The Tigers have had a fairly quiet offseason. First-year baseball operations leader Scott Harris has shied away from long-term additions on the heels of the team’s “Murphy’s law” 2022 campaign. The club took a couple upside dice rolls on Matt Boyd and Michael Lorenzen for the rotation, likely with an eye towards a possible deadline deal if they get off to strong starts. They’ve shipped out Gregory Soto and Joe Jiménez and could consider further subtractions from the bullpen.
Detroit hasn’t added any slam-dunk regulars on the position player side over the past few months. They brought in a couple upper level players in the Soto deal who could factor into the mix. No one acquired this offseason should be guaranteed an everyday job, and the lineup-wide underperformance last year means there’s plenty of uncertainty around the diamond. That’s particularly true in the outfield, where Detroit has a handful of options who could vie for a spot in A.J. Hinch’s lineup early in the year.
Lineup Locks
Greene’s a lock for the center field job if healthy. The former fifth overall pick has raked throughout his minor league career and entered 2022 as one of the top handful of prospects in the game. He looked to be trending towards an MLB job out of camp last year but a Spring Training foot fracture kept him on the injured list and required some ramp-up time at Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers promoted the left-handed hitter in the middle of June. He was the club’s center fielder from then forward, starting 93 games. Greene hit .253/.321/.362 with five home runs through his first 418 MLB plate appearances. While it wasn’t the eye-popping debut enjoyed by some other rookies in the class, hitting at a roughly league level in the majors as a 21-year-old is no small feat. He hit a few too many grounders but posted above-average exit velocities and solid contact skills. It’s a strong offensive foundation and he’s arguably the most important player in the organization. Some prospect evaluators have suggested he might eventually be a better fit for left field than center, but there’s no real reason for Detroit to move him to a corner in what’s going to be an evaluative year anyhow.
Like Greene, Meadows will also be an everyday player if healthy. Unfortunately, he’s coming off an almost totally lost season. Acquired from the Rays during Spring Training, he only appeared in 36 games with Detroit during his first year as a Tiger. He battled vertigo-like symptoms early in the year, then lost time after contracting COVID-19. While attempting to ramp back up, he suffered strains in both Achilles tendons. Towards the end of the season, he and the club agreed to shut down his rehab so he could focus on his mental health.
Getting Meadows right both physically and mentally is obviously the top priority and a prerequisite to him rediscovering his past success. He’s shown the ability to be an impact left-handed power bat at his best, twice topping 25 home runs during his time in Tampa Bay. Meadows is limited to the corner outfield or designated hitter and should get extended run somewhere, assuming he’s ready to return to the diamond. With two remaining seasons of arbitration control, he could be a deadline trade candidate if he gets back on track.
Immediate MLB Mix
Baddoo looked like a great find for Detroit’s scouting staff in 2021. A Rule 5 draftee from the Minnesota system, he stuck on the roster and played in 124 games as a rookie. Despite making the jump directly from High-A, the left-handed hitter put up a solid .259/.330/.436 line with 13 homers and 18 stolen bases over his first 461 plate appearances in the big leagues. It’d have been a strong showing for any player but was particularly impressive for a Rule 5 selection.
The Tigers secured his long-term contractual rights and opened last season with Baddoo in center field. His second year against big league arms was a significant struggle. He stumbled to a .204/.289/.269 line across 225 trips to the plate, seeing his power production and hard contact rate decline. The Tigers optioned him to Toledo in early May. He responded to the demotion extremely well, hitting .300/.405/.500 in 30 games during his first real upper minors action. Detroit recalled him around the All-Star Break but he again hit at a below-average level down the stretch.
Baddoo is still just 24. He’s shown a patient plate approach at the MLB level and plays plus defense in the corner outfield (though he’s stretched in center field). His strong Triple-A performance means 2022 wasn’t a complete lost year, though he’ll need to make more of an offensive impact against MLB pitching to establish himself. He still has two minor league options remaining, so the Tigers can keep him in Detroit or Toledo depending on his performance.
