4 roster changes Tigers fans want to see Scott Harris make right now

Tigers fans are in shambles. The Tigers are in shambles. Their series loss against the Blue Jays was their fourth straight series loss. They're plum last in the AL Central and let the Guardians put more distance between them with a loss in their opener on Monday.

Everyone is just waiting for the IL to get shorter — really, we're waiting for Tarik Skubal to come back — but the Tigers were still playing rather middling baseball before this recent wave of injuries decimated the roster.

Since the front office is just standing pat right now, we'll play armchair GM for a second. The Tigers need to make changes, and it's not like they have zero internal solutions.

4 roster changes Tigers fans want to see Scott Harris make right now

DFA Zack Short, call up Max Anderson

The Tigers' maneuverings with Short made absolutely zero sense. They acquired him in a cash trade with the Nationals on May 1, brought him up on May 3, he made two appearances, and then they DFA'ed him, only to re-sign him to a major league contract after he'd cleared waivers. He's hitless in eight at-bats since and hasn't even been especially effective as a defensive option.

Anderson, Detroit's No. 4 prospect after Kevin McGonigle's graduation, has been on an absolute tear since returning from a rehab assignment. He has a seven-game on-base streak going with two homers and five RBI during that time.

Option Wenceel Pérez, call up Ben Malgeri

Pérez has come up in a couple of big spots for the Tigers, but has mostly been a liability on both sides of the ball. He doesn't really chase or whiff and has a pretty low strikeout rate accordingly, but he's not walking either. When he swings, he's not squaring the ball up, leading to soft contact and easy outs.

Malgeri is unranked in the Tigers pipeline but has been a sneaky standout over his last two years in the minors. He has a 10-game on-base streak, is cutting down on strikeouts, slugs against off-speed and breaking pitches (.533 xSLG on changeups, 1.018 on cutters), and has some speed that the Tigers could put to use.

Option Enmanuel De Jesus, reinstate Troy Melton

De Jesus has been on a bit of a rollercoaster so far this season, too. He was optioned on April 22 after posting a 10.13 ERA in eight innings, but the Tigers were forced to call him up after Casey Mize went on the IL. Given the way the Tigers' pitching staff fell apart in a matter of weeks, De Jesus is still on the roster.

To his credit, he's pitching better, with a 4.22 ERA in May, but AJ Hinch is clearly hesitant to use him in the long relief role the Tigers had initially envisioned. His longest outing was a hitless 2 1/3 inning appearance ... and then he turned around and gave up two runs in 1 1/3 his next time out.

Melton is working his way through a rehab assignment and has only made three starts (one in Toledo), so this one will just take a little bit of patience, but he couldn't get back quickly enough for Tigers fans.

DFA Jack Flaherty, call up (or trade for) literally anyone else

The Tigers will almost certainly never do this, but it might be the move fans most want to see. Flaherty has faithfully made every scheduled start this season, but he's only averaging 4 1/3 innings per outing. He has yet to pitch a scoreless start and is averaging six walks per nine innings.

There are a few options in Toledo. Sawyer Gipson-Long is back from yet another rehab assignment (though, to be fair, he doesn't look great). Troy Watson is already being used as a swingman for the Mud Hens to decent effect. The Tigers could even swing a mid-season trade, even if fans don't have a ton of reason to believe Harris would pick up anyone with an actual pedigree.

Flaherty's issues are being exacerbated by the fact that the pitching staff is in tatters, but this was his opportunity to step up, and he has completely failed to do so.

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