5 questions for Detroit Tigers at winter meetings: Any more upgrades to offense?

The biggest moves on the free-agent and trade markets are coming soon.

The Detroit Tigers, led by second-year president of baseball operations Scott Harris, were active in both markets in the first month of the offseason, acquiring veteran outfielder Mark Canha in a trade and signing veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda from free agency.

The winter meetings begin Sunday evening at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Representatives from all 30 teams, plus numerous player agents, will gather together in Music City until Wednesday evening.

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At last year's meetings, the Tigers traded right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and left-hander Jake Higginbotham. The Tigers also selected right-hander Mason Englert from the Texas Rangers in the Rule 5 draft.

The Jiménez trade marked the first significant trade in Harris' tenure as the president of baseball operations.

Here are five questions for the Tigers to answer at the winter meetings:

What's next for rotation?

What do Kenta Maeda, Reese Olson, Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Keider Montero and Wilmer Flores have in common? They're all right-handed starting pitchers on the 40-man roster.

Top prospects Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden and Troy Melton are right-handed starters, too.

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Signing Maeda to a two-year, $24 million contract provides a middle-of-the-rotation arm, a veteran presence for the young pitchers and a potential pipeline to Japan, but the 35-year-old doesn't help solve the glaring hole in the organization.

Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in the rotation, but he is also the only lefty (not counting bullpen-bound Joey Wentz) on the Tigers' 40-man roster following Eduardo Rodriguez's decision to exercise his opt-out clause and become a free agent. Brant Hurter, who hasn't pitched above Double-A Erie, is the only true prospect throwing from the left side in the upper levels of the farm system.

It seems like the Tigers need to acquire another lefty going into the 2024 season.

Done adding offense?

Jake Rogers at catcher, Spencer Torkelson at first base, Colt Keith at second base, Javier Báez at shortstop, Matt Vierling at third base, Riley Greene in right field, Parker Meadows in center field, Mark Canha in left field and Kerry Carpenter at designated hitter, plus Andy Ibáñez, Justyn-Henry Malloy and Carson Kelly as options off the bench.

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There isn't an obvious area for the Tigers to improve without blocking playing time for young players. Only three of the presumed 12 regulars next season — Javier Báez (4,392), Mark Canha (3,541) and Spencer Torkelson (1,088) — have more than 1,000 plate appearances in their MLB careers.

The Tigers acquired Canha in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, then picked up his $11.5 million club option. The 34-year-old isn't a prospective All-Star, but he brings an advanced approach at the plate and a veteran presence for the young hitters.

It seems like the Tigers will stand pat on making further upgrades to the offense and assess their young core of position players throughout 2024.

But who plays third base?

Since cutting Jeimer Candelario to open the 2022-23 offseason, the Tigers have had to answer questions about the hot corner. And, for the second offseason in a row, the third-base question is still unanswered.

The Tigers aren't going to sign free agent Matt Chapman, and a reunion with Candelario isn't happening, so unless the Tigers trade for a third baseman, the job appears to belong to Matt Vierling.

Vierling transitioned in August from the outfield to third base for the remainder of the season. The Tigers are confident in his ability to handle the hot corner.

Andy Ibáñez could play some third base, too.

At some point, though, the Tigers plan for top prospect Jace Jung to play third base. He transitioned from second base to third in the Arizona Fall League and could make his MLB debut in the second half of the 2024 season. That is the main reason why the Tigers won't sign Chapman to a long-term contract.

It seems like Vierling will start at third base on Opening Day.

New-look bullpen?

Right-hander Beau Brieske is the perfect example of how the Tigers might build their bullpen in 2024.

Mize is the only member of the Tigers' rotation to throw more than 150 innings in the past three MLB seasons. He tossed 150⅓ innings in 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022 and missing 2023.

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Brieske is capable of starting games, but his entire repertoire gets better when he pitches out of the bullpen. Last season, his fastball sat around 97 mph out of the bullpen (compared to 94 mph as a starter) and his changeup averaged 89 mph with a 32.5% whiff rate (compared to 82 mph with a 21.6% whiff rate).

The Tigers need starters in Triple-A Toledo, but pitchers such as Brieske, Wentz, left-hander Tyler Holton and right-hander Alex Faedo haven’t panned out as starters and should be considered long relievers moving forward. (Flores, who lacks a reliable changeup, could fit into the same type of role at some point in the near future.)

Length seems like the key to constructing the bullpen, but the Tigers should consider adding a left-handed reliever for high-leverage situations.

Does Maeda start Japan-to-Detroit pipeline this offseason?

