Scott Harris' comment after Tigers signed Tommy Kahnle is nothing but lip service

Division Series - New York Yankees v Kansas City Royals - Game 3
Division Series - New York Yankees v Kansas City Royals - Game 3 | Jamie Squire/GettyImages

The Tigers' Wednesday signing of Tommy Kahnle to a one-year, $7.75 million deal was a nice, unexpected move from the front office. Although they'd made some noise with their interest in relievers with closing experience (particularly Carlos Estévez, who has since signed with the Royals), Kahnle wasn't on anyone's radar as a name to watch for Detroit.

His signing gives the Tigers three to show for this offseason — Alex Cobb, Gleyber Torres, and Kahnle — to bring their spending up to $37.75 million. This is still chump change for some of the most active teams on the markets (Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Rangers), and as pleasantly surprising as Kahnle was, the Tigers shouldn't stop there (even though they probably will).

President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris spoke to the media after the signing was officially announced and said: "We're not done. We're gonna try to find new ways to make this team better. There are a number of ways we can do it, free agency trade, waiver claims. We're gonna find ways to get better. Bullpen and our lineup are two areas that we are gonna look to upgrade if we can, but we also like our depth on both sides of the ball."

Tigers' Scott Harris foreshadows more moves after Tommy Kahnle signing

The last part of Harris' comments are probably the most important here. "If we can, but we like our depth on both sides of the ball." The front office must know that the fanbase is basically salivating for a major signing (Alex Bregman specifically, who Harris declined to comment on), and Harris probably just wanted to quiet some of the rabble. Maybe it's a little pessimistic, but it's also hard to put much stock into any promises to spend more money or be aggressive about trades when the Tigers have already let numerous good opportunities pass them by.

In terms of position players, it's pretty much Bregman or bust for fans. If the Tigers were to go out and sign any other third baseman or utility infielder and try to pass them off as an adequate consolation for Bregman, fans would see right through it.

If the Tigers actually do get Bregman or any other impact bat from what's left on the thinned-out free agent market, then great. We'd be happy to eat our words. But the front office has a track record of making the most underwhelming move possible, so it's hard to believe them now.

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