Detroit Tigers: 5 biggest needs heading into the offseason

Middle Infielder

If the Detroit Tigers plan to compete next year, they cannot have a middle infield of Javier Baez at shortstop and Jonathan Schoop at second base, especially if Schoop is going to hit like he did this season.

There’s little to no chance that they can get offload Baez’s contract, but they can get cut bait with Schoop, even though he’s under contract through next season. He’s due $7.5 million, so it shouldn’t be too painful to swallow the money.

If the Tigers really wanted to regain the good will of the fanbase, they’d sign a guy like Xander Bogaerts and move Baez to second base. But that’s just not realistic.

Unfortuately, free agency doesn’t offer a lot of guys that wouldn’t be too expensive for what the Tigers are trying to do. Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, and once again Carlos Correa are the best options by far as far free agent middle infielders are concerned. If the Tigers wanted to upgrade the middle infield externally, they’d probably have to do it via trade.

They could also look at internal options like Lipcius or Wenceel Perez. Ryan Kreidler seems destined for either a utility role next season or he could even start the year in Triple-A. His bat was not up to snuff during his short time in Detroit this year.