Detroit Tigers offseason preview: GM Meetings

The GM Meetings start tomorrow, and Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris is expected to lay out his plan

The offseason is finally here, and it all gets started quickly as the GM Meetings begin tomorrow in Las Vegas, and go through Nov. 10. Detroit Tigers president of baseball ops Scott Harris has already talked about how much he can’t wait to share his plans for the offseason. We’re finally about to hear those plans.

Let’s get into what the GM Meetings actually are. First, I think it’s important to note that these are NOT the Winter Meetings, which will happen next month. This is an entirely different event. Mike Axisa of CBSsports.com has a good description of the GM Meetings:

"“Generally speaking, the GM Meetings cover off-the-field matters, such as rule changes. But when you put all 30 GMs in one place, inevitably deals get discussed and sometimes completed. Four years ago the Mariners and Rays made the Mike Zunino trade at the GM Meetings, for example. Also, the groundwork is often laid for deals that are completed at a later date at the GM Meetings.”"

While I wouldn’t expect any moves to be made here, we may see the very beginnings of a deal. We don’t know what kind of negotiater Scott Harris is yet, and we likely won’t find out until the Winter Meetings at least.

What we can expect is rule changes for next year, such as the pitch clock, banning of the shift, and larger bases, to be finalized. They’ll probably also discuss more rule changes for the future, such as the implementation of an automated strike zone.

Hearing Harris’ offseason plans will be fascinating. We’re not sure how much detail he’ll go into, whether he’ll mention any specific positions he’s looking at upgrading, but it will be very nice to hear what he has to say. Whenever he speaks, we’ll be here with reaction and analysis.

This is set to be a busy week for Harris and company as the offseason begins. Players coming off the 60-day IL must be added back on to the 40-man roster by Thursday, and the Detroit Tigers have nine such players. You can view our preview and cuts predictions piece here.

Additionally, next week Tuesday, Nov. 15, is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Our predictions for that can be found here.