By losing two of three to the picked-over buffet known as the Minnesota Twins, the Tigers find themselves at a crisis point.
Cleveland was 15.5 games behind the Tigers a month ago. Now the Guardians are just six games back in the AL Central with seven weeks remaining. The Tigers are only two and 3.5 games ahead of AL wild card leaders Boston and Seattle. The Guardians just swept the MLB’s second-highest-paid team, the Mets, in a three-game series in New York.
Coming the week after a trade deadline in which the Tigers made a number of measured moves, but with little sizzle, red flags are flying all over the Motor City.
While it’s reasonable to suggest Tigers’ president of baseball operations Scott Harris left too much on the table from his highly-regarded farm system last week, it’s not the reason the Tigers are in a tailspin. The biggest issue is flagging performances by players they’ve come to depend on.
Riley Greene is a strikeout machine. Javy Baez is leaking oil like a ’77 AMC Pacer that snuck onto Woodward for the Dream Cruise. Ah, that was two-thirds of the American League’s starting outfield in the All-Star Game.
Tommy Kahnle has apparently been replaced by his identical cousin Tommy Wretchedly. His vaunted changeup has been served lately with your choice of pasta at Italian restaurants in various MLB towns, especially this one. Will Vest was terrific, but not so much lately. Tyler Holton hasn’t remotely matched his sensational 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
Casey Mize is sputtering, and just when you think Jack Flaherty has learned to fly, well, you discover he ain’t got wings.
Anybody missing? There is plenty of blame to go around, but those seem to be the main culprits.
A little harsh. Maybe. But please explain where it is inaccurate.
Actually, the two actual additions by the Tigers at the trade deadline, closer Kyle Finnegan and starting pitcher Charlie Morton, have done well so far. Anybody who expected Rafael Montero and Chris Paddack to ride to the rescue is delusional.
The Tigers still have plenty going for them. A six-game lead is not small. The Guardians aren’t that good despite their persistent lurking nature. Detroit’s August schedule is more than reasonable. Tarik Skubal starts every fifth day. Manager A.J. Hinch is an experienced, cool hand at the wheel.
But know this: nothing is going to save the Tigers if the players who brought them this far don’t return to form.
The Tigers had nothing to lose last season when they emerged from the shadows with an incredible run. The first three months of this season, it was as if they couldn’t lose.
Now the Tigers are the hunted and wounded. This is genuine adversity.
How their established core reacts will tell the tale more than what transpired at the deadline.