Detroit Tigers Former Top Prospect Offers Honest Thoughts On Being Replaced
The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason with arguably the biggest issues they were facing coming at both corner infield spots.
Though the Tigers have yet to make a major addition at third base following a failed pursuit of Alex Bregman, they did make new plans for first base following a brutal campaign from former No. 1 overall pick and top prospect Spencer Torkelson.
Detroit went out and signed New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres and plan to move Colt Keith from second to first, setting up Torkelson to have a tough road even making the roster let alone getting significant playing time.
With camp getting started this week and a chance for the slugger to prove why he belongs, he was asked by the media about his reaction to essentially being replaced at first base and gave some honest thoughts as to his perspective on the situation.
"It's not like I was expecting it, but I'm also not naive to this business," Torkelson said via Evan Woodberry. "I haven't shown that I can play consistently. There are people who have decisions to make, important decisions, and I haven't given them a real solid belief to trust me up to this point. And that's just what it is."
Torkelson's numbers in 2023 were far from great, but the Tigers weren't exactly in any sort of position to turn away the 31 home runs he brought to the lineup. In 2024 however, things took a nosedive and he was sent down in June.
His numbers improved a little bit down the stretch, but Torkelson was overall a liability and a black hole in the lineup for the majority of the season during the 92 games he played. Detroit needed to make a backup plan, and they did just that with getting Keith ready to take over at first base.
What role Torkelson has on the 2025 Tigers remains to be seen, but he clearly has some work to do and folks to impress during spring training if he wants any chance of remaining in Detroit.
The team entertained trading him, but with the 25-year-old's value as low as it will ever be, the return the Tigers would get in a trade is not even worth parting ways with any potential upside for Torkelson for as distant as that upside may currently seem.
Time will tell exactly how this situation plays out and whether or not there's a place on this team for Torkelson, but what's undeniable is he has an uphill battle towards proving why Detroit should keep him around.
