Earlier in the year I started a new venture called Getting You Through the Tigers Rebuild. It’s a Patreon page for Tigers fans filled with exclusive, free articles to help Tigers fans get through the rebuild.
You can read more about it here, but here’s a taste of some of my writing on the Patreon page.
If you’re also into GIFs from The Office, you can find a seven-tweet thread of all these articles paired with the GIFs from The Office that most aptly describe the articles by clicking on this URL: https://twitter.com/Tigers_Rebuild/status/1162505210561830912
Article #1:Why Jordan Zimmermann becomes a whole lot more tradable in a few months + some trade ideas
Early trade ideas
I should point out a lot can change between now and the offseason. Players can go on a tear at the plate or start pitching out of their minds on the mound to make these deals entirely not feasible. But, as of right now, these moves make sense.
The big(ish) contract swap—also with prospects!
Diamondbacks acquire Jordan Zimmermann, $7 million, Elvin Rodriguez and Sergio Alcantara
Tigers acquire Yasmany Tomas and Pavin Smith
Tomas, who is set to make $17 million in the last year of his contract in 2020, per Spotrac, isn’t currently on Arizona’s 40-man roster. But…. Read more by clicking here
Article #2: Tigers Trade Chip Power Rankings Ahead of the Offseason
The July 31 trade deadline has come and gone.
In other words, unless Detroit decides to flip players not on their 40-man roster, the Tigers won’t be making any deals until the conclusion of the World Series at the earliest.
But it could be a busy winter for the organization.
In addition to a host of prospects needing to be added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, the Tigers could be busy on the trade market. Yes, Matthew Boyd is still around, and he could draw a significant package of prospects if flipped.
(And let’s be honest, the Tigers probably should trade him now while his value is still high-ish.)
Elsewhere, there are other potentially useful trade chips to teams, as well as a host of players who could be dealt in minor trades to clear up 40-man roster space for the prospects who need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. A 40-man roster spot will also need to be opened up for Michael Fulmer, as players can’t be on the 60-day injured list in the offseason.
Just for reference, the list of Tigers prospects who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter includes Daz Cameron, Anthony Castro, Beau Burrows, Willi Castro, Kyle Funkhouser, Bryan Garcia, Derek Hill, Jacob Robson, Wladimir Pinto, Elvin Rodriguez and Carlos Guzman among others.
With that being said, a host of players could be flipped or non-tendered to make room and bring back PTBNL-type prospects in the process.
Whatever the magnitude of the trade, Tigers players could be on the move.
It should be noted that plenty can change between now and October/November. But as of this moment, this is how things stands.
Also, of note, the following players have been excluded from consideration: Spencer Turnbull, JaCoby Jones, Jeimer Candelario, Niko Goodrum, Anthony Castro, Travis Demeritte, John Schreiber, Gregory Soto, Willi Castro, Robson, Hill, Garcia, Matt Hall, Christin Stewart, Burrows, and Tyler Alexander. I wouldn’t be 100% opposed to trading any of the group. It’s just that for a variety of reasons—youth, controllability, upside—all seem like decent bets to stay put this coming winter.
Here’s a look at the team’s trade chip power rankings ahead of the offseason. These rankings will continue thorough the rest of the regular season.
(One last thing, this is all speculative mind you.)
1. Matthew Boyd
I get it. You get it. We all get it. Matthew Boyd is a very good starting pitcher. At worst, he’s a bat-missing frontline hurler.
If he can…Read more by clicking here
Article #3: The 7 biggest bright spots of the Tigers season so far
This season, in layman’s terms, is not fun. Detroit has the worst record in baseball by a considerable(ish) margin and seem destined to pick in the top two in next year’s draft.
But you know all that. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, these are the dog days of the season. All those cliché phrases are relevant.
The bottom line is that 2019 will largely be a season to forget.
Still, there have been some extremely positive developments for the Detroit Tigers this year. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the Tigers bright spots that we definitely shouldn’t forget.
JaCoby Jones figured things out at the plate
JaCoby Jones has always had plenty of talent, and after a stellar fielding season in 2018, he’s starting to put it together at the dish this time around.
A swing change has helped matters significantly for the toolsy outfielder, who has been decidedly above-average at the plate since making said swing change.
Dating back to May 16 Jones owns a… Read more by clicking here
Article #4: The Tigers 2020 Bullpen Could Be Very Interesting
The words “Detroit Tigers” and “bullpens” don’t seem to go together.
In fact, the phrase “Detroit Tigers bullpens” probably elicits a less-than-positive response from you, the fan. And while the failures of past bullpens still sting, cobbling together a competent bullpen is no longer a must in a rebuild.
In fact, it’s a bit of a luxury, what with the sky high trade value of relievers at the moment.
