Detroit Tigers Executive Already Targeting One Clear Free Agency Need
The Detroit Tigers put together a magical back half of the year where they came all the way back from being virtually eliminated from postseason contention, to making the playoffs and being one win away from reaching the American League Championship Series.
Because that came following their decision to embrace a youth movement, the future seems to be extremely bright for this group going forward as many of these players were really just getting their first taste of everyday Major League action.
But going into 2025, there are some clear holes the front office needs to upgrade.
One of those is already on the radar of Scott Harris.
"I think positionally, we got a little left-handed toward the end of the year. I think we could use a right-handed bat to balance us out," he said per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.
What positions in particular he might be eyeing isn't known.
Despite the struggles of shortstop Javier Baez, he likely is going to be back in an everyday role when he is healthy enough to return from his hip surgery. He would be a right-handed hitter added to the lineup, and someone to pair with Trey Sweeney, who had some bright moments, but also struggled in the playoffs.
Perhaps the Tigers look to bring in an outfielder to break up the three lefties in Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Parker Meadows.
While Matt Vierling played an important role across the outfield and infield as a utilityman, adding a right-handed slugger who could punish left-handed pitching would be a huge boost for this offense.
Of course, that brings the financial situation into the forefront with it not being known how much ownership is willing to spend at this point in time.
The good news for Detroit is there are franchise cornerstones all over the roster they didn't previously have during the early stages of their rebuild. By turning the keys over to their young players, the front office was able to get a look at areas they need to improve heading into next year.
In the long term, the Tigers have plenty of pieces in place to win at a high level.
But if they want to get back to where they were during this postseason, and even go further, Harris and his front office know what types of players to pursue this winter.
