Caputo: Tigers in ideal offseason spot

The rebuild isn't over for the Tigers just because they made the postseason.

It's only the beginning.

The Tigers have merely poured a foundation. Now they can begin building in earnest.

Let's begin with what's right with the Tigers. Tarik Skubal is the best starting pitcher in MLB. According to advanced metrics, Riley Greene, in his age 23 season, ranked among MLB's Top 15 position players in 2024.

Parker Meadows is arguably the best defensive center fielder in MLB and has made great strides as a hitter. Colt Keith held his own as a 22-year old rookie. Starter Reese Olson and a plethora of bullpen options, led by Beau Brieske, Will Vest and Tyler Holton, provide pitching depth.

There is no reason why the Tigers can't be a 90-plus wins club in 2024, and take a deep run into the postseason. When the 2024 season ended, they were almost there.

That is, of course, if president of baseball operations Scott Harris makes the right moves.

If the Tigers make no changes, their player payroll projects at just $80 million.

Nearly half of that will go to two unproductive veterans, enigmatic shortstop Javy Baez and shell-shocked pitcher Kenta Maeda.

So the Tigers should be major players in free agency. You've heard the name Alex Bregman continually. The Tigers have a glaring hole at third base. Makes sense, but the terms may not, assuming Bregman, still a solid player, but not quite the same star, has any degree of interest in playing for his former manager, A.J. Hinch, in Detroit.

The Diamondbacks' Christian Walker fits ideally at first. He is 34. He has power and a terrific glove. How many years do the Tigers offer? And don't forget, both Bregman and Walker would be from states without state tax on wages. That is not the case in Michigan. It's hardly a selling point.

So the Tigers, even if they make their very best effort to sign the cream of the crop, may be on the outside looking in. There are so many factors that go into signing free agents|, from getting into bidding wars with big-revenue teams like the Yankees and Dodgers to just bidding against yourself for an agent like Scott Boras, who tends to hold out to the bitter end regardless of what good faith offers come early in the process.

But that can't be an excuse. For nearly a decade, the Tigers' off season plan has existed of signing low-level free agents or reclamation projects to support their younger players. That hasn't worked, and it never will.

The Tigers undoubtedly will sign free agents this off season, at least pitching. but perhaps the biggest splashes will be the result of trades.

Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize and Matt Manning are former top prospects and first-round picks, who fizzled out in 2024. Granted, it's too early to come to conclusions about Jace Jung, but he sure didn't look like a third baseman last year. All are potential trade bait. So are pitching prospects Ty Madden and Troy Melton, power arms, who are low on consistency, but with considerable potential.

Looking beyond the 2025 free agent class to the 2026 and 2027 may offer the Tigers the best chance to upgrade because they have short-term needs until the next wave of prospects (Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, Josue Briceno, Tayron Lorenzo, Hoa-Yu Lee) begin to arrive.

They have prospects and young veterans to trade to teams looking to dump short-term, high salaries for future assets.

The Tigers are in a position of strength with a low payroll, an overflow of prospects and a budding core.

It's a unique spot, one they need to capitalize on and not waste.