Insider States 'All Signs Point To' Detroit Tigers Moving Off Former Top Prospect
The Detroit Tigers have some decisions to make this winter.
With a roster full of young talent, they can choose to let it play out and see what this group is capable of achieving, or they can get aggressive and try to add established players at positions of need to really give themselves the best chance of contending.
Of course, there's also the middle ground between these two options, signing some veterans on short-term deals who won't block the progress of their rising stars.
That's likely how the Tigers operate this offseason, especially with an ownership group who is rumored to be ready to spend money so they can compete for titles in the AL Central for years to come.
One area Detroit could look to upgrade is first base.
Although their former top prospect and No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson is there, he has struggled during the early stages of his career to the point where he was demoted to the minors for a good chunk of this past season.
There are some concerns he may never hit the ceiling that was projected, and if that's the case, then the Tigers will need a reliable power-hitting first baseman going forward.
Knowing that, Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reported a nugget of information regarding where the franchise stands on Torkelson.
"He also set career-worst marks in strikeout rate and walk rate. His defense improved at first base, but all signs point to the Tigers moving on from Torkelson as their first baseman of the future, possibly as soon as this offseason," he wrote.
That's interesting.
It looked like the slugger might have finally broken through in 2023 when he blasted 31 homers and drove in 94 runs, but he followed that up with a disappointing campaign this past season where he slashed .219/.295/.374 with just 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
His strikeout rate was also 27.6%, while his hard hit rate dropped to 39.7%, a concerning development for where he's at in his career.
If Detroit feels like he won't be the long-term answer for them at first base, then this winter would make sense for them to move him since he's still relatively young at 25 years old and could flip him to a team who missed out on the free agency sweepstakes of Pete Alonso and Christian Walker.
