The Detroit Tigers had enough young players show promise this season to feel hopeful for the future, but still remain squarely in a rebuild.
Another October where Tigers conversation is focused on the offseason instead of the Postseason. Believe it or not, 78 wins was good enough for a second place finish in the AL Central, but not nearly good enough to be considered a contender.
On the bright side, we did see enough production from Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter to consider them as the core, or foundation, to build upon. Jake Rogers finally strung together a healthy season and put up 21 home runs in only 107 games. Injuries held the pitching staff back, while enough arms flashed to have some hope heading into 2024.
The AL Central was terrible, no beating around the bush on that. I expect the Twins to be strong in ’24, the Guardians to have a potential bounce back with the Royals and White Sox behind the Tigers. New General Manager Jeff Greenberg is filling the role at an interesting time.
The Tigers have a young core and a couple of promising prospects who could crack the lineup next season. How he builds the team around them will ultimately determine just how good this team could be.
Starting Pitching
Options: Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Matt Manning, Casey Mize (IL), Sawyer Gipson-Long, Joey Wentz. Minors: Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Keider Montero, Brant Hurter
Need: A veteran on a one-year deal
With Eduardo Rodriguez likely out of the picture, all of the Tigers option I listed are under team control through at least 2026. Skubal has looked like an ace and should lead this staff for the foreseeable future.
After returning from injury he posted a 2.80 ERA and 2.00 FIP across 15 starts. Matt Manning might not have the ceiling he was projected to have as a prospect, but is good enough to stick in the rotation, even as a back-end starter.
