Detroit Tigers: 3 players that could return, 2 that are expendable under new regime

The Detroit Tigers have some tough roster decisions ahead of them

The Detroit Tigers will go into the offseason with a lot of work to do to get this roster back in a competitive state. There are many players on this roster right now that won’t be here come Opening Day 2023.

That being said, there are some players on this roster that have a chance to stick around, even with the new regime. Scott Harris has talked about wanting to dominate the strike zone, and that philosophy could very well shape the Tigers roster going forward.

Guys that draw walks and limit strikeouts will lead the way. Pitchers that struggle to throw strikes could be on their way out. This piece will look at who could stay and who could go based on Harris’s strike zone domination mentality. Here are three players that could return next season, and two that are expendable under the Scott Harris regime.

3 players that could return: OF Akil Baddoo

The likelihood that Baddoo was straight up cut this offseason was always slim to begin with, as he is still just 23 years old and has showcased his potential before, but he probably has an even better chance to stick around that Harris is in charge.

Baddo has just a .548 OPS in 64 games this season, and his strikeout rate has jumped to over 30%, but his walk rate has increased to 10.8%, which is one percent higher than it was last season.

Though his chase rate has gone up significantly this season, his whiff rate is about the same. Pitchers have exploited his weakness against pitches on the outer half of the plate, specifically breaking balls and offspeed pitches, and he hasn’t been able to adjust.

It’s clear he still has a good eye at the plate. If they can get him back in the strike zone and get him to stop chasing pitches tailing away from him, maybe they can get 2021 Akil Baddoo back. He has been better this month, sporting an .808 OPS, but he still needs to get his swing back.

RHP Joe Jimenez

With the year he’s had, Jimenez was probably a lock to make the roster next year anyway. But I’m going to make the argument he could return next season as the team’s new closer.

Jimenez has had a career year, sporting a 3.49 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched this season. The key for him is that he’s finally kept the walks down. Last year, his walk rate was a whopping 16.7%. This year, he’s got it all the way down to 5.6%. His strikeout to walk ratio is an astounding 5.92. Jimenez has finally turned into what the Detroit Tigers thought he would be.

Now, he’s still not without his flaws. He still gets hit around a bit, giving up 49 hits this season. His hard hit rate allowed is actually much higher than it was last year at almost 40%. We can probably attribute that to what I like to call “Michael Fulmer disease.” He’s around the zone so much, and hitters know that, so they’re up there ready to swing at a mistake pitch.

But nevertheless, I think he’s got a pretty good chance at returning to the closer’s role in 2023. He’s got the stuff and the mentality on the mound to be able to do it.

Now you may be asking yourself, what about Gregory Soto? He’s still got three years of team control left. Don’t worry, we’ll get to him.

2 players that are expendable: OF Victor Reyes

It’s been a roller coaster ride for Victor Reyes during his time in Detroit. A rule-5 pick back in 2017, he played sparingly in 2018 and he was pretty bad—almost like he hadn’t played above Double-A or something.

But in 69 games in 2019, he hit .304 with a .767 OPS. He followed that up with a solid campaign in the shortened-2020 season. He’s always been a slightly below average hitter for most of his career. He’s finally hitting the ball harder this year, as evidenced by his 44.2% hard hit rate, but one thing is still dragging him down: the lack of walks.

His career walk rate is 3.8%, which is putrid, and certainly won’t get it done under Scott Harris. His career strikeout rate of 22.3% is okay, but he’s always been a high chase rate guy. He doesn’t do a good job of controlling the strike zone, which makes him a prime candidate to be non-tendered this offseason.

That’s why I think Baddoo gets the nod over him. Baddoo has shown the ability to draw walks. Reyes never has in parts of five years as a big leaguer.

I know he’s turned into a bit of a fan favorite—especially for our own Jon Erkkila. But he’s just not a very good player. Sorry, Jon. At the end of the day, Victor Reyes is a fourth outfielder at best.

LHP Gregory Soto

I teased this one a couple slides back. Before the Scott Harris hire, I thought there was a mild chance that Soto got moved in the offseason. After the hire, that chance has certainly increased.

Soto’s inability to throw strikes on a consistent basis has only gotten worse this season. His 4.74 BB/9 is 13th in the league, and his 12.2% walk rate is tied for 12th. He has 57 strikeouts to 30 walks. Not quite the ratio you’re looking for out of your closer.

He was really bad in August. In 12.2 innings pitched, he had a 7.11 ERA with eight strikeouts to 10 walks. Yikes. Thankfully, September has been much kinder to him, pitching to a 1.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts and five walks in 10 innings.

Fetter and Hinch will have a lot of say in this, but it seems more possible than ever that Soto gets traded this offseason. With his subpar second half of the season, I’m not sure what his value is right now, but with three years of team control still remaining, the Detroit Tigers could surely get something good in return for him.

This is why I think Joe Jimenez is in a good position to win the closer’s job next year. H’s figured out how to throw strikes on a consistent basis. Alex Lange is another candidate for the role, but he also struggle with walks, though his stuff is so nasty that I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Fans have lamented Gregory Soto for the past couple of years, wanting him out of the closer’s role because of his lack of control, even though he’s only blown two saves this year. They may get their wish this offseason.