Wait 'til next year has been the Tigers' manta.
"Just watch when (insert prospect) arrives from Toledo."
"Wait until (insert prospect) has a full season to produce after a strong second half."
"Signing (insert free agent) makes perfect sense because if the Tigers fall out of contention, they just flip him at the trade deadline for prospects."
It's a tired tale. The Tigers appear on the way to an eighth straight losing season. And even if they do somehow rally to .500, it will have the same hollow feeling as 2021 and last season when they closed with a flurry only to flop the following campaign.
When will the Tigers play meaningful baseball in September? How come the Guardians, Orioles, Diamondbacks and Royals turned it around while the Tigers remain stuck in purgatory? Is 2025 going to be different?
Reasonable questions, for sure.
Slowly, though maybe not that surely, the Tigers have developed talent.
Tarik Skubal is the likely the Cy Young Award winner and in his prime. Reese Olson, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith and Parker Meadows are gifted young players in different ways. However, injuries have hindered Greene, Carpenter and Olson, while Keith is defensively challenged and Meadows unproven as a hitter.
One of the greatest challenges facing president of baseball ops Scott Harris is what to do with Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize and Javy Baez, his Mount Rushmore of enigmas.
The Tigers should have a strong outfield next season with Greene, Meadows and Carpenter, all left-handed, with Matt Vierling and Wenceel Perez hitting from the right side in reserve.
But the infield has to be much better. The idea that they have to play Baez because he's their only remotely qualified shortstop defensively is pathetic. Perhaps Trey Sweeney, acquired in the Jack Flaherty deal, will be a temporary answer.
Sweeney is a lefty hitter with 15 homers and 70 RBI in Triple-A this season, who was just promoted to Detroit. His splits are strong against right-handed pitching. If the Tigers were to keep Baez, Sweeney may provide a viable platoon option. But it's nothing to be giddy about.
Keith at second base is a curious decision. His defensive metrics are poor. The Tigers are loaded with second base options. Don't get mad at Jace Jung for not taking to third base, at least yet. The kid can hit. He'd probably be in MLB already were it not for the Tigers shifting him to third. Hao-Yu Lee is really good, excelling in Double-A at just 21, but his M.O. screams second base, not another position.
Harris has organizational depth and gluts at certain positions, and glaring holes at others. That screams for trades, but it certainly hasn't been his tendency so far.
What seemingly has been lost on the Tigers is that losing has become part of their fabric, like it's perpetually accepted under the guise of rebuilding. The notion that the Tigers will develop their core through player development is solid, but that shouldn't mean not attempting to legitimately contend in any given season.
Harris needs to be more aggressive moving forward in regard to putting a winning team on the MLB field.
It's an utter shame 2024 has been another lost season.
It doesn't have to be this way anymore.
