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Detroit Tigers expected to be 'patient' in offseason, but the Tarik Skubal clock is ticking
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- Detroit Tigers expected to be 'patient' in offseason, but the Tarik Skubal clock is ticking
Not once, not twice but three times.
Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris received the same three questions about the payroll for the 2025 season during his hour-long session with reporters Tuesday at the general manager meetings in San Antonio, during which he discussed a variety of topics.
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"Ah, yes, the payroll question," Harris said.
Time and time again, Harris told everyone what to expect this offseason: The Tigers won't commit to a specific payroll threshold, but the team will be improved with upgrades from the free agent and trade markets.
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Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris speaks to media members during spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.
"We're just going to try to get better," said Harris, whose current roster's projected payroll of $80 million is one of MLB's lowest. "We don't go into an offseason with a firm floor or ceiling that we have to get to no matter what. I don't really know where the payroll is going to end up, but we have plenty of support (from owner Christopher Ilitch) to make the team better. We just have to find ways to do it."
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In the 2024-25 offseason, the Tigers are prioritizing a right-handed hitter and a starting pitcher as their biggest needs, fresh off the franchise's first postseason appearance in a decade. At the GM meetings, a proud Harris met with executives and agents to set the groundwork for offseason transactions. The Tigers are believed to be looking for short-term contracts in free agency, specifically a starting pitcher on a one-year deal, just as they have done each of the past two seasons under Harris.
So far, the Tigers have not prioritized third baseman Alex Bregman .
"I don't think they're a year forward," an AL executive said. "I think they will probably be pretty patient and continue to build and try to build a monster over the next couple of years, and when they're ready to push, really push."
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The Tigers — sellers at the trade deadline — were on pace to win just 75 games in 2024 before an improbable 31-13 run in the final 44 games, giving them an 86-76 record, third place in the American League Central and the final AL wild-card berth. The almost-equally improbable collapse of the Minnesota Twins opened the door for the red-hot Tigers to advance to the postseason, snapping a nine-year drought.
Nobody expected all of that to happen, not even the Tigers.
"We're just in a much healthier spot as an organization," Harris said, noting 11 Tigers made their MLB debuts in 2024. "We have a lot of opportunity in front of us as opposed to big, glaring holes that we need to address. ... That youth movement was really fun to watch this year. It's not over. We really like our farm system. We think we have a lot of good young players that are coming."
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The Tigers like to boast about the future value of Class-A position-playing prospects Josue Briceño (first base), Max Clark (center field), Kevin McGonigle (shortstop/second base) and Thayron Liranzo (catcher).
Those players are coming soon, but not in 2025.
"The hard part for them is the Skubal clock is ticking," an AL executive said. "If you're going to push, it's for that reason."
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) walks off the pitching mound after playing a full inning against the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024.
Left-hander Tarik Skubal , arguably the best pitcher in baseball and the soon-to-be AL Cy Young winner, is under team control for two more seasons before becoming a free agent. The 27-year-old is scheduled to hit the open market after the 2026 season.
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The Tigers have already tried to extend Skubal's contract.
It wasn't a competitive offer.
A short-term, low-cost offer won't result in an extension, even if Skubal wants to stay in Detroit. He projects to earn $35-40 million per year over 8-10 years on the open market, as long as he stays healthy and successful.
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If the Tigers can't re-sign Skubal, and if they don't want to trade him, shouldn't they do whatever it takes to win the World Series within the next two seasons before he reaches free agency?
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The Skubal clock is one way to evaluate the Tigers' window for winning. But it's unclear if the Harris-led Tigers will ever commit to a free-agent contract longer than four or five seasons, making Bregman an unlikely addition unless his market crashes.
Bregman, a two-time All-Star third baseman who has a good relationship with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, projects to receive at least $160 million over six seasons in free agency. The 30-year-old has played in 99 postseason games throughout his nine-year MLB career, winning two World Series.
The Houston Astros are motivated to retain Bregman.
He is their biggest priority.
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The Tigers are watching from the sidelines.
"We'd love for him to stay here," Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday during an MLB Network interview . "We feel like there's a good chance we're going to get something done. ... We're optimistic."
If not Bregman, the Tigers could look to the trade market to address their need for a right-handed hitter. An AL executive cited Miami Marlins slugger Jake Burger , who plays third base and first base, as a potential fit for the Tigers.
Burger, 28, is under team control through the 2028 season.
Here's what Harris said about the plan for third base: "We could keep (Matt) Vierling on the infield, and he could play there with Jace (Jung). We could add there, and then Vierling goes back to the outfield. We can do a few different things. We're going to try to find a way to thread the needle to find a way to get better without blocking the young players that have propelled us to get to the postseason."
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Here's what Harris said about the plan for first base: "I think we need to upgrade the performance at the position. I'm not saying the personnel. I'm saying the performance. (Spencer) Torkelson is a really talented player. We just need to find a way to get a little bit more out of him on both sides of the ball."
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Trading for Burger throws three strikes with one pitch, considering he is a right-handed hitter who plays third base and first base. His versatility on defense would add another piece to Hinch's cupboard while keeping the door open for Jung and Torkelson to stay on the MLB roster to continue developing.
More importantly, Burger hit .250 with 63 home runs and a .793 OPS across 278 games in the 2023-24 seasons. His homer total ranks 17th and his OPS ranks 37th among 118 qualified hitters over the past two seasons.
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"You might be a better team," an AL executive said, "and it's not going to cost you very much."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 30: Walker Buehler #21 and Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate as the the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
As for starting pitchers, the Tigers have prioritized one-year, high-cost candidates such as right-handers Walker Buehler and Frankie Montas in free agency. (Ex-Tiger Spencer Turnbull , a fellow righty, fits in the same category, but the Tigers burned that bridge in 2023 .)
The Tigers found success with one-year contracts for Michael Lorenzen in 2023 (trading him for Hao-Yu Lee ) and Jack Flaherty in 2024 (trading him for Liranzo and Trey Sweeney ). The three-step process: Sign them, fix them, trade them.
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They're trying to do it again in 2025.
"I think those opportunities exist," Harris said. "Whether we can find it every single year, I don't know. We'll see. We're going to try. ... In a world where there's no free-agent market for young players, we have to keep finding new ways to both add to our major-league team and then be able to acquire young players."
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Looking ahead, the Tigers should feel confident about many players: Jake Rogers at catcher, Colt Keith at second base, Riley Greene in left field, Parker Meadows in center field, Kerry Carpenter in right field and Matt Vierling in a utility role, plus Skubal, Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe in the starting rotation.
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But the Tigers aren't guaranteed to win the AL Central — or even return to the postseason — in 2025.
This team needs to improve.
"We need to add externally, but we also need to acknowledge the fact that the external gains can't compare with the scale of the gains internally," Harris said. "We have the youngest team in baseball that just made the playoffs and just won a playoff series. If each one of those guys gets a little bit better, we're going to be just fine in the future.
"We got to do both, and we are actively doing both. This isn't a moment in time where we just focus on external additions and forget about development. We are just as focused on development through the offseason while we're trying to add from the outside. It means we got a lot on our plate, but that's what it should be."
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers 'got a lot on our plate,' will be 'patient' in market
