we’re not in buy or sell mode.

Does deserve credit for making the playoffs last year, but similarly should take the heat for the performance this season, which technically is incomplete (since we still have a shot).  Building this bullpen, when there were red flags with Finnegan and Jansen, was a significant failure.  If our pen was only league average, we would be in a much better position for the playoffs in an especially weak AL.  Missed opportunity.

I am excited for the near future, but until it results in success, it’s only wishful thinking.

[papalawrence]

8.625

 

[Tiger337]

B

[AlaskanTigersFan]

14 minutes ago, papalawrence said:

8.625

 

Very specific lol. What brought you to that number 😂

[CMRivdogs]

It's impossible to do a proper appraisal the day after the trade deadline. On paper it looks like a solid B. We got some tangible prospects for expiring contracts.

But then on paper, I'm a millionaire 

[AlaskanTigersFan]

17 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

It's impossible to do a proper appraisal the day after the trade deadline. On paper it looks like a solid B. We got some tangible prospects for expiring contracts.

But then on paper, I'm a millionaire 

I'm talking about his whole tenure up to literally this point. Just so you know. Not necessarily based off the trade deadline alone.

[LongLiveMaroth]

Anyone who has it below a B is someone as the kids say don't know ball. Have there been missteps? Sure. Are there areas of improvement? Of course, but that does not negate going to the playoffs twice and being a single run from the ALCS last year, along with the clear growth of talent. 

 

[casimir]

S.

[CMRivdogs]

1 hour ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

I'm talking about his whole tenure up to literally this point. Just so you know. Not necessarily based off the trade deadline alone.

Hindsight is 2020. I still give him a B 

[RatkoVarda]

a solid B.

I think Harris has a real philosophy when it comes to hitters, and he has been pretty disciplined in trying to acquire those players. sometimes it works out (Torres) and sometimes it doesn't (Malloy).

he acquired 3/4 of the up the middle core, and Dingler blossomed under his watch.

they have had some horrible injury luck (see: May 2026) and I don't know how much you can limit batters getting hurt, but hopefully they figure something out. (pitchers, to me, will always get hurt)

i do not think FA hitters will come to Detroit unless they are paid a significant premium. you can scream all day long that the park plays neutral, and it won't matter. that is not what players think. so developing and trading for hitters and signing FA pitchers makes sense to me

trades are really difficult to pull off, and i love that Harris is seen as a demanding trade partner. Big Al used to announce what trades he wanted to do to the world!

Toledo's April roster could be ridiculously strong. past Tigers squads would sweat losing marginal players like Rogers, (and soon) Vierling and McKinstry. But the Tigers have multiple choices to replace those guys. they can even move on from a solid guy like Torres with minimal worries, because the farm is actually producing ML players.

they had a player development deficit for years, and that looks like it has been greatly improved under Harris

[Tenacious D]

30 minutes ago, LongLiveMaroth said:

Anyone who has it below a B is someone as the kids say don't know ball. Have there been missteps? Sure. Are there areas of improvement? Of course, but that does not negate going to the playoffs twice and being a single run from the ALCS last year, along with the clear growth of talent. 

 

I typically agree with you, but must take exception here. Although I did give him a B, so far during his tenure, making the playoffs in ‘24 was mostly luck.  The core of that team was inherited and he held a sell-off at the deadline, so we won in spite of that. I don’t think that was a plan.

This year (so far) has been a disaster.  We have largely an above average team with the exception of the pen, which is historically bad. No resource limitations as Scott was able to increase payroll and spend to the luxury cap. If we’re going to give him credit for when the team does well (2025) he also has to own the performance this season.

 

[LongLiveMaroth]

23 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

I typically agree with you, but must take exception here. Although I did give him a B, so far during his tenure, making the playoffs in ‘24 was mostly luck.  The core of that team was inherited and he held a sell-off at the deadline, so we won in spite of that. I don’t think that was a plan.

This year (so far) has been a disaster.  We have largely an above average team with the exception of the pen, which is historically bad. No resource limitations as Scott was able to increase payroll and spend to the luxury cap. If we’re going to give him credit for when the team does well (2025) he also has to own the performance this season.

