As they piece together their plan at first base next season, the Tigers have optionality in mind -- and perhaps a big name in their sights.
"The point still stands that the performance has to get better, and not just the offensive performance, the defensive performance, too," president of baseball ops Scott Harris said Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas. "We’re exploring ways to get better in all aspects of our team. Some are clearer fits than others."
Spencer Torkelson remains in the picture for the Tigers. Harris was adamant about that Monday in an interview on MLB Network when he said of the 25-year-old, "He was the No. 1 overall pick. He's immensely talented. Just like these (other) young guys, we have to stick with him. We have to keep finding ways to get a little bit more out of him."
But Torkelson also needs to earn his spot on the roster in 2025 after another season that included a demotion to Toledo. He has a negative bWAR through three years in the majors. To expand their potential options at first base, the Tigers have told outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and second baseman Colt Keith to take ground balls there this offseason. Neither one has any professional experience at the position.
"We are not giving up on corner outfield and second base, respectively, for those two players. We’re also not giving up on Spencer Torkelson," Harris said. "It’s more of, when we step back and look at our team in the second half last year, we don’t feel like we gave (A.J. Hinch) enough versatility, especially at first base. We felt like our options at first base limited him from seeking in-game matchups that would help us get an advantage and ultimately win the game.
"We felt like that was an area that got exposed down the stretch, so having more options at first base can allow him to do what he does so well and find matchups that make us a better team."
The Tigers still view Keith, 23, as a second baseman. He showed growth at the position and at the plate throughout his rookie season. But against, say, a right-handed starting pitcher with a power arm, they like the idea of deploying an exclusively left-handed-hitting infield. And for Malloy, 24, to find more at-bats, it would help to be able to handle more gloves.
"We have to focus on both paths here," said Harris. "The first path is, get the absolute most out of the players we have. A.J. and his coaching staff have done a really good of building an offseason that's going to lead to players coming back better than they left Detroit. We have to be full steam ahead on that path.
"Similarly, our job is to find ways to add to this organization externally, add players that can help us build upon the talent base that we already have."
On that note, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Monday that "the Tigers are showing interest in free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt." While Goldschmidt is entering his age-37 season with waning offensive numbers, he would fill Detroit's need for a veteran right-handed bat in the infield. As Harris acknowledged, the lineup "got really left-handed toward the end" of last season.
"I think that got exploited," he said. "Teams were lining up left-handed starters and left-handed relievers against us, so (we're looking for) a little bit more lineup balance. And then we’re always searching for a little bit more power if we can find it. Those are probably the measurables. That’s how I see our offense (getting better) right now."
Goldschmidt is a seven-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover who's just two years removed from winning MVP when he hit 35 homers and led the National League with a .989 OPS in 2022. But his production has declined significantly since. He slipped to 25 homers and an .810 OPS in 2023 and 22 homers and a career-low .716 OPS last year.
Still, on top of his personal accolades, Goldschmidt has played on several winning teams. Harris and the Tigers are mindful of re-infusing the roster with some experience after they parted ways last season with the likes of Mark Canha, Carson Kelly and Gio Urshela and finished the year as one of the youngest teams in the majors.
"We got a lot of really positive feedback on having those type of veteran presences around, because sometimes these young guys have a question or they want to lean on someone who’s played in different settings and on different teams and in the playoffs to really show them the way," Harris said. "We can’t lose sight of that. We have to continue to add veterans to this group. It’s a little bit harder now because we have fewer openings on this team, but they can both help us on the field and they can get a little bit more out of the other 25 guys around them."
Christian Walker is another free agent first baseman who could interest the Tigers. The right-handed hitter is coming off his third straight season of 25-plus homers and an .800-plus OPS and will be three years younger than Goldschmidt next season.
Asked how the Tigers might pitch a free agent like that with Torkelson still in their plans, Harris said, "We build a ton of versatility in our roster for a reason. We also have DH at-bats for a reason. We can fit offensive performers in many different ways into our group given the versatility that we’ve built this roster with."
"We want to improve our offense this offseason, we feel like we have enough versatility to rearrange some of the pieces to fit just about any profile here. I don’t think that will be that difficult. There are a bunch of ways to redistribute playing time and at-bats to allow our players to still contribute to this team but also add from the outside," he said.