There are three notable Japanese pitchers in free agency: right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, left-hander Shōta Imanaga and left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui. As for the two starters, the Tigers are believed to have a better chance of signing Imanaga than Yamamoto.

Both Yamamoto and Imanaga were posted by their respective Nippon Professional Baseball teams in the past two weeks, while Matsui isn't subject to the posting system.

"It'd be nice to be able to play with fellow countrymen on the same team," Maeda said. "I already have eight years of service time here, so if anyone comes to the Tigers, I think I can offer some good advice about pitching in America. The negotiation part, that's up to the GMs and presidents, so I don't think I have too much control over that. I'll support in any way possible, but that's all I can do."

Yamamoto is expected to sign for more than $200 million, plus a posting fee; Imanaga is expected to sign for more than $75 million, plus a posting fee; and Matsui is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to sign a two-year, $16 million contract, without a posting fee.

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Yamamoto, 25, posted a 1.16 ERA with 28 walks (4.2% walk rate) and 176 strikeouts (26.7% strikeout rate) over 171 innings in 24 starts for the Orix Buffaloes last season. He throws a 95 mph fastball from a low release point with above-average vertical movement, a Shohei Ohtani-like splitter that sits around 90 mph and a Clayton Kershaw-like rainbow curveball.

The signing deadline for Yamamoto is Jan. 4.

Imanaga, 30, registered a 2.66 ERA with 24 walks (3.8% walk rate) and 188 strikeouts (29.5% strikeout rate) over 159 innings in 24 starts for the Yokohama Bay Stars last season. He throws a 92 mph fastball with elite vertical movement, a nasty mid-80s splitter and four other pitches. He has superb command, but home runs have been a problem for him throughout his career in Japan.

The signing deadline for Imanaga is Jan. 11.

Matsui, 28, delivered a 1.57 ERA with 13 walks (5.9% walk rate) and 72 strikeouts (32.4% strikeout rate) over 57⅓ innings in 59 games out of the bullpen for the Rakuten Eagles last season, with 39 saves. He throws a 93 mph fastball, an 88 mph splitter, a slider and a curveball.

Right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa isn't as popular — or as successful — as the trio of Yamamoto, Imanaga and Matsui, but he is another pitcher to know from Japan after being posted by his NPB team.

The 29-year-old logged a 2.96 ERA with 41 walks and 124 strikeouts over 170 innings in 24 starts for the Nippon Ham Fighters last season. There is reliever risk because his fastball sits around 90 mph, but his low-velocity heater features above-average vertical movement.

After signing Maeda, who transitioned from NPB to MLB in 2016, the Tigers will try to continue building their presence in Japan. Still, it's unclear if the Tigers will be all-in on signing one of the four pitchers from that market this offseason.

Bonus question

The 2023 Rule 5 draft is scheduled for Wednesday.

Are the Tigers going to make a selection? Remember, any player selected must spend the entire season on the 26-man roster (with exceptions for injuries) or be offered back to his previous team.

If so, here are some notable pitchers to know: St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Ian Bedell, Cleveland Guardians righty Tanner Burns, New York Mets righty Coleman Crow, San Francisco Giants righty reliever R.J. Dabovich, Texas Rangers righty reliever Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, Atlanta Braves righty Tyler Owens and Tampa Bay Rays righty Cole Wilcox.

Wilcox, drafted by the San Diego Padres and sent to the Rays in the 2020 Blake Snell trade, is a personal favorite for several reasons, primarily because the 24-year-old projects as a mid-rotation starter in the future but features a sinker-slider combination that would immediately help the Tigers out of the bullpen.

His sinker sits around 93 mph with run, and his slider sits around 85 mph with depth. He also has deceptive mid-80s changeup that lacks command but could develop into an above-average offering.

In the 2023 season, Wilcox posted a 5.23 ERA with 44 walks and 99 strikeouts across 106⅔ innings in 25 starts for Double-A Montgomery. His sinker and slider helped him generate a 54% ground-ball rate.

But Wilcox underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2021 and wasn't the same pitcher in his first full season since the procedure. He used to thrive on extremely low walk rates, but in 2023, he posted a higher-than-expected 9.7% walk rate.

It's worth noting Wilcox has a connection to Tigers assistant general manager Rob Metzler (formally with the Rays) and scouting director Mark Conner (formerly with the Padres). He is the Rays' No. 11 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Last but not least, the Tigers didn't protect left-handed reliever Andrew Magno from the Rule 5 draft. The 25-year-old is considered the most likely unprotected player from the Tigers' organization to be selected by a different team.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers still have work to do at 2023 MLB winter meetings