During the offseason, the Tigers have obviously been focusing on upgrading their infield. They signed Gleyber Torres Take over the second base. It’s just a year’s deal, but they’re still willing to hit Colt Keith first Spencer Torkelson Hold part-time roles, even minors. They hang out Alex Bregman Markets, showing some desire to install him in the third and blocks Jace Jungalthough Bregman eventually landed with the Red Sox.
However, none of these solve the shortstop situation, so it seems the club will be having a position fight there. This is a risky but defensive strategy, as there aren’t many better options in the winter market. In the trading market, Bo Bichette There are several rumors, but never seem to be really available.
In free agents, Willy Adames Be the only healthy everyday shortstop. He signed a seven-year, $182mm contract with the Giants. Given their fairly clean future payroll ledger, Tigers can certainly match, but it never seems possible. They already have a lot of money dedicated to the position, because there is still one big thing on the books being shortstop, and they have some potential long-term solutions on the horizon.
Let’s take a look at the current picture, short-term and long-term times, as spring training increases.
Expensive bounce candidates
Javier Báez
At this time, Baez’s struggle in Detroit is not a big secret. The Tigers signed a six-year, $140mm deal to reach 2022. He just finished six years of the game and he reached .271/.312/.490 with a 107 WRC+ and had a strong defense and a steady record, allowing him to win 21.9 wins in the fangraphs.
In his first year as a tiger, he reached .238/.278/.393 with 89 WRC+, which was a disappointing but not disastrous performance. He fell further in 2023, producing the .222/.267/.325 line and 63 WRC+. It fell again last year, with Báez’s miserable lines at .184/.221/.294 and 48 WRC+. His defensive indicators also dropped at that time.
Bane’s most favorable view at the moment is that his nose is related to health recently. He only participated in 80 games last year, lacking time due to inflammation in the lumbar spine and hip joints. He underwent end-of-season surgery in August. It’s not everywhere. Back in February, Bayes told Detroit Free Press’s Evan Petzold that he had dealt with lower back discomfort throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
This may sound like a convenient excuse, but may explain why his performance has dropped so dramatically. If the surgery solves his problem and he can get back to full strength in 2025, that could allow him to reverse his recent trend. Even if he doesn’t fully return to the All-Star form, simple bad things will be valuable.
If the struggle continues, the tiger will face difficult choices. Teams are often reluctant to give up on players when there is still a lot of trades left. It’s rare for an eight- or nine-digit deal to have more than two years left. Báez has three years left on his agreement, but as the summer rolls, this will gradually approach two. Even if he is not released, he has the potential to be pushed into the expensive utility/bench.
Possible short-term alternatives
Trey Sweeney
Sweeney, 25, became a passable filler in April, while Báez recovered from surgery last year. As the Tigers are making a comeback in engineering, he entered 36 games in 36 games. Sweeney cut .218/.269/.373 with 81 WRC+. In a small sample of 294 innings, his defensive grading was above average.
This is far better than anything Báez has done recently, but it is also much less than what Báez has reached its peak. Whether Sweeney is the best choice may depend on which version of Báez will appear in 2025.
Sweeney is not the real prospect. Baseball America is currently ranked eighth in the system. He has a lot of numbers among minors, but has some concerns about strikeouts. Last year, he scored .267/.345/.450 in Triple-A but was beaten out in 26.7% of his plate appearances. During his short major league time, he had a similar strikeout rate.
The ceiling isn’t as high as some of the other players mentioned here, but Sweeney has been to the major leagues and is able to handle himself well. If you go south with Báez again, the Tiger will have a defender. But, because he has the choice, he may start the season every day at Triple-A, and Báez tries to get back on track.
Direct depth
Zach McKinstry/Ryan Kreidler
McKinstry, 30 April, isn’t a giant bat, but a good bench/utilitarian. He has 1,207 major league appearances in his career as the .220/.285/.357 series and 79 WRC+. But he also stole 40 bases, including 16 per year in the past two years. Last year, he got those 16 bags and was not caught. He also ranks in all three outfield spots and three infield positions on the left side of the first base, with certain solid traces. Although the bats are bats, the Fangraphs have had a 323-game replacement over the bench’s 3.0 win over the last three seasons. He has no choice and will serve as the major league bench.
Claidler, 27, is still seeking to reach that level. In his three-year major league career, he has 0.147/.212/.193 in his game, although only 167 sets. But, besides hitting second base, third base and some outfields, his shortstop defense is also considered above average. Last year, he has performed well in the offense of minors, but has been better in the past. He still has the option to start the year for Triple-A.
Possible shortstops in the future
Kevin McGonigle/Bryce Rainer
On the top 100 American baseball list, there are two Detroit shortstop prospects. McGonigle is #60 at #23 in Rainer. A brief view of this situation is that McGniegel is a better pure hitter and closer to a major, but he will have a greater risk of leaving shortstop in the future.
McGonigle, now only 20 years old, finished 37th in 2023 with a competitive balanced draft pick. Since the draft, he has participated in 95 minor league games and entered 421 games. 15.2% of these plates have already led to walking, while strikeout rate is only 9%. There were only six home runs there, but his .310/.412/.443 merge line still translated to 143 WRC+. He ended last year at High-A, so reaching Double-A and/or Triple-A in 2025 seems to be a realistic result.
Reiner was only 19 years old and drafted a few months ago. The Tigers set out from Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles in 2024 to bring him to his 11th pick. They didn’t let him play in any minor league games after that draft, so he still had no college or professional experience.
Despite this, expectations are high. As mentioned earlier, the BA has generally finished 60th. MLB Pipeline got him in #53, ESPN’s #79 and Athletics’s Keith Law in #70. He didn’t break the Fanggraphs list, but it highlighted that he was a player and once he made his debut, he had a great chance of making the top 100. There are some questions about contact ability, but his strength and throwing arms are considered a huge asset.
Defensively, McGoniger is considered to have shortstop arms, but his range and movement are even more questionable. Rainer may be a better bet to stick with it briefly, but he still needs to get his feet wet as a professional.
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McGonigle and Rainer have not reached Double-A yet, so it will take some time to get tight. But Bane has three years left for the deal and many fans have called on him to go. Tigers can’t get any money back, so the best case is still Báez rebound. If that doesn’t pass, the club can spin to Sweeney in the short term and then McGonigel and Reiner in the long run. Although the prospect does not always work as expected, there is no guarantee.
How should chip decline affect the future of Tiger? They have no serious commitment to long-term wages except Bayes. Their recent six-year offer to Bregman shows that they are willing to become more aggressive. If they are referred to as internal solutions for short, there should be some resources for the rest of the roster.
