4 Moves Detroit Tigers Can Pull Off in Free Agency For Perfect Offseason
The Detroit Tigers head into the offseason with the demonstrated knowledge that they may not be far away from contending for a championship.
Things looked bleak enough at the midway point of the 2024 season that Detroit became sellers at the deadline, but after one of the most unlikely turnarounds in the history of baseball, the Tigers were the hottest team in the league over the last month and a half, making the postseason and eliminating the Houston Astros before falling to Cleveland in a five game ALDS heartbreaker.
The rebuild has worked and Scott Harris should be going into the offseason with the mindset of relentless and aggressive pursuit of improvement in order to search for the final pieces. With that said, here are four moves Detroit can make in order to have a perfect offseason:
Trade 1B Spencer Torkelson
The 2020 No. 1 overall pick had a tough go of it in 2024. After a 31 home run season in 2023 with an OPS of .758 and appearing in all but just three regular season games, Torkelson took a huge step back in 2024. His numbers did improve a bit down the stretch after he was optioned back to Triple-A in June, but ultimately the Tigers can and should do better at first base than what Torkelson was this season. He's still young enough to fetch some value in a trade and allow Detroit to move onto other options.
Sign 1B Christian Walker
Of course, if you move on from Torkelson, then you need to bring in a replacement and it's hard to get better value than what Christian Walker will bring on a shorter term deal. Walker will have a heavy market, but giving him a three-year deal in the $20-25 million AAV range is a low risk option with huge upside given what he has produced recently. Walker is elite on defense having won Gold Gloves in last three years straight and also has a high demonstrated ceiling on offense with 95 home runs, 281 RBIs, and an OPS over .800 over the last three seasons.
Sign 3B Alex Bregman
Admittedly, bringing in both Walker and Bregman may be a bit of a stretch, but given the fact that Walker would not command the length of contract that Bregman will and if ownership is willing to spend, both can be had. Corner infield is arguably the biggest issue on the team, and Harris has a chance to fix both spots in one winter. Bregman won't be cheap, but he's the kind of player who can accelerate a rebuild and bring a championship mentality into the clubhouse. He would be worth every penny.
Sign P Roki Sasaki
If Sasaki was entering the open market like his fellow countryman was last year in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he wouldn't be on this list. Yamamoto wound up signing with the Dodgers for the largest contract ever given to a pitcher and winning a World Series in his first year. Sasaki however is not eligible to receive the league minimum plus a bonus from team's international pools due to his amateur free agent status at just 23 years old. It's been reported that he may prefer a small market team with a good development system, which is exactly what Detroit boasts. Adding starting pitching behind Tarik Skubal is a must, and if the Tigers could do that without even spending, it would be a dream scenario.