A former 19th-round draftee, Carpenter wasn’t regarded by most evaluators as more than an organizational depth player heading into last season. He altered that perception with a breakout showing in the upper minors. Between Double-A Erie and Toledo, Carpenter connected on 30 home runs with a massive .313/.380/.645 line over 400 plate appearances. He earned his first MLB call in August and hit another six longballs with a .252/.310/.485 slash over 31 games.
The 25-year-old has put himself firmly in the mix for playing time. There’s still some skepticism about his viability as a long-term regular, though. He’s limited to the corners and regarded as a below-average defender there, raising the possibility he’s best suited for DH work. He has big power but an aggressive offensive approach that could limit his on-base marks. Baseball America named him the #8 prospect in the Detroit system last month, calling him a possible low-end regular or lefty platoon bat. While that would still be a great outcome for a 19th-round pick, Carpenter should get a chance to see if he can outperform that projection this year. He still has all three options remaining.
Acquired from the Phillies in the Soto deal, the 26-year-old Vierling steps right into the outfield equation. He’s appeared in 151 games with Philadelphia over the past two seasons, hitting .260/.309/.374 through 434 plate appearances. After accounting for the Phils’ hitter-friendly ballpark, that checked in 12 percentage points below league average, as measured by wRC+. He hasn’t hit for a ton of power and has walked at just a 6.2% clip, tamping down his on-base numbers.
While Vierling hasn’t established himself against big league pitching, he’s shown some interesting traits. He’s made hard contact at an excellent 48.2% clip while demonstrating strong bat-to-ball skills. A right-handed hitter, he’s posted solid numbers against lefties (.307/.343/.423) while struggling with same-handed pitchers (.227/.285/.339). Vierling bounced around the diamond in Philadelphia, playing all three outfield spots with occasional looks on the infield dirt.
Public defensive metrics haven’t liked his work in center field. He’s probably better suited for a corner while covering center field and second or third base in a pinch. It’s at least easy to see him carving out a multi-positional role against southpaws with the potential to take on more responsibility if he can translate his promising underlying offensive indicators into more consistent production. He has one remaining option season.
Multi-Positional Options
Also part of the Soto deal with Philadelphia, Maton’s a left-handed hitting utilityman. He’s mostly an infielder but could see some time in the corner outfield if the Tigers are looking for ways to get him in the lineup. He owns a .254/.330/.434 line in 87 career MLB games and posted a strong .261/.368/.436 showing in 250 Triple-A plate appearances last year.
It’s essentially the same story with Kreidler, whom BA ranked as Detroit’s #9 prospect. He has spent virtually his entire career as an infielder, playing mostly shortstop in the minor leagues. Kreidler’s professional outfield experience consists of two MLB innings of center field work last season, so it’s possible Detroit doesn’t consider him a real option for the outfield. It’s not uncommon to see multi-positional infielders eventually branch out into corner outfield work, though, as expanded defensive flexibility increases their utility off the bench. Kreidler’s a good enough athlete it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Tigers experiment with him in the outfield at some point. The more straightforward path to playing time for both Maton and Kreidler is at second/third base, though.
Haase has some left field experience in his MLB career. He’s primarily a bat-first catcher who has spent the bulk of his time behind the plate. As things stand, he looks like Detroit’s primary catcher. If a player like Donny Sands, Jake Rogers or non-roster invitee Andrew Knapp seizes the bulk of the catching time, Haase could factor into the corner outfield mix more frequently.
Late-Season Possibilities
Detroit also has a pair of notable outfield prospects who could factor into the mix in 2023. Former second-round pick Parker Meadows had a .275/.354/.466 line with 16 longballs and 17 stolen bases in 113 games for Erie last year. He walked at a strong 10.6% clip while cutting his strikeout rate to a career-low 18.4%. He just turned 23 and is already on the 40-man roster.
Justyn-Henry Malloy, 23 next month, came over from the Braves in the Jiménez trade. The right-handed hitter traversed three minor league levels in 2022, briefly reaching Triple-A after strong showings in both High-A and Double-A. Malloy walked at a massive 18.1% clip en route to a .268/.403/.421 line over 54 Double-A contests. He’s not yet on the 40-man.
