Detroit Tigers Must Answer Burning Questions About Infield Ahead of Pivotal Season
Following their incredible run to the playoffs in 2024, the Detroit Tigers had a clear understanding of what needed to be done with their roster in the offseason.
Pitching depth behind American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was necessary, but the biggest need was to add some more pop to the offense.
The Tigers struggled to consistently score runs, finishing in the bottom half of the league in most offensive categories. That continued in the playoffs where they managed to score only seven runs in 21 games.
Despite the glaring need, the only addition that was made to their lineup was former New York Yankees slugger Gleyber Torres.
He will be taking over as the starting second baseman, which will push Colt Keith over to first base after a strong rookie campaign manning the Keystone. The addition of Torres will also push Spencer Torkelson out of the starting lineup.
Alas, second base was far from the team’s biggest need in the lineup.
Where they needed the most help was on the left side of the infield, which is now the biggest storyline to keep an eye on this year in the opinion of Jim Bowden of The Athletic (paid subscription required).
“The biggest storyline will be the left side of the infield and how much production the Tigers will get from Trey Sweeney at shortstop and Jace Jung at third base with Javier Báez still guaranteed $73 million for three more years,” the former MLB executive wrote.
Jace Jung, one of their top prospects, won’t be helping out at the start of the year. He was shockingly demoted, creating a bigger question mark on the left side of the infield.
Already without Matt Vierling until after Opening Day, it is anyone’s guess who will be handling a majority of the playing time at the hot corner.
That could lead to the embattled Javier Baez handling third base with Zach McKinstry as his left-handed hitting platoon partner.
Having Baez receiving regular at-bats is far from an ideal situation. He may still have something to offer defensively but he has been one of the worst hitters in franchise history over his three campaigns with the team.
In an ideal world, Jung will find his form after being demoted and figure things out enough that he warrants regular playing time at the Major League level.
Of course, this all would have been solved had the team been able to close the deal with veteran Alex Bregman in free agency.
The two-time All-Star and World Series champion thought that he was going to be playing for Detroit, but the Boston Red Sox swooped in at the final moment to get a deal done with him.
Their outlook would be vastly different with a star of Bregman’s caliber manning the hot corner, as they do not currently have a starting caliber shortstop on the roster either.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.