Detroit Tigers Boss Shares Biggest Way Team Must Improve Ahead of Offseason
For large portions of the 2024 season, the Detroit Tigers looked like a team to be building for the future.
Sitting far away from the playoff picture, Detroit became sellers at the trade deadline and unloaded guys like Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, and Carson Kelly. But a funny thing happened down the stretch and the team wound up going on one of the most improbable late season runs in the history of the sport and would wind up making the postseason and even get through the Wild Card round to eliminate the Houston Astros.
It's a result that should have been eye-opening to both decision makers and ownership within the organization that maybe just maybe the team isn't as far away from contending for a championship as they seemed to be around deadline time. With the run now over, the Tigers now look ahead to the offseason and try to figure out how to improve even further and potentially play a quality full season in 2025 rather than a quality final month and a half. Detroit's president of baseball operations Scott Harris says as the team approaches free agency, any moves they make must be secondary to getting more out of what's already in the clubhouse.
"Regardless of what we do this winter, the majority of our growth has to come from within," Harris said via Evan Woodberry. "There’s just too much opportunity on this roster, and that’s the beauty of building with young players. We have to help them get better."
The Tigers boast one of the finest young cores in the league. Jackson Jobe stepping into the rotation in 2025 could make for the best 1-2 punch in baseball with Tarik Skubal. Not only that, but the players already having spent major time at the major league level are starting to ascend. Jace Jung played only 34 games in 2024 but figures to be a key piece of the 2025 plans. Also in the infield, if Spencer Torkelson can finally take the next step along with growth from Colt Keith, the right side of the infield is shored up for years to come.
On top of this, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter look like superstars in the making in the outfield. Detroit has built from within, and the last month of the season was the first real time that the team saw the fruits of their labor come to fruition. If more of that growth can occur from within in the offseason, the sky could be the limit in 2025.
