2 Tigers offseason decisions that already look genius, 2 that look awful

After Wednesday's action at 15-10, the Detroit Tigers are a half-game up on the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the American League Central division. Of course, that's after just 25 games played, but as the old saying goes: you can't win the season in the first month, but you can certainly lose it.

To this point, the Tigers are far from losing it. Their .583 winning percentage would have them in first place in the AL East, and the fact of the matter is that on paper they're more than talented enough to remain atop the division all year.

For a club that's clearly entered their latest contention window, Detroit had a surprisingly quiet offseason this past winter. Gleyber Torres, old friend Jack Flaherty, Tommy Kahnle, and a slew of players who are currently on the injured list were the top acquisitions. This isn't exactly Alex Bregman, Christian Walker or any of the other top free-agent targets they had in their sights, but it'll do.

Let's look a bit closer at this Tigers squad and reflect on a few offseason decisions that have them looking good ... and some that haven't work out so well.

2 Tigers offseason decisions that already look genius, 2 that look awful

The Tigers were right to stay internal at catcher

One move that has worked out nicely for the Tigers is sticking with former second-round pick Dillon Dingler behind the plate. The free agent market wasn't exactly stuffed to the brim with talent this past winter, but names like Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen, and old friend Carson Kelly all would've made sense for the Tigers to bring aboard on a single-year pact.

Instead, the organization's decision makers sat on their hands, but that wasn't a bad thing.

Dingler, 26, didn't look great in a 26-game cameo in the big leagues last year, leading to more than a few people saying he may not have the chops to stick at the game's highest level. He's responded nicely through his first 17 games this year, recording a pair of home runs with nine RBI, a .279 batting average, and .749 OPS.

Dingler's overall offensive production has resulted in a 124 OPS+ of 116. That'll play just fine, especially seeing as how most of the free agent catchers from this past winter's class have struggled mightily on their new teams.

Detroit should have brought in a big bat

While the Tigers were smart not to seek out a new catcher, they're now looking foolish with half of their regular starters struggling to put up even average production. Prior to Wednesday's action, seven of the team's 13 position players had a wRC+ under 100.

Riley Greene and Colt Keith are two of the biggest surprises on the struggle bus. While it's unlikely neither of them will continue to slump like they currently are, it's hard not to think that this lineup could've used another bat, or even two.

At various points this past winter, Bregman was a popular target to land in Detroit. Naturally, he's off to a scorching-hot start with the Boston Red Sox, which only adds insult to injury. The 31-year-old is hitting .310 through his first 25 games in Boston, hitting four home runs with 19 RBI and an AL-leading 10 doubles.

With the Tigers in their aforementioned contention window, it feels silly that they didn't try harder to upgrade their offense this past winter. Sure, it's already full of high-upside young players, but that doesn't mean that talented veterans should be passed up on.

The Jack Flaherty reunion was a home run

Everybody loves a good reunion in baseball, and Jack Flaherty's with the Tigers has been a thing of dreams so far. The right-hander was in the midst of his first season in Detroit this past year when he was flipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects, but he was throwing the ball better than he had since his breakout year back in 2019.

As it turns out, the Tigers made out like absolute bandits here, as Flaherty promptly returned to Detroit once he entered the free agent pool. Now, the 29-year-old is back where he belongs, and he's pitching like his life depends on it.

Flaherty, a nine-year veteran, has made five starts for the Tigers to this point, and they've all been solid ones. He's got 27 1/3 innings of work under his belt with a 2.63 ERA, 3.06 FIP and 152 ERA+ to show for it. He's also struck out over 11 batters per nine innings while bringing his hits per nine rate down from 7.5 last year to 6.3 this year.

There's clearly a sense of familiarity and comfort between Flaherty and the Tigers, so it's nice to see him excelling where he did so well to begin the 2024 season as well. The nice part this time around is that the Tigers gave him a player option for 2026, so it's possible he sticks around or the two sides work out an extension.

Not releasing Kenta Maeda is already backfiring

Teams release aging expensive veterans all the time in this game, especially ones who struggle as badly as Maeda has over the past year-plus. The right-hander is 37 years old and clearly at the tail end of his career, but it has not been pretty for him on the Tigers.

Before getting into any numbers, the Tigers look ridiculous for bringing him back into the fold for another year rather than just cutting bait and eating the money.

Since Maeda joined the Tigers, he's made 17 starts and 17 relief appearances that have combined to result in a ghastly 6.31 ERA and 5.03 FIP. Every time he's taken the mound, regardless of what role, it's been borderline batting practice for the other team. It's getting to a point where the club is not going to have much of a choice but to release him.

If the Tigers are serious about contention, it's not a wise business decision to keep a pitcher around who's not only nearing 40, but also carrying an ERA over 10.00 through his first five appearances this year.