Tigers could right a midseason wrong by taking a flier on new Dodgers free agent

Back in May, the Diamondbacks cut their former No. 1 prospect Alek Thomas in order to make room on their roster for new No. 1 prospect Ryan Waldschmidt. Although he was always a more than capable defensive outfielder with some real speed, Arizona could never figure out how to wake up Thomas' bat.

In a surprising move, the Diamondbacks traded him to the Dodgers for a minor league outfielder. It was a rare inter-division deal, but it spoke to Arizona's loss of faith in him.

We wrote after the trade that the Tigers had missed out on Thomas. At the time, Detroit was in the middle of what would become a 6-22 month. Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, and Javy Báez were all lost to the IL, and Max Clark wasn't a consideration back then.

The Tigers called up Gage Workman and had a few more outfielders cycle through during that time — Trei Cruz, Corey Julks, Twins castoff James Outman — but Thomas would've been a stronger defensive option than any of them, and the Dodgers were quick to unlock a little something in his bat. He collected an RBI in all three of his first games in LA.

Thomas elected free agency this week, and it could present another opportunity to the Tigers. He probably isn't worth a major league contract, but a minor league deal to shore up their outfield depth would never hurt.

Tigers missed out on Alek Thomas in May, but they could consider a minor league deal

Thomas fits in perfectly with Scott Harris' "supplement, not buy" approach. He's younger than Julks and has a better pedigree. He'll never be a power hitter, which the Tigers do need, but when it comes to strong defense and smart baserunning — what the Tigers are trying to make their calling cards — Thomas supplies both.

One of Harris' biggest criticisms of himself when reflecting on the season was that he hadn't built enough depth into the organization. Although Tigers fans would probably prefer to see guys like Brett Callahan and John Peck become depth behind a veteran outfield bat, that just isn't going to happen for Detroit.

There's always a certain amount of exasperation when it comes to Harris pickups, but there is a world in which more of them work out — only if Harris and the Tigers organization start collecting guys more intentionally, and not just the first ones who come down the wire.

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