The quiet period is over. The stove begins burning now.
This week, Scott Harris and the rest of the Tigers’ brass will convene in San Antonio for the league’s general managers’ meetings, an unofficial kickoff to baseball’s hot stove period.
Here the Tigers will begin laying the foundation for the construction of next season’s team.
And of course, after Detroit’s miraculous push to the playoffs, the Tigers enter this winter in a new space. There are expectations. There is reason to be aggressive. The Tigers are not tearing down or rebuilding. In theory, they are looking to win.
Adding a right-handed bat and more
At his end-of-season news conference, Harris gave a general outline of the team’s offseason targets. The Tigers want to add a right-handed bat, and of course, they seek to add more pitching.
We may learn more specifics in the coming days. But there is an obvious question at hand. Will the Tigers be active players near the top of the free-agent market? Harris has not yet stated which position or positions he would most like to upgrade. But the corner infield spots seem like Detroit’s most natural areas for addition. At third base, Alex Bregman looms as the top free-agent option and a player who could make perfect sense for Detroit, if the Tigers are willing to pay a high price tag.
Could Alex Bregman reunite with his former Houston manager, A.J. Hinch, in Detroit? (Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)
Across the infield, players such as Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt and Pete Alonso are free agents who will seek various forms of paydays on the open market. Anthony Santander plays outfield but also has experience at first and could be a natural fit. The Tigers still have Spencer Torkelson, so there is a potential dilemma to navigate in adding a first baseman.
And knowing this front office, there’s no guarantee the Tigers will simply seek to pluck a big name from free agency. The Tigers could look for a more creative upgrade via the trade market. Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Mountcastle of the Baltimore Orioles and Rhys Hoskins of the Milwaukee Brewers are among names who make sense as potential targets.
On the pitching front, the Tigers need to add at least one swing-and-miss option to the back end of their bullpen. Also, expect the Tigers to sign at least one starting pitcher. The Tigers will be unlikely to bid on the Blake Snells or Max Frieds of the world. But they may seek another project such as Michael Lorenzen and Jack Flaherty in years past to round out their rotation.
Among more proven options, a reunion with Flaherty remains an interesting proposal. Others such as Nick Pivetta, Nathan Eovaldi, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino are among what figures to be a long list of options. The Tigers could also have interest in a stuff-heavy pitcher such as Michel Kopech, who could work as either a starter or reliever.
Roster decisions: What happens with Brendan White?
If you’ve forgotten how much the Tigers sold off at the deadline, consider the fact they have no pending free agents. The lone contract option they have to decide on belongs to right-hander Casey Mize, whose $3.1 million team option was always a fait accompli. Expect the Tigers to pay Mize a $10,000 buyout, retain control of Mize and renegotiate at a lower price in advance of arbitration.
Because they have no pending free agents, the Tigers also have no players eligible for qualifying offers.
Still, there is immediate action to come. Monday is the deadline for the teams to reinstate players from the 60-day injured list. For the Tigers, that means Javier Báez (right hip surgery), Sawyer Gipson-Long (left hip, right elbow), Alex Faedo (right shoulder strain) and Brendan White (right radial nerve).
Of those players, White is most at risk of being designated for assignment rather than added back to the roster. Although there is upside in his stuff, White battled arm woes all season and underwent a hydro-dissection procedure in August.
The Tigers currently have 39 players on the 40-man roster, so even if they reinstate only three players, two more must go. Left-hander Bryan Sammons, right-hander Ricky Vanasco, first baseman Bligh Madris and outfielder Ryan Vilade are among those at risk of being DFA’d at some point this winter.
Arbitration/non-tender decisions: Is this the end for Akil Baddoo?
The Tigers should have nine players eligible for arbitration, and the deadline for tendering contracts for both arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players is Nov. 22.
Akil Baddoo and Alex Lange are not eligible for Super Two arbitration status because neither met the threshold of at least 86 service-time days in the 2024 season.
Baddoo, the fan-favorite outfielder, is among the players most likely to lose a roster spot this winter. Infielder Ryan Kreidler and right-hander Mason Englert are two more players who could be vulnerable.
Depending on how much the Tigers intend to add to their roster, they could even face difficult decisions on key role players such as Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry.
The Tigers’ arbitration-eligible players (with projected salary from MLB Trade Rumors):
• Tarik Skubal: $8 million
• Casey Mize: $2 million
• Jake Rogers: $2.5 million
• Will Vest: $1.4 million
• Zach McKinstry: $1.3 million
• Jason Foley: $3.5 million
• Matt Vierling: $3 million
• Andy Ibáñez: $1.5 million
• Beau Brieske: $1.3 million
Rule-5 draft protection decisions: Joseph Montalvo and other trade additions
The Tigers must decide by Nov. 19 which eligible prospects they would like to add to the 40-man roster and thus protect from the Rule 5 draft.
Among the many names eligible, pitchers Chase Lee, Tyler Owens and Joseph Montalvo — all trade-deadline additions from the Texas Rangers this past summer — may have the best cases to get added to the 40-man. Montalvo may be the most talented of the bunch, but given he has yet to pitch above High A, it’s also unlikely another team would select him in the Rule 5 draft. Others such as Lael Lockhart Jr., Gage Workman and RJ Petit present borderline cases.
With 40-man spots at a premium these days, the Tigers will likely have a high standard for who gets added.
Now that the offseason has begun, here’s a list of #Tigers Rule 5 eligible players. pic.twitter.com/JdH2YkiNcb
— Rogelio Castillo (@rogcastbaseball) October 31, 2024
(Top photo of Akil Baddoo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
