Tigers’ focus on returning pitchers distracts from real problem sinking Detroit right now

It's been a rough go to start the season for the Detroit Tigers. Injuries have ravaged the club, the losses have piled up, and one of the few silver linings to hold on to has nothing to do with the club itself, but rather the extreme mediocrity that is the AL Central and the fact that time is on their side. For now.

Some have already written the Tigers off as sellers at the trade deadline, but that's way too premature. The club certainly needs to start stringing together some wins with urgency, but if you ask the Tigers, they'll tell you they're well-positioned to dig out thanks to an influx of reinforcements to the pitching staff coming off the IL.

The focus, of course, is on Tarik Skubal, who underwent the innovative NanoNeedle procedure to clear a loose body from his elbow and could potentially return much faster than the two-to-three-month timetable common with the older arthroscopic surgery.

Moreover, Detroit has already seen Casey Mize return to action. Will Vest is back, as well, and the hope is that Justin Verlander isn't all that far behind.

The reinforcements to the pitching staff are great, but it's hardly been the biggest problem facing the Tigers during this brutal stretch.

The offense has been a much bigger factor in the Tigers' poor showing than the pitching staff

Through May 18, Tigers starters ranked 14th in baseball with a 4.10 ERA. In the same time span, the bullpen has posted a 3.95 ERA, also good for 14th in the league. That's not amazing, but a tick above average proves that the pitching staff hasn't been the biggest problem the team has faced.

Instead, it has been the offense that has often let Detroit down. In terms of runs scored, the Tigers rank 25th in baseball with 190. By OPS, their .700 mark is good for 21st. Their 42 homers rank 23rd.

That isn't to say that there haven't been some bright spots. Kevin McGonigle has exceeded even the biggest optimist's wildest dreams. Dillon Dingler is becoming a star in his own right. Riley Greene's bat has been great, and his underlying metrics indicate he won't fall off a cliff even when his unsustainably high .460 BABIP comes back down to earth.

But beyond that, it's been hard to find a ton of bright spots. Spencer Torkelson's .191/.308/.363 line is pushing the team towards the brink. Gleyber Torres had posted a gaudy .389 OBP, but has provided no power to speak of with a .328 SLG prior to going down with an oblique injury. Colt Keith has brought the contact by hitting .293, but it's lacked a punch as it's backed up by a .353 SLG.

What's becoming clearer by the day is that Detroit desperately needed to go out and get an impact power bat to anchor the middle of the lineup. They failed in that regard and are now learning the hard way that it's really difficult to consistently score runs by stringing singles and walks together time and time again. Unfortunately, no amount of pitching is going to fix this grave Tigers' problem.

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