 

I mean would you say they had the inverse luck of 24 this year? I mean by all metrics besides the one that really matters (W-L) they should have had a better record than they did and the amount of injuries was also not expected. I mean 35 IL trips for the team before August 1st is kinda crazy. 

[alex]

I have been on SHarris (and Greenberg) a bit in the past. With said I always felt he had/has done well with all the upgrades: scouting, drafting, player development, facility upgrades, international awareness, training facilities, etc.

This trade deadline I think he fared well. It is hard to believe that he would not know what he was doing. They knew the packages that were offered for both SPs. He/they picked what they felt was best - and he said they had to think about it. This notion to where they should have waited, get a bidding war to the end was ridiculous, because either a team was in on Skubal or they were not and they knew any package they were to put together had to compete with LA. If the team would have waited other clubs would have simply pivoted before being left with nothing. From what it sounded like and from beat writers later, the Tigers decided to go with ZHope and the SPs potential as opposed to say what Milwaukee's last offer was. I can see that. I think he is gaining experience in this area. IMHO, he may have indeed waited in the case of Mize to see who did offer the most til the end.

My question with Harris for a long time has been can he deal for MLB talent? There will be a point, and we may be getting closer in the next year, where he will need to trade for MLB talent. He will at some point have to give up prospects. I guess this experience can only help.

With regards to RP - that has become a total crapshoot for what seems to be 3 of every 4 pitchers. There is just no way to really get a 'good' handle on who and when a RP gets things together. Then just as soon as they do for a couple months they can lose it for the same time. Throw in (pun?) all the injuries to Ps and there is no real way to get this down it seems. Sure there are a few exceptions - but they are few and far between.

Look at what the Tigers did in '24 with pitching chaos! Who could have seen that coming? Where are all those 'shut down' relievers now? Injured, AAA, one here and there is doing ok 'some times'. You get the jest here. I was watching last Sunday eves game and one announcer spoke that the Red Sox were down at one point Crochet, Bello, Suarez, etc. and the 'bullpen' came out of nowhere and has really contributed to this run - again go figure. The game is becoming a 'war of attrition' IMHO. Pitching is the worst of it. 

Somehow the brain trusts of MLB need to get a handle on the incredible amount of injuries. I have thoughts on just some of it and sent letters to many who could have a look and put additional thoughts to it. I am not saying there is a definite answer - but I am saying it is only getting worst each year and some people really need to look at this - and start implementing some changes. More rest for the over extended arms, IMHO, is a start and how to begin a change to allow that is a start. 

Edited August 5 by alex

[holygoat]

B - He's built a solid foundation, but his failure wrt the bullpen is concerning. 

[chasfh]

I misunderstood the question and graded him only on his trade deadline performance this year. for which I gave him a A. I don't know what else he could have done. He got the best value from Skubal for any rental pitcher in 20 years, and he turned another disgruntled asset into a fringe top 100 live arm. It was unrealistic to move anyone else for a return of value since there wasn't that kind of market for any of them. And there's no chance he was going to waste good prospects on volatile relief pitching.

As for overall, I can't think of anything he's done that I'm mad at. Not saying Harris has never done anything wrong, just that there's nothing I'm hopping mad at like other people here are. The most prevalent thing people are up in arms about is the bullpen. But our bullpen is 16th in xFIP, 11th in FIP, and 10th in xERA, all of which strip inherited runs out of their equations. That suggests they are arguably an above-average bullpen. That's not just since June or the last month or whatever—that's for the whole year, and that includes May. (link)

So the bullpen is performing the way they're supposed overall, suggesting the problem is likely a general inability to come through in high leverage situations, and now we can debate whether that's a structural issue that can be planned and controlled for, or just the bad luck of bad outcomes at the wrong time. You probably know where I stand on that.

Most of all, I love Harris's plan and watching the way it's coming together, and I am still more excited for the present and future of this team, and for reasons I can see and understand, than I ever have in the entirety of my lifelong fandom. And the cherry on top is, he has already gotten us to two playoff appearances and we're contending for a third straight appearances in just his first four seasons.

For that, I am going to give him another A.

I feel like Clint Eastwood.

 

Edited August 5 by chasfh