Pressure Is on Detroit Tigers To Identify Who Should Make Up Long-Term Core
The unprecedented run on which the Detroit Tigers finished the 2024 season was a lot of fun to watch.
Young players emerging and manager A.J. Hinch creating unique ways to get through the game was a sight to behold. Expect them to be a team that is involved in the postseason picture for years to come.
There is a lot to like about their future outlook.
Having a bonafide star as their ace in likely American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal helps get things going. The stretch run showcased plenty of young talent in the lineup, and even more, is waiting in the wings in the Minor Leagues.
Naturally, the front office and ownership would love to keep every single piece of this core group together forever. But, that isn’t a realistic outcome.
Eventually, they are going to have to pick and choose which players are worth keeping long-term and who they can afford to let walk in free agency or be part of a trade package. It is arguably the toughest job of the front office to identify those things.
How the team goes about this process could be changing.
Before he even made his MLB debut, Colt Keith received a six-year deal from the Tigers. That is something we have seen a lot of franchises do, locking in young talent to buy out arbitration and early free agency years.
It is a route we could see them go again, as Detroit wants to create a sustainable winning culture.
“When I step back and I look at this team, we’ve got a lot of young players that we are really high on, really bullish about their futures,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said, via Jason Beck of MLB.com. “They’re already going to be together for a long time by nature of their service time. If we can extend the window for a lot of them, we’re going to try to do that.”
Skubal, Casey Mize and catcher Jake Rogers are two years away from free agency. Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter are knocking on the door of arbitration. Beau Brieske, Matt Vierling, Jason Foley and Will Vest are already there.
All of those players played key roles in the team finding success down the stretch and in the postseason. In a perfect world, Harris would bring them all back.
But, the job isn’t that easy, as some incredibly difficult decisions will have to be made, starting this winter.
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.