At any rate, the Tigers bullpen might actually be interesting next season.
It might not be amongst the league’s elite, but it certainly might be the most compelling and deep group of relievers Detroit has had in years.
Buck Farmer is the most dependable of the group. In the midst of a breakout year in the bullpen, the former starter is… Read more by clicking here
This time conveyed in two different tweets… Exciting, I know.
Article #5: All the Tigers players (and there’s quite a few) who could be non-tendered this offseason
With so many prospects on the way, there is going to be considerable turnover in regards to the Detroit Tigers roster in the coming months.
The roster turnover has started in earnest with Trevor Rosenthal being designated for assignment and Josh Harrison being cut after being reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Sandy Baez was also released from the 40-man roster.
Veterans will make way for younger players, ineffective players who haven’t passed their audition for the future will be let go either by trade, release, the waiver system or by being non-tendered.
That last bit, non-tendering players, is what we’re here to talk about now. …
John Hicks
Hicks has a -1.0 fWAR on the season. Which… isn’t great. Prior to Jake Rogers being called up, the 2019 season (at least for the catchers) basically been audition to see which backstop would serve as Rogers’ deputy moving forward.
Detroit could always shake things up by bringing in another backstop into the mix this winter, but Grayson Greiner has been a more positive pitch framer than Hicks. Given both players’ struggles at the plate, it gives the younger backstop the edge.
Also… Read more by clicking here.
Article #6: We need to talk about the Tigers & their problem drawing walks
New Tiger Travis Demeritte has four walks in 13 plate appearances so far in his young Tigers career. His plate discipline, often working full counts even when he makes an out, has been a breath of fresh air in a Tigers lineup that seems to have an aversion to walks.
And that’s a problem.
Detroit ranks 28th in walk percentage (7.0%) among teams. They’re also dead-last in on-base percentage (.291).
There are 394 MLB players with at least 100 plate appearances this season, 14 of them are Tigers. Those 394 players, because of ties and identical statistics, come in ranked first through 120th in walk rate. There are seven Detroit hitters ranked 91st or lower. All seven have a walk rate south of 6.0%.
Look, the Tigers were always going to struggle this year, but their lack of walks puts them miles behind the eight-ball compared to the rest of the league. In a way, it shows how far they still have to go to reclaim their seat at the table among baseball’s elite.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of baseball’s very best teams, lead the league in walk rate at 9.9% as a team. Detroit’s leader in the club house in terms of walk rate, Jeimer Candelario, would just rank sixth.
Chicago, the Cubs that is, check in at third among MLB teams in walk rate. Among players with at least 100 plate appearances, their eighth-best player in terms of walk rate (Jason Heyward), would lead the Tigers in walk rate. That’s nearly an entire starting lineup’s worth of players.
Additionally, if you put together baseball’s top four players in terms of walks (Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Rhys Hoskins and Mookie Betts), that quartet alone would have 45 more walks than the entire Tigers roster this season.
And look… Read more by clicking here
Article #7: The waiver wire is a free way to add talent. The Tigers, for some reason, aren’t using it
The Detroit Tigers have the worst record in baseball. And while there are few perks to be had when you have baseball’s lowest winning percentage, one of the few upsides to the position is that you are perched atop the waiver wire order.
This is where the Tigers are at right now.
And while I’ve always been an advocate of Detroit’s front office being more active in claiming players and shuffling through players on the roster, it is even more crucial that the team start the practice of being active on the waiver wire now.
With July 31 signaling the end of trading for the 2019 season, any player designated for assignment is subjected to waivers. And with the Baltimore Orioles currently two and a half games better than Ron Gardenhire’s team in the standings, Detroit should have top priority for a significant chunk of time. They need to take advantage of it.
If you’re the Tigers, you have the worst record in baseball, and you might finish with it. You have an improving farm system, but not one that is on par with those in the Tampa Bay or Los Angeles organizations. You also have an extra 40-man roster spot to play with. You also have plenty of expendable 40-man roster players. You have to improve.
Overflowing with young talent is a phrase that neither describes the Tigers current roster or minor league system. And after a trade deadline that saw passable (but no slam dunk) trades and Matthew Boyd staying put, this might be Detroit’s best route to adding talent between now and the Winter Meetings.
Good teams seem to find key contributors off the scrap heap all the time. Christian Walker was a waiver claim and is among the 115 best position players in terms of fWAR. The Tigers currently don’t have a player on that list. Max Muncy, Danny Santana, Justin Turner and Derek Dietrich are all on that list as well. They were relatively low-key free agent signings and not waiver claims, but it goes to prove the point that there is talent out there ready to be unearthed and slotted onto a Major League roster.
The Tigers have a chance to start unearthing that talent… Read more by clicking here.
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