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Tigers 2023-2024 Offseason: Trades, Free Agents, Call ups, Rule 5, tender, non-tender

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/02/08/five-for-friday-103/
FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
Totally Tigers

Ever since Scott Harris was hired, fans were clamoring to know who he would hire as his GM. Even if he would hire one.

And now the Tigers have one although fans would be hard-pressed to be able to tell you anything about him. Most may not even be able to pick him out of a lineup.

His name is Jeff Greenberg and he has an impeccable sports background. But beyond his resume and work experience with Scott Harris when both were with the Cubs, we know almost nothing about him.

There was the press conference for Colt Keith. Greenberg was sitting on the dais but he didn’t speak. And he has yet to do an interview with the media beyond his hiring by the Tigers.

What should we really know about him? We learned from Scott Harris that the 2 of them are not strictly dividing up the work but rather collaborating on a number of projects, feeding off of each other’s ideas.

Greenberg is going into his very first season with the Tigers. And as such, I’ve got 5 questions I’d like to see answered this year.
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/02/11/would-you-rather-23/
WOULD YOU RATHER…?
Totally Tigers

Let’s kick off the week with a brain teaser.

We’re presenting a dilemma to discuss. Two hard choices. And you can pick only one. There is no middle ground in today’s blog.

Here’s the situation:

Spencer Torkelson came into his own as a hitter during the 2023 season. But the rest of his skills are below average.

He is not a fast runner and cost the Tigers -11 runs beyond what an average 1Ber replacement would perform. He ranks as MLB’s worst 1Ber by a wide margin.

Of course, he is still new to the game and it is believed he was set back in his development by the former Front Office that tried to move him to 3B. There is still potential for improvement.

One must consider that Tork’s agent is Scott Boras, who will most definitely take him to free agency after the 2028 season.

In baseball, the best return on a player when you consider trading him is 2 years before he becomes a free agent.

Tork could bring in a nice haul of premium trade candidates should the Tigers chose to trade him before he leaves and the Tigers get little to nothing in return. Potentially, the team could even get a starting pitcher in return from a team desperate for offense.

However, the Tigers are also in need of scoring more runs. How much down the road is still questionable.

Spencer plays baseball’s easiest position and the Tigers currently have a number of candidates who could take over at 1B.

Now, here’s the question we’re asking readers to discuss:

Should the Tigers trade Torkelson in 2 years (after the 2025 season) for a major acquisition so they may receive maximum value for him?

Or should the Tigers keep him and miss out on adding a significant player from a trade while risking losing him to free agency?

Should the Tigers trade Spencer Torkelson in 2 years?

1. Yes, for a solid trade piece.

2. No, keep him.

VOTE
 
Now, here’s the question we’re asking readers to discuss:

Should the Tigers trade Torkelson in 2 years (after the 2025 season) for a major acquisition so they may receive maximum value for him?

Or should the Tigers keep him and miss out on adding a significant player from a trade while risking losing him to free agency?

Should the Tigers trade Spencer Torkelson in 2 years?

1. Yes, for a solid trade piece.

2. No, keep him.

VOTE

there must be nothing to blog about if this is the best she could do today. I would say this would be a good question to ask after the 2025 season. A LOT can happen between now and November of 2025.
 
Way to early on Tork. We have control of him for awhile still. I know people kept saying Tork is fine at first because he made some grabs in the dirt but he's obviously not good there.. He's a DH playing first. He's more a DH than Carpenter. Not sure we have someone will can stick at 1st if they DH Tork - most likely Hinch keeps him at 1B just because he's an idiot and doesn't notice these things..

Outside our SS & C the defense in the IF will be problematic. McInstry is at least average at 3B if he plays there..
 
Way to early on Tork. We have control of him for awhile still. I know people kept saying Tork is fine at first because he made some grabs in the dirt but he's obviously not good there.. He's a DH playing first. He's more a DH than Carpenter. Not sure we have someone will can stick at 1st if they DH Tork - most likely Hinch keeps him at 1B just because he's an idiot and doesn't notice these things..

Outside our SS & C the defense in the IF will be problematic. McInstry is at least average at 3B if he plays there..

We have 2 years to see how his defense progresses, or if it does, and to see how good of a hitter he can become.
 
We have 2 years to see how his defense progresses, or if it does, and to see how good of a hitter he can become.

If it's bad now why continue to play him there? We have an open DH spot now. Might even help with his hitting. Though I normally don't like young players being a DH who's the better candidate?
 
If it's bad now why continue to play him there? We have an open DH spot now. Might even help with his hitting. Though I normally don't like young players being a DH who's the better candidate?

I think Cahana & Carpenter will be rotated in the DH spot, with Tork getting some time there if Vierling or Cahana can play some 1B
 
I don't know maybe it's possible that Torkelson will actually get better at fielding? Or maybe I'm just reaching.
 
Tork might not be elite defensively, but he's not bad either.

Honestly, I have no idea how bad he really is. According to some stat nerds, he is the worst defensive 1B in baseball. He was -11 in terms of defensive runs saved. Of course, Freddie Freeman was the 2nd worst at -9. I don't think you have to be a good defensive player to be an effective 1B.
 
-11 is quite bad though. You can say we can live with it (and maybe we can) and maybe he does get better but to say he's fine is not accurate.

Btw, if Tork becomes Freddie Freeman I'd be the first to say I'm okay with it.
 
-11 is quite bad though. You can say we can live with it (and maybe we can) and maybe he does get better but to say he's fine is not accurate.

Btw, if Tork becomes Freddie Freeman I'd be the first to say I'm okay with it.

yes, it does seem to be bad. I don't fully understand the metric. Is it really that his play costed the Tigers 11 runs when compared to just an average first baseman, or is it just a wild ass guess?
 
yes, it does seem to be bad. I don't fully understand the metric. Is it really that his play costed the Tigers 11 runs when compared to just an average first baseman, or is it just a wild ass guess?

DRS quantifies a player's entire defensive performance by attempting to measure how many runs a defender saved. It takes into account errors, range, outfield arm and double-play ability. It differs only slightly from UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) in its formula, but the concept is the same.

Edit: At the end of the day, that player's overall score gets adjusted to the league average -- and then that score gets adjusted for how many runs the once-adjusted score is worth.

Not sure that explains everything. His defensive WAR -1.9. Miggy never had more than -1.8 for comparison sake.
 
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