Both Meadows and Malloy figure to start the upcoming season with Toledo. There’s no need for Detroit to push either player to the majors before the front office is convinced they’re ready. With another strong upper minors performance, either could put themselves on the map for a midseason promotion. In the interim, the Tigers figure to get looks at players like Baddoo, Carpenter and Vierling to sort out where that group fits in the long-term picture.
I think each of Vierling and Maton will have strong campaigns for the Tigers next year.
Let’s start carvin’ marvin’, & see what the role is…
Watched them 2 play all year. I think they are more backups. But I hope they take this chance and blow it out of the water
Three backups sharing a corner and the 4OF spot isn’t necessarily a bad idea if they have different skill sets
It’ll be Meadows, Greene and Baddoo/Carpenter. With Vierling out there and maybe INF with Kreidler, Maton, Baez, Schoop and Torkelson. Cabrera and any one of them, including Haase will get AB’s. Rogers & Haase will compete for starting Catcher and maybe Sands can stick if he hits as good or better than them.
I agree with your assessment, MLB depth pieces.
As a Phillies fan I hope that does and does not happen lol
Wish thr M’s had kept Boyd
For $10 million, I wish the M’s kept him too.
You can have him.Great human being average pitcher
Idk….He had a nice run a few years ago where he was basically our Ace and got the OD start at least once.
Cross our fingers on those two. Seems like Sands could be decent too from that trade too. I hope Baddoo bounces back (love watching him) and Carpenter seizes the bulk of the DH time.
Super small sample size, but I was unimpressed during Sands’s late look last year. He could also be good as well.
If even one of the three pans out I think the Tigers win the trade when Soto implodes this season or next in Philly.
Sands started catching 2 years ago. If i had to put money down there is almost 0% chance he catches the tigers big league staff. Also read where he gave up almost 4 steals a game in AAA.
LOL, Sands started catching in 2016. Your point is correct though about Sands – he’s probably not a full-time C on a contender.
Exactly my point, he just started catching. He not mlb caliber period. Maybe they have plans for him at 1b or DH? He won’t catch mlb staff Not just on a contender but any mlb team. If I started catching today I wouldn’t be anywhere near mlb caliber in 4 yrs. That just doesn’t happen. It’s not like he’s athletic either. Only if injuries he’d be brought up is my guess
How did you read 2017 (7 years ago) as “just started catching?”
Soto walks a lot of batters.
He is definitely not a guy to bring in a inning with a runner or two on base with the game on the line. If you dare bring him
in, it better be a fresh inning. Otherwise its very risky with Soto.
He will be back with Detroit in 2024 on a minor league contract after he flops with the Phillies.
Just as long as Soto doesn’t EXplode. The clubhouse guys have an already difficult job.
Vierling and Baddoo as a platoon in LF looks possible. Carpenter platooning with Cabrera could be a good way to keep Miggy fresh for the whole season, as he does his curtain call.
Vierling’s certainly a cornerman more than a CF.
Just let Miggy platoon with his two families and leave the Tigers be.
You better cross your toes too.Luck is all we can hope for with such little talent
finally, a fun group of players to read about in detroit
Its a lot better than Reyes, Candelario and the Castros.
Those guys were given way to long to develop at the major league level. Of these 4 guys only Jeimer landed a MLB contract. It just shows you how thin the team was on talent over this rebuild. Al Avila has to go down as the WORST general manager of all time.
MCJ you must have forgotten about Detroit’s Randy Smith. But I see your point with AA.
Oh I remember Randy Smith, all right. At least Randy would make a move to improve the team whereas Avila would be too afraid to take a chance when the situation called for action. Also, Avila’s returns on all the veterans he dealt only netted one, just one MLB regular before he fissled out last year. Id take Randy Smith any day over Avila.
This smells like a 100 loss year for the tigers of detroit.
Looks like 2023 is going to be a developmental year to determine what the Tigers have in terms of prospects becoming players.
The 4 outfielders will likely be Greene, Meadows, Veirling and Carpenter or Badoo whoever wins the ST battle.
