In the words of Scott Harris, the Tigers' "main priority this offseason is to reshape our offensive identity."
"And this," said Harris after making some last-minute noise at the Winter Meetings, "is a step in that direction."
After a quiet week in San Diego, the Tigers traded reliever Joe Jimenez to the Braves Wednesday night for third baseman/outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and left-handed reliever Jake Higginbotham. Malloy is the prize of the return, the top position player prospect in the Braves organization, per Baseball America, an attractive 22-year-old hitter who could be in Detroit by next season.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out," Harris said.
Drafted out of Georgia Tech in 2021, Malloy jumped from High-A to Triple-A in 2022 on the strength of his bat. He hit .289 with an .862 OPS and led all Braves minor leaguers in on-base percentage and walks. From the moment he arrived as president of baseball operations in September, Harris has emphasized the need for the Tigers to "control the strike zone."
Malloy can help them do that.
"He embodies a lot of the things that we really value in hitters," Harris said shortly after completing the trade. "He controls the strike zone, he has plus bat-to-ball skills, he does damage to all fields and he raked at three different levels this year, plus the Arizona Fall League. Adding him to our collection of position players in the upper levels makes me really excited about future."
Harris also said this upon his arrival: “We have to take calculated risks to narrow the gap between us and the organizations we’re chasing.” Jimenez, 27, is coming off his best season in the majors and would have helped the Tigers in 2023. Malloy is still in the minors. Harris said it was hard to lose a sturdy reliever and one of the most popular figures in Detroit’s clubhouse, but Jimenez will be a free agent a year from now while Malloy could be a lynchpin of the Tigers’ lineup for several years to come. In other words, a calculated risk.
"Ultimately, the ability to add a young player who’s been climbing toward the big leagues very quickly and putting up the type of performance we really value, plus adding Jake, it just became too much to pass up on," Harris said.
Higginbotham posted a 4.73 ERA in 48 appearances in Double-A last season. Harris said the Tigers were drawn to his lefty-lefty splits and view him as an arm who can eventually "help us in the bullpen." But again, the purpose of the trade for the Tigers was to acquire Malloy.
The biggest question concerns his defense. It's not clear where he projects to play in the field. Harris said the Tigers view Malloy as both a third baseman and a corner outfielder, where he split his time last season. Fact is, they'll figure out the glove if his bat plays in the bigs.
For now, Malloy is ticketed for Toledo, with the hope that Detroit isn't far off in his future.
"It’s really rewarding," said Harris, "when you can target a player and then go out and get him."
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