Detroit Tigers’ Scott Harris answers questions about offseason: Will the team spend big?

Scott Harris of the Detroit Tigers responds to inquiries about potential offseason spending.

The prospect of the future excites Scott Harris.

Harris, the president of baseball operations, recently led the Detroit Tigers for his first full season in that capacity.
Positives, negatives, successes, failures, insufficient victories, and an excessive number of losses were present. But his enthusiasm isn’t primarily motivated by a low payroll.

Harris said on Monday in the Tiger Club at Comerica Park, “When I wake up in the morning, the reason why I’m really excited about this organization is we have young talent coming.
We have young talent that is already playing in the major leagues, and we will soon have more young talent.
“.

With a roster dominated by several younger players, including right fielder Kerry Carpenter, left fielder Riley Greene, first baseman Spencer Torkelson, center fielder Parker Meadows, left-hander Tarik Skubal, and right-hander Reese Olson, the Tigers finished 78-84 for second place in the American League Central.

It will be crucial to keep in mind those six players throughout the offseason, particularly the four position players.
Additionally, there are a few top prospects to keep an eye on, including Colt Keith at third base and second base, Justyn-Henry Malloy at right field and left field, and Jace Jung at second base and third base.
(Don’t overlook catcher Jake Rogers and shortstop Javier Báez, two more experienced players.
).

Why are the nine position players — Carpenter (RF), Greene (LF), Torkelson (1B), Meadows (CF), Keith (3B/2B), Malloy (RF/LF), Jung (2B/3B), Rogers (C), and Báez (SS) — important to the Tigers’ offseason strategy?

Let Harris explain: “I’m really bullish on this young talent, so whatever we do this offseason — in free agency or trade — we’re going to have to be mindful of walking the line between finding outside additions that can help us without blocking some of the young talent that may prove to be the best solutions we can find at certain positions.
“.

After the World Series, the Tigers will begin to actively pursue free agents and trade targets.

What is the level of free agency activity?

Harris’ remarks suggest that the Tigers won’t participate in the pricey sweepstakes to acquire third baseman Matt Chapman, mainly because Keith or Jung might serve as the team’s starting third baseman.
Keith seems likely to make the 2024 Opening Day roster, while Jung should start in Triple-A Toledo.

There are no short cuts in conflict, Harris said, so it’s critical to remember that.
“When I reflect on what we’re doing in this organization, we can spend to complement a core, but we can’t spend to build a core.
That approach is unsuccessful in this market.
“.

Since Miguel Cabrera (and his $32 million contract) are no longer employed, there is plenty of room in the lineup for a designated hitter.
However, don’t anticipate the Tigers to sign a DH-only slugger like ex-Tiger J because they want to keep the DH position open so that it can be filled by a number of players.
D. Martinez.

In terms of payroll, the Tigers won’t be paying left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez or Cabrera. Cabrera subtracts $32 million from the projected payroll, and Rodriguez would subtract an additional $18 million if he chooses to exercise his contract’s opt-out clause.

With the one-year contracts the Tigers gave to Matthew Boyd ($10 million) and Michael Lorenzen ($8.45 million) last offseason, that brings the total amount off the books to $50 million.
A $122,235,500 payroll was on hand when the 2023 Tigers season began.

We will toe the line between being aggressive in free agency and trade to find outside additions that can aid us without obstructing our young players, Harris said.
“I don’t yet know what that means in terms of the size of our overall payroll.
“.

Position players have an extremely limited free agent pool.
When compared to the free-agent market, the Tigers should be more active on the trade market, particularly in terms of position players.

In his first year, Harris made three noteworthy trades to acquire controllable positions players.
Malloy and relievers Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Matt Vierling, infielder Nick Maton, and catcher Donny Sands were the other players he dealt. After making the moves in the offseason, he traded Hao-Yu Lee to the Phillies for Lorenzen at the trade deadline.

Harris said, “Right now, this month is going to be important for us to position ourselves to identify opportunities to get better via trade and make sure that we’re prepared to press the button when we see something that we like.
The trade market is extremely difficult to forecast because you don’t know what the other 29 teams are doing.
“.

The weakest division is the AL Central.
The Minnesota Twins, the only winning team in the AL Central this season, finished nine games ahead of the Tigers.
In the other five divisions, there were three champions per group.