Critical work awaits Tigers after Winter Meetings

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00:00Hello viewers. As has been the case in many recent off-seasons, the Detroit Tigers have

00:05left the winter meetings, with the majority of their off-season work still ahead of them.

00:10However, as they said goodbye to Disney World, they were in a positive position,

00:14for at least having retained some of their key players. Kyle Finnegan, who became the critical

00:19piece of the Tigers' bullpen after his acquisition at last summer's trade deadline,

00:24is returning on a two-year agreement, pending a physical. Drew Anderson, who made a strong

00:29impression as a non-roster invitee in spring training two years ago, before pitching in

00:34Korea, is back on a major league contract, to fill a roster spot. When you add these deals to the

00:40earlier off-season reunions with starter Jack Flaherty, who accepted his player option,

00:45and second baseman Gleyber Torres, who accepted his qualifying offer, the Tigers have managed to

00:50retain the core pieces, from a team that came within one run of reaching the American League

00:55Championship Series, they have also added a swingman, they were fond of from the past.

01:00It's not a flashy series of moves, but it's a start. General Manager Jeff Greenberg stated,

01:05We're continuing to work through the market, obviously we've talked about Kyle a bunch,

01:09and how much we like him. Now, let's look at their biggest remaining needs.

01:13First, relief pitching depth. Even after agreeing with Finnegan and bringing back Anderson,

01:18the Tigers need more options, behind relievers Will Vest and Tyler Holton.

01:22This depth could come from late off-season signings, similar to the Tommy Connell signing

01:27last January, or from signing another starter or two, which would push pitchers like Drew

01:31Anderson and or Troy Melton into bullpen roles. In a bullpen managed by A.J. Hinch,

01:36specific roles matter less than pure stuff, especially the ability to generate swing and

01:40miss pitches. Detroit could use the waiver wire, trades and free agency to add this.

01:46Second, a right-handed bat. The Tigers believe internal player development will drive most of the

01:52needed offensive improvement. However, their lineup is still heavily left-handed, especially after not

01:58tendering a contract to lefty masher Andy Ibanez. Prospects like Max Anderson, their number nine

02:04prospect per MLB pipeline, and or How You Lee, their number six prospect, could potentially fill the

02:10role vacated by Ibanez. But acquiring a more established everyday right-handed bat would have

02:16a greater impact, free agent Haseong Kim could be that player, while also providing stability at

02:21shortstop. Alternatively, Detroit could wait to see how the market for free agent Alex Bregman

02:26develops over the holiday period. Third, clarity on Tarek Skubal. The biggest question surrounding the

02:33club is whether they will keep their, back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner, Tarek Skubal,

02:39or not. As long as the Tigers remain silent on the matter, this will remain a topic of speculation,

02:45until spring training begins, a trade is made, or, President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris

02:51addresses it directly. Both Skubal and Manager A. J. Hinch are determined not to let the situation

02:57become a distraction, but it's a significant storyline. On this topic, Manager A. J. Hinch said,

03:03I'm locked in on looking forward to Skubal pitching for us. If that changes, I'm going to

03:08get a call, and we'll react accordingly. But I'm not focused on that. I know all that Scott has talked

03:14about, and trying to stay out of the lobby here, to have to go over the minute-by-minute curiosity

03:19on the best pitcher in baseball, and the reason that all of this is such a big topic, is because

03:25we have the best pitcher in baseball, and I love that he's a Tiger. In the Rule 5 draft, the Tigers

03:31lost their No. 30 prospect, right-handed reliever R.J. Petit, in the Major League portion. They did

03:37not make any selections in the MLB portion, however they stocked up on pitching in the

03:41AAA phase, adding right-handers Luke Taggart from the Colorado Rockies, Jan Caraballo from

03:47the San Francisco Giants, John Stankiewicz from the Minnesota Twins, and Yendi Gomez from the Los

03:53Angeles Angels. Luke Taggart is a particularly interesting case, the 28-year-old reliever had a strong

03:582022 season with Haya Spokane, posting a 2.53 ERA, with 44 strikeouts over 32 innings, before

04:07missing most of the next two years due to injuries. This past season, he posted a 5.19 ERA across

04:13three levels, however, he has been dominant in the Puerto Rican Winter League, throwing 16 scoreless

04:19innings, with just nine hits allowed, three walks, and 22 strikeouts. Finally, the front office's

04:27perspective, the Tigers' view keeping most of last year's playoff team together as a step forward,

04:33the second half of the offseason will focus on adding to that group, particularly with pitching,

04:37but also potentially a hitter. President of baseball operations Scott Harris said,

04:42There are a lot of conversations happening with free agent relievers and trade targets.

04:46We want to add to our pen, we think we have some pretty strong anchors in our pen right now,

04:51with guys like Will Vest and Tyler Holton, and some young guys who are coming up and establishing

04:56themselves. We have a lot of people that are working very hard to find some bullpen solutions

05:00in a variety of ways, but we are really involved. So, does this methodical approach of securing their

05:07core, rather than chasing headlines, give you confidence that the Tigers are truly on the verge

05:12of contention?

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