1 offseason Tigers decision that would set back the 2025 team

The Detroit Tigers shocked a lot of people this season when they won 86 games, finishing second in the AL Central and making the playoffs. They shocked even more people when they swept the Astros in the first round and came within a game of beating the Guardians to go on to the ALCS.

Not many thought that they would make that big of a jump after winning 78 games in 2023. With that said, the Tigers have some legitimate holes they have to fill as well as other moves they have to avoid this offseason if they want to keep moving forward and not take a step back. The biggest thing? They have to avoid standing pat with their offense by not adding a right-handed bat to the middle of it.

The middle of the Tigers batting order is very lefty heavy. They struggled to hit left-handed pitching all year and it's something they are going to have to fix. They could sit and hope that Spencer Torkelson bounces back to his 2023 form when he slugged .525 against left-handed pitching, but even that isn't really enough to take them to the next level. They need to be proactive and add a big right-handed bat to the middle of their lineup that can help keep teams from just loading up on left-handed pitchers against them.

There are multiple free agents out there that the Tigers could look at bringing in. Teoscar Hernandez has mashed lefty pitching in his career. He has slugged .560 and has an .894 OPS against left-handed pitching. If they wanted to bring an infielder in instead of an outfielder, Alex Bregman is someone who hits both righties and lefties equally well. Another option would be to sign Gleyber Torres. He has slugged over .500 and has a career .854 OPS against left-handed pitching. There are several options out there and the Tigers should be looking at all of them.

The Tigers need to avoid taking a step back this season. They have made progress each of the last two years and must take advantage of the weak AL Central. They have some young players that need to keep improving, but they are going to have to bring in a few big-name free agents to further insure themsevles. They have a good farm system, but the majority of it won't see the majors until 2026 at the earliest.

The Tigers need to go out and add at least one big time right-handed hitter, if not two. The worst thing the Tigers could do this season is sit back and hope the status quo improves. They can't afford to be passive, especially with so much talent on the board. Scott Harris and Co. remaining quiet would be the worst possible thing for this organization heading into 2025.