Detroit Tigers: 1 contract extension to make and 1 to avoid

It is safe to say that the 2023 season is not going particularly well for the Detroit Tigers. In fairness, expectations weren’t particularly high for this squad as they came into the season with holes in the roster and a lot of youth. Still, it hasn’t felt great to see Detroit struggling when the AL Central looks very winnable and that is a generous description.

That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been some positives to take away so far. Riley Greene was looking like a star in the making before he got hurt and Eduardo Rodriguez had also been awesome before he, too, got hurt (you may be sensing a theme). Rodriguez’s injury came at an inopportune time as he is among the bigger prizes at the trade deadline coming up, but his injury is minor enough that Detroit should be able to get a nice return for him regardless.

All of the injuries and, well, general badness means that fans need to again look to the future for sources of optimism. The Tigers’ young pitchers should get healthy by the end of the season and could soon be joined by Ty Madden, Wilmer Flores, and Jackson Jobe assuming the latter can get his back healthy. Detroit’s struggling offense should get a boost over the next couple years from guys like Colt Keith and Jace Jung, although we did think that about Spencer Torkelson, too, and that has decidedly not worked out so far.

Who should the Detroit Tigers give extensions to?

While things are far from certain, we should expect a future for the Tigers that almost has to be brighter than it’s present. More work on the roster certainly has to happen before actual contention is in the cards, but that doesn’t mean that the Tigers shouldn’t at least try to lock down some of the guys that are going to be key in the years to come is a similar way to what the Braves have done with several players.

There is certainly some risk in doing so because, as we have seen, prospects flame out all the time. Here is a look at one extension the Tigers should try to make and one that they should avoid.