Here's what Detroit Tigers should do with the Miguel Cabrera money coming off the books
The Detroit Tigers ended their season with a fantastic weekend honoring Miguel Cabrera. It was classy, fitting and just felt right.
But Cabrera’s retirement also brought a welcome relief because his massive $32 million-per-year contract comes off the books.
Which sets up an interesting situation.
Suddenly, this organization is flush with cash. For years, I’ve written about this moment. Several times, I’ve suggested the Tigers should take all that money and bring in more talent: Spend, spend, spend!
But my opinion has changed, or perhaps become more nuanced. Because the circumstances have changed. The Tigers have several prospects who could play important roles in the near future; and right now, it’s imperative for the Tigers to figure out how they might fit before going on a wild spending spree.
“We can spend to complement a core,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said on Monday. “We can’t spend to build a core. That’s not a viable strategy in this market. We are going to walk the line of being active in free agency and trades to find outside additions that can help us without blocking our young players.”
CARLOS MONARREZ: Tigers' farewell to Miguel Cabrera reminder of what was and what should be for fans
I completely agree.
Clearly, the Tigers could use an upgrade at either second or third base. But the Tigers have several prospects who could take those spots. They moved Jace Jung to third base for the Arizona Fall League, and I’d be surprised if Colt Keith is not the starting second baseman on Opening Day in 2024.
So there is no reason to bring in a free agent to block either one of them, unless, perhaps, you bring in somebody on a one-year deal that could be flipped at the trade deadline. Just in case either Keith or Jung aren’t ready. (I expect Jung to start next season in Toledo.)
Several options
Perhaps you could bring in a high-priced free agent to be the designated hitter. But that wouldn’t make sense because manager A.J. Hinch loves flexibility, and the Tigers have so many potential part-time DH options such as Keith, Kerry Carpenter or even Riley Greene, at times, if you want use him differently to stay healthy.
You could bring in a free agent outfielder. But why?
You have Carpenter and Greene — and that’s a heck of a start.
Personally, I’m a big fan of Parker Meadows — his defense is spectacular.
Justyn-Henry Malloy is knocking on the door, and don’t sleep on Justice Bigbie, who climbed from High-A West Michigan to Triple-A Toledo in 2023, hitting .343 with 19 homers.
MORE FROM SEIDEL: Meet Justice Bigbie: The sizzling hot Tigers prospect on a team of studs
“There's a reason why (Bigbie is) playing a lot of outfield, because our first baseman seems like he hits a homerun every night,” Harris said.
Both Bigbie and Malloy could also contribute as a DH.
After hitting 21 homers, Jake Rogers cemented himself at the starting catcher in 2024 — so no reason to get another starter there, and the Tigers have an option on Carson Kelly as his partner at the position.
Certainly, the Tigers could bring in some pitching. You can never have enough pitching.
They could even use some of that Miggy money to lock up some players long-term.
The state of this franchise is encouraging, and they have tons of options. The Tigers took a step forward in 2023, winning 78 games (a 12-game improvement from 2022) and finishing in second place in the American League Central. Several youngsters developed and look like building blocks. Think of it this way: the Tigers' average batter’s age was 27.4 years old, the organization’s youngest team since 2003.
Yes, there are still holes, but there are prospects who could fill them; I don’t see any reason why this team can’t contend for the division title in 2024.
“I've never been more encouraged to be the manager,” Hinch said Monday.
MORE FROM SEIDEL: Champagne flying, players dancing — Erie SeaWolves celebration brings back golden memories
Lots of people deserve credit
Who gets the credit?
It starts with Al Avila, believe it or not. He brought in many of the players I just mentioned.
A ton of the credit goes to Hinch and his staff for how they helped several young players develop at the MLB level — remember, when everybody was freaking out about Spencer Torkelson hitting the ball hard but not getting homers? Yeah, that’s not a concern anymore.
And a great deal of the credit goes to Harris, as well. He found gems in Tyler Holton and Andy Ibáñez and made smart decisions on several others.
Harris has also made moves to upgrade the organizational infrastructure, such as ordering a new plane and making improvements in Lakeland (and yes, give credit to owner Chris Ilitch for spending that money).
But most importantly, Harris has created a new culture throughout the organization.
Which brings us to some of the most important prospects in the organization: guys such as Jung, Keith and Jackson Jobe.
The Tigers approached this minor league season differently. They challenged individual prospects, making concrete goals about controlling the strike zone. They basically said: This is what we care about, this is what we want you to accomplish.
And in many cases, the players achieved them. And not just individual players, but teams.
The West Michigan Whitecaps pitchers walked only 396 batters all season, which was the lowest number in the High-A Midwest League.
It’s not an accident.
Harris has been screaming about controlling the strike zone since he arrived.
The Tigers also used the old carrot-and-stick approach. You wanna know why some guys got promoted and others didn’t?
The Tigers rewarded those who bought into this approach. The Tigers want hitters to improve their decision making, not just sell out for power.
Look at Bigbie. He bought into the approach and was promoted from West Michigan to Erie. Then from Erie to Toledo. And he put himself on the map.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Tigers star Miguel Cabrera's end reminds us what kind of baseball town this can be
Story behind Jobe's improvement
As far as pitching, the Tigers taught it differently. They put an emphasis on shapes and strike throwing.
Look at how they handled Jobe.
He walked 3.9 batters per nine innings in 2022, which didn’t make sense. His stuff was too good to be the result of wildness, or even nibbling at the corners too much. So the Tigers challenged him to challenge hitters.
And he lowered that to 0.89 walks per nine in 2023.
That’s a huge difference.
More importantly, it’s a sign he bought into the philosophy.
“Players don't totally promote themselves, but they get pretty close to promoting themselves with their performance and how effectively they're taking the development adjustments we're sharing with them and bring with them into games,” Harris said. “What a great summer for Jackson, and we're looking forward to him continuing it.”
The Tigers' approach to player development is simple: Identify the weaknesses that will get exposed in the big leagues, so that they can correct them in the minors.
And it’s spreading to several prospects.
Not all of them are gonna pan out.
But they will soon make things interesting.
MIGGY'S FINAL NUMBERS: Where he ranks among MLB and Detroit Tigers greats
“I’m not saying we are, as an organization, where we want to be,” Harris said. “But it is a moment in time where we can reflect on both the path and pace we’re on right now and to appreciate some of the good things that are happening and the progress we have made.”
The Tigers took a step forward in 2023, not just in the win column, but in other ways.
And yes, it’s reason to be encouraged.
This season was a tremendous success because the Tigers' most important young players (Carpenter, Greene and Torkelson) and most of the important prospects (Jobe, Jung and Keith) made huge improvements.
So here is the next step. The next goal. And I think it can sum it up concisely:
Just freakin’ win, baby!
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What Detroit Tigers should do with Miguel Cabrera's salary going away