Bench will be suspect as the Tigers will probably go w/ 13 pitchers, so looking at Kreidler, Rogers, Carpenter/Badoo and Short
I’m guessing the Tigers will go with five outfielders, five infielders and one DH (Cabrera) for much of this season. Although Carpenter will probably spend half his time at DH.
Baddoo makes my team on name alone.
His nickname in Detroit is Baddont
Everywhere else it’s Badwho?
If Meadows isn’t traded
They won’t trade him any time soon.
What about overpaying for Riley Greene? Duran (mid-season top 100) and Owen White for him? If needed maybe add in Leody Tavares and/or Dustin Harris? Everyone has a price, regardless of how reasonable it is. Or, White/Duran for Meadows? A top 100 guy has to change their minds.
No way they are trading Greene for spare parts
Eh… if you consider top 100 guys spare parts, so is he. He is more like Spencer Howard, but still in a similar category. Do you want a top 25 guy for him? Adapting to last season’s numbers matters to many. Bptu were top 25 guys who didn’t do well at the MLB level. I get the value is probably off, but there is not way they don’t at least counter and maybe ask for Leiter too or Foscue or whatever. Prospect for prospect deals do work. Maybe add Rocker. At some point, this has to be reasonable.
Greene was the 2nd ranked prospect overall behind Adley when he was called up. It would take a top 25 prospect and then some to even get negotiations started for Greene.
Of course. But stock falls with performance. Leiter was consensus top 25 and Howard was top 50 twice. Maybe, you are referencing mid-season MLB.com ranking that I’m not sure where to find, but how is Leiter, Howard, and White or Duran? I’d say quantity means something.
White, Duran, Leiter, Rocker and Foscue sounds good to me 😉 seriously though, the extra players you listed could move the bar mixed with the others but not your furst list. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of those players but Greene is going to be special and we need special right now. I still think Leiter will be a star. Rocker…who knows, but I probably like him more than most (hes at keast a Soto type bullpen arm). Foscue, I find super intriguing. Writeups on White looks good but honestly i dont know much about him. Taveras, Harris, Duran are wild cards to me. Tigers don’t need any more wild cards. If the Tigers got Leiter, Foscue, Rocker and Duran I wouldn’t complain but I’d still be hesitant and would question if we need a star CFer more than a group that looks a lot like the guys we have in the upper minor leagues with similar skill sets. Leiter swings it for me…he is going to be wicked and has history in Detroit. Meadows on the other hand…
Foscue has a good eye. I love his BB/K numbers. If he can be replaced with Acuna, I’d overpay and go for him. Maybe replace Leiter or Rocker with White, who would be sold high, and it’s even better.
As a reds fan, I would gladly take Meadows and a mid level prospect for Cessa, Reynolds’s and maybe another prospect.
Not even close
Which Reynolds?
I think there is one more trade left in Scott Harris’ tank.. Eduardo Rodriguez.
Let’s go! I’m ready for opening day, and some sunshine!
Agreed. Still a good chance that Eduardo Rodriguez gets traded.
I hope they trade Eduardo too.
He is going to opt out after this season thanks to Avila’s incompetence of agreeing to that clause after only two years of control.
They won’t get much for him unless you throw in a good prospect to sweeten the deal a bit.
Lets talk reason. Eduardo and Meadows are both at their lowest value and won’t even be considered as trade bait until they have reestablished their value and can bring back actual value.
Anybody who can pitch is good value right now. Wait for the trade deadline for Meadows a d build up his trade value like you say, but I think they would still get good value on Rodriguez given how wonky things are with pitchers right now
That’s a valid point for Meadows. Rodriguez is another story. The market is strong for starting pitchers, there are teams that would want him for his relatively low salary. If he does well in 2023, he’ll opt out. They’re not going to get a lot for him, but they can something worthwhile. And they don’t really need him, they have a lot of young pitchers who need a chance to prove themselves.
Considering Lorenzen’s career OPS is greater than the 2022 Tigers Team OPS, shouldn’t he be a candidate to play OF too?
