Detroit Tigers Winter Meetings preview: 3 positions that need to be addressed

The Detroit Tigers enter the MLB Winter Meetings with a host of needs to address

Scott Harris knew when he took the President of Baseball Operations job for the Detroit Tigers that there would be no shortage of needs for the club. The team had just rounded out a 66-win campaign, a year riddled with injuries and poor performances by veteran talent. MLB's Winter Meetings offer perhaps the first real opportunity for Harris to make his mark on the roster.

Harris and Co, while stale in nature, have already made several moves in an effort to turn over the roster and free up 40-man roster slots to allow the Tigers to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. Those players: Reese Olson, Brendan White, Andre Lipcius, Wenceel Perez, and Parker Meadows. None are expected to begin the season in Detroit, but given the room they had freed up through designations, it made sense to protect each.

Now that their 40-man roster decisions have been made and arbitration-eligible contracts have been agreed upon, now is the period within the offseason where trades and free agent signings will abound, but perhaps no period as much as the winter meetings.

The Detroit Tigers rumors and gameplan

There have already been both rumored interests and direct ideas of how the Tigers are going to approach the offseason:

1. The Tigers are interested in C Willson Contreras, per MLBN's JP Morosi

Our follow up on the report here.

2. Harris is looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder, left-handed hitting infielder, per Cody Stavenhagen

Our follow up on the report here.

3. Tigers expect Javier Báez to be the opening-day shortstop in 2023, per Stavenhagen

Our follow up on the report here.

4. Team is receiving a lot of interest in their bullpen arms, per Stavenhagen and others

Some thoughts on that from MCB's own here and here.

5. More pitching remains a priority

These are the rumors and reports, but when viewing the Detroit Tigers as a team, the market, and what has happened thus far, where should the Detroit Tigers' top priorities lie? Let's explore.