Dream Detroit Tigers starting lineup for the 2024 season

Batting seventh: 2B Andy Ibáñez

Infielder Andy Ibáñez had a sneaky good year in various corners of the diamond. He made the big league team a month in the 2023 season, having spent some time in Triple-A after getting picked up by the Tigers on waivers from the Texas Rangers, and quickly became a familiar face at second. He finished the year with a final line of .261/.309/.408, 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and the third highest fWAR on the team.

Putting him lower in the lineup would be a change of pace for him; although the Tigers' 2023 lineups fluctuated frequently, he mostly batted second or third, with occasional appearances at sixth. Putting Ibáñez in at seventh would be a bit of a compromise but not a stretch of the imagination.

It would also be good to let Ibáñez to settle in at a position with a reliable group of infielders around him. In 2023, he spent time all over the field as well as DH, which allowed him to prove himself as a diverse reserve player and ultimately get a lot more playing time than anyone could have expected from him at the beginning of the year. Letting him get most of his time at second would demonstrate a bit of good faith from the front office and keep the home fires burning at second while No. 2 prospect Colt Keith works his way into the big leauges.