The Detroit Tigers front office deserves praise for being open and honest about their summer objectives, and for carrying them out. The Tigers haven’t traded any of their young, domestic players, such as Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Spencer Torkelson, since they value them. They went out and acquired two starting pitchers and two bullpen arms because the pitching staff needed assistance. With the exception of trading for Mark Canha to urge the team to walk more players, Scott Harris and the Tigers staff have not added any offensive players, sticking to their pledge to develop their players rather than sign major free agent hitters. Detroit has been adding to their current roster during the summer.
It’s a lot more than other fanbases can say about their teams’ front offices, so it’s excellent to have a front office that is honest about its objectives and then really achieves them. The concern with keeping young hitters in the lineup is that the defensive configuration changes the Tigers experienced in 2023 and the problems that beset them won’t be fixed anytime soon. They have at least six strong pitchers in the rotation, so things appear to be well-positioned. However, what about the defense, particularly the middle infield?
A new study by Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, which is available only with a subscription, offers some fascinating predictions about how the Tigers will play every day in 2019. Certain things are already known to us: Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, and Mark Canha will be the starting outfielders; JD Martinez most likely won’t be a Tiger; and Akil Baddoo’s future is still uncertain. But McCosky also made some insinuations that suggest Detroit’s future in terms of lineup and defensive configuration may be confusing.
Reasons why 2024 will bring consistency for Tigers fans
The Tigers appear determined to hold onto Andy Ibañez, Zach McKinstry, and Matt Vierling as their all-around players. Both Vierling and Ibañez are capable of performing at a high level; in 2023, Ibañez had the third-highest fWAR among Tigers position players. Throughout his 148 games, McKinstry struggled more, bouncing all over the field and hitting a pitiful231/.302/.351. Although Vierling was instructed to play third base by the club, his performance there was lacking despite having a much superior bat. Although Tigers supporters had wished the team would pursue a Gold Glove winning third baseman like Matt Chapman, Vierling would be replaced and the front office’s philosophy would be violated. It is obvious that the Tigers would rearrange them in the same manner as last season if they decide to keep these utility players.
One of the more fascinating details in McCosky’s report is the identity of the team’s regular designated hitter. Carpenter can be a devastating DH even though he suffers defensively, so the Tigers are excited about and invested in him, but McCosky doesn’t think he will be ready to take on that position in 2024. Rather, he will alternate between right field and DH, giving Mark Canha plenty of opportunities to bat. This goes against an article by The Detroit Free Press’s Evan Petzold (subscription required), who predicts that Carpenter will become the regular DH.
Even the most knowledgeable Tigers journalists, McCosky and Petzold, struggle to predict the team’s plans for position players in 2024. Fans who were hoping for a little more stability from their defense should be disappointed; we can anticipate the same chaos and shuffling that we saw in 2023.
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