Detroit Tigers Offseason Outlook

by bbdbrandon on Oct 20, 2008 1:05 PM EDT Comment 4 comments

Over at The Outsiders Look I take a look at the Detroit Tigers and what I think they should do this coming offseason. The look at the Tigers is a part of a series in which I put my GM hat on and make team-by-team moves to best set up a club for today and tomorrow.

Two major moves I advocate for is the acquisition of contract-year catcher, Ramon Hernandez, a stopgap until James Skelton is ready for the majors. The second, is the addition of defensive minded Adam Everett. While his bat would be a downgrade for the Tigers, the improved left side infield defense would make up for that. Furthermore, it's not as if the Tigers are lacking the ability to put runs across the plate.

With what is turning into a fairly nice minor league system, the Tigers are at a crossroads. I believe, another season of big draft-day spending, and surprise prospect developments will be enough to continue to strengthen this franchise.

Bounce back seasons, coupled with the additions I mention should be enough to put the Tigers back in post season contention for the 2009 season.

If you were in charge, what direction would you take the team in? Do you agree with my moves, why or why not?

Keep in mind, this article is not written from the perspective of what the Tigers will do, rather, what they should do.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bless You Boys writing staff. However, it does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as anything else written here at BYB.

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You’re realistic, I’ll give you that. Ramon Hernandez is an intriguing C option, not really sure what they’re gonna do there though. The thought of Adam Everett as the everyday SS makes me cringe; I think the SS next season is Eckstein.

I’m not sold on a rotation rebound either; Verlander, Bonderman, and Willis are no givens to bounce back. Rogers is ancient, Galarraga won’t be fooling anyone next year, and Robertson flat-out sucks. I think Garcia needs to come back too.

They need to do more to improve the bullpen than that as well; they need to look at Juan Cruz and Joe Beimel and absolutely CANNOT solve the closer issue within the organization and fortunately they seem to know this. K-Rod won’t happen, Fuentes is a possibility, but Gagne is most likely in my opinion. I do like the idea of contracts to Foulke and Reyes but absolutely not Jo-Bo. He makes Todd Jones look like Mariano Rivera.

by BigDaddyJC on Oct 24, 2008 12:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Replies

Thanks for reading and replying…

RE: Everett

Offensively Everett isn’t much of a step down from Eckstein. Defensively, Everett is light years ahead of Eckstein. In terms of value, Everett is the better choice in my opinion.

RE: The bullpen

Are you that worried about Zumaya?

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by bbdbrandon on Oct 27, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apologies for the slow response

My biggest problem with Hernandez is that he doesn’t hit left-handed. And I wonder if that’s going to be a priority for any veteran catcher the Tigers pick up. But like you said, he might not be bad as a stopgap.

And my question about Everett is his health. Is he the same player defensively after the shoulder injury he suffered this season? Otherwise, I agree that he’d be a big help at shortstop.

Regarding the bullpen, yes I’m that worried about Zumaya. I’m beginning to wonder if he’ll ever be the Tigers’ closer. But they can’t wait and hope for him to come back healthy, like they did this past season. The Tigers need to be much more proactive in finding a reliever to replace him. (I like Cruz, too.)

Bless You Boys

by Ian Casselberry on Oct 27, 2008 2:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Your Idea

Ramon Hernandez is an ok catcher that will fill a good stop-gate. But why did the Tigers trade away Pudge, I know it’s because he wants a lot of money, but then they left it to Brandon Inge. The Tigers need to repair the starting rotation, maybe with someone as a fill-in for the rotation like Randy Johnson?

The Trade-Maker

by dasox313 on Nov 16, 2008 11:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs