Am I officially a broken man? I feel like if there was ever an off-season where I should be amped and looking forward to seeing what the Tigers are going to do to build around their young core, it would be this one. Yeah, you could’ve said last year, but we weren’t really sure what this team was after their remarkable run at the end of the 2024 season. This is now a group that’s made the postseason in back-to-back years, and there’s a plethora of free agents out there that could help improve the Tigers, and I’m confident that almost none of them will be in Detroit in 2026, unless, of course, they’re playing for an opposing team.
I’m very conflicted. Is Detroit’s lack of spending something that I should probably be frustrated about? Yes, it is, but I also don't believe in being angry at something you fully expect to happen. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me for the 11th straight off-season, and at a certain point, I’m the one who has egg on my face.
I don’t want to give Scott Harris credit by any means. Still, unlike Avila, who never really seemed to have a concrete plan for the future, Harris made it very clear the first day that he arrived in Detroit that his main goal is to develop and retain good young players. We have learned over the last several seasons that the ceiling of this organization is almost entirely dependent on the young core that they developed through the minor leagues. In an ideal world, they hit with all those guys, and they all end up getting paid, staying here for their prime years. Even if that goes perfectly, and we’re talking about Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark as superstars in this league, they’re still going to be more work to be done, and I don’t know if this organization is going to be able to find it within their budget to be able to do it.
The best teams have balance. I look back at what the Astros were able to do for so long. Yes, they developed a fantastic core of young players at the right time. Whether it was at the trade deadline or in the offseason, they went for the kill and acquired some big names to help bolster that young core. There’s no evidence right now that Detroit is going to have the willingness to build around the pieces they have, and that’s assuming that the pieces that they have end up being as good as they project. I wake up every morning, hoping that we see a change of heart, but that’s wishful thinking at this point.