Built in pinch hitter like he has been at other stops in his career like Cincinnati.He can hit. Ohtani, lite, lite 😉
The trade for Vierling suggests that the Tiger are unlikely to add another OF to their 40 man roster. But it is a pretty thin group overall. After the top 5 no one on the roster has MLB experience. Makes me wonder if the Tigers will try to find someone they can add on a minor league deal in case of injury.
That said, I am excited to see what this group can do. Especially want to see what Carpenter can do over a longer period of time.
Tigers cut ties with Morris. Gibson will be on less games….. But more Monroe and Petry. More off the field changes then on the field.
Harris is cleaning out the bad apples. Morris would just bring a dark cloud with him anywhere he walked.
I like Morris, he was the best part of the TV broadcasts. About the only good thing, really.
Yes some new announcer please Gibson and Morris are so awful..Sometimes i watch the others team broadcast i can’t stand them.Tigers really have hard time finding any that don’t drive you crazy.
Close Gibson and our outfield problem is solved. My all time favorite player. Loved hearing him in the booth too
“ not adding any slam dunk regulars”, is probably the biggest understatement of the off season !
Interested to see how year two unfolds for Greene. He was looking to be as advertised before the late spring foot injury.
Austin Wynns is still with the Giants isn’t he? Don’t think the Tigers can invite him to their spring training
Yea Wynns isn’t on the Tigers. Think the writer was referring to Knapp.
Oof yeah brutal mistake on my part. I did mean Knapp, yes. Thanks for catching that.
I think the 5x outfielders will all hit at least 15 HRs this year and Greene, Meadows and Carpenter could go 20-25. I’m optimistic about the whole offense. The pitching is my concern this year…SP and RP. Wouldn’t that be nuts if they flipped and the offence was great and the pitching sucked this year.
I’m more worried about 3B than anything else. I guess as of now we’re relying on Maton who has less than 200 MLB at-bats and has only played 2 MLB games at 3B? The kid has some promise, probably more than Kreidler, but that’s a lot of pressure. Hoping we trade for a slightly more established 3B soon.
Gorman from St Louis would be nice
Agree, think our Bp takes a huge step back. Hard to replace fulmer , chafin, Jimenez and Soto. I know the FO thinks they can but that’s not realistic.
Detroit should consider bringing Fulmer back on a two year deal. They need him back after those trades.
Every season there are breakout and rebound players from rosters like Detroit’s and the 2023 Tigers offer a lot more than usual, at least a half dozen and a case could be made for most of the team, including pitchers. With so many, it’s not likely that we’ll see a year like ’22 where most of the hitters were predictably mediocre instead of this year’s “unpredictable”. To maximize that opportunity, Miggy should hang it up by the ASG. Not saying that they’ll win more than 81 but they’ll finish with a foundation that Harris can build on in ’24.
Time to put a help wanted ad in the Free Press.
“Tigers Uncertain” should be their ’23 motto.
Tigers motto should be ”We suck Again”
I think the scouts are wrong about Carpenter being a low end regular (at best) in the lineup. That guy is strong with a great swing. He hit at a 30+ HR pace in his 31 games, and his production seemed steady (not streaky). There’s also reason to believe he is one of those players that gets better over time.
It’s just not out of the realm of possibilities that he becomes a star slugger for years to come.
Needs to work on his defense though.
I think Carpenter is going to have a good year with the shift being banned. Most of his outs were hit into the shift
My best guess is Carpenter never becomes more than a fourth outfielder or platoon option at DH, but I hope I’m wrong.
Hopefully this unending rebuild ends before i die
Your lips to God’s ear.
If Parker Meadows makes it to the show in 2023 id be surprised. Malloy not at all, he will be a late season call-up.
I agree, except I think Malloy will get called up before the all star game.
I really like the trade for Malloy and think he will be solid. Parker has to show a second year of development. As it stands I’m not a believer given his previous showing. I think they should trade P. Meadows now (package him) while his value is higher to address needs for the future. Everyone seems to be looking for CFers close to the show. Let someone else dream on him.
The Tigers certainly need to get lucky on a couple of these guys