WEBVTT 00:00:04.690 --> 00:00:08.650 Look, we get it, Tiger fans. We know the baseball 00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:11.650 season can be a grind. Luckily, when you're ready 00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:14.929 to trade hot dogs for tailgates, we've got you 00:00:14.929 --> 00:00:18.190 covered with Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast. 00:00:18.789 --> 00:00:20.989 It's the same unfiltered Detroit sports talk 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:23.809 you get here, just with more biting kneecaps 00:00:23.809 --> 00:00:27.050 and fewer bullpen meltdowns. So when Sunday rolls 00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:29.850 around, don't just pace around like AJ Hinch 00:00:29.850 --> 00:00:33.250 waiting for a reliever. Fire up Litterbox, a 00:00:33.250 --> 00:00:35.729 Detroit Lions podcast, wherever you're listening 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:39.009 now, and roar with us through the NFL season. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:51.579 Billy P from The D and Chet here. Thank you all 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:53.740 for listening to Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.299 podcast. If you enjoy the show, please make sure 00:00:56.299 --> 00:00:58.079 you hit that subscribe button so that you never 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:00.460 miss an episode. We'd love hearing your thoughts 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:03.380 too. Leave us a rating or just drop us a comment. 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:05.519 Please let us know what you think and whatever 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:08.000 you want us to cover next. Your feedback really 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.540 helps us grow and keeps the Tigers talk rolling 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:21.909 all season long. Go Tigers and thank you. You're 00:01:21.909 --> 00:01:24.670 listening to The Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:01:24.670 --> 00:01:30.489 podcast with your hosts, Chet West and Bill Patterson. 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:36.090 Detroit Tiger fans, welcome to the latest edition 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:39.530 of the Detroit Tigers Litterbox, your podcast 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:42.010 for all things Detroit Tigers. I am one of your 00:01:42.010 --> 00:01:45.189 co -hosts. Billy P and I'm here with Chet and 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:47.670 we're going to do a recap on the season that 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:51.209 was the 2025 Detroit Tigers. Overall, I feel 00:01:51.209 --> 00:01:54.709 it was a success. We had the final press conference 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:58.650 with Scott Harris and AJ Hinch. However, I still 00:01:58.650 --> 00:02:02.430 have some feelings that some baseball or better 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:05.030 baseball might've been left on the table and 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:07.950 that there could have been possibly a few more 00:02:07.950 --> 00:02:10.509 moves that the Tigers could have made to make 00:02:10.509 --> 00:02:14.039 this season even more spectacular. Chet, your 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:43.110 thoughts. Declare or not so clearly declare in 00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:45.849 the presser He dropped a lot of hints to tiger 00:02:45.849 --> 00:02:48.090 fans as to how how the offseason is kind of gonna 00:02:48.090 --> 00:02:51.289 work But let's go back and take a look at the 00:02:51.289 --> 00:02:54.729 season that was 2025 bill sounds good I also 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:57.409 was gonna we have a sister podcast the Detroit 00:02:57.409 --> 00:02:59.789 Lions litter box and we like giving game balls 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:02.830 out and so I Would like you to go through stats, 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:05.409 but if I could please you want to do your game 00:03:05.409 --> 00:03:08.229 balls I would like to do my season game balls 00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:11.099 with your permission Yeah, I think that's great. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:13.620 So let's let's just start off. Let's start off 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:16.539 with a hitting for now. Okay? Okay. We'll do 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:18.259 hitting first, then we'll walk through pitching. 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:20.120 I've got the hitting sitting here in front of 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:21.900 me. And there are some curious numbers here. 00:03:21.939 --> 00:03:23.960 Guess who led the team in home runs this season, 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:26.800 Bill. Take a wild guess. We heard about it all 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:31.599 season long. Oh, our guy. Our guy Riley Green. 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:34.460 Guess who led this team in RBIs this season, 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:39.259 Bill? Our guy? Our guy, Riley Green. 111 RBIs, 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.460 36 home runs. You know, the interesting thing, 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:45.539 and this may shock you, who do you think was 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:48.319 runner -up for home runs this season? Well, I've 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.460 got it pulled up, so... You do? Okay, so it's 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:52.520 not going to shock you at all. All right. You're 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.780 cheating. Well, how about I give you a wild guess, 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:57.639 and then you can correct me, because I think 00:03:57.639 --> 00:03:59.159 that's where you want to go. So I'm going to 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:02.139 just tongue -in -cheek say, oh, it's got to be 00:04:02.139 --> 00:04:08.789 Trey Sweeney. Okay. We're off to a roaring start 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.789 here, folks. Now, Spencer Torkelson was the number 00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:15.250 two home run getter this year at 31, which is 00:04:15.250 --> 00:04:18.689 pretty impressive. I think a lot of what he did 00:04:18.689 --> 00:04:21.129 this season went unsung and people are still 00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:23.250 honing in on the fact that he hasn't quite lived 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:27.089 up to his number one draft pick status over the 00:04:27.089 --> 00:04:30.449 years. But but climbing that ladder a little. 00:04:30.569 --> 00:04:33.089 Go ahead. Yeah, you have. Yeah. So I've got a 00:04:33.089 --> 00:04:34.769 couple of thoughts if we can circle back to Riley 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:37.430 Green. We've talked about this quite a bit during 00:04:37.430 --> 00:04:39.290 the year and then I'll fast forward to torque 00:04:39.290 --> 00:04:41.810 in. Sorry for the joke on Sweeney, but he's going 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:46.240 to. go in our lackluster category for sure. Going 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.920 back to Green, he had an excellent year. There's 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:52.220 one thing that stands out. Right now, I am baseball 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:56.160 prospectus and baseball reference. So just so 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.540 we're looking at similar things. He had over 00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:02.560 200 strikeouts this year. He landed at 201. And 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.439 despite the home runs and RBIs, and for most 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:10.360 of the season, his OPS led the team as well. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:12.829 And basically, the team team went as Riley Green 00:05:12.829 --> 00:05:16.790 went. If he could cut down on those strikeouts, 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:22.120 we are looking at a possible bonafide. He's already 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.339 a superstar, but I'm talking like a game changer, 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.899 a game wrecker of the finest order. And so one 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:30.500 of the things that I picked up on that we didn't 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:34.319 discuss on the pod is his swing is wildly inconsistent. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.819 And at the end of the year, when he was pressing, 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:39.839 check can see me, but for our listeners, imagine 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:42.579 instead of a level plane, you know, where you're 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:45.980 just going horizontal, his swing was really cutting. 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:49.050 Almost like you're in the back always had that 00:05:49.050 --> 00:05:51.529 uppercut swing, but it definitely got more and 00:05:51.529 --> 00:05:54.529 more exaggerated as he pressed it Yeah, I don't 00:05:54.529 --> 00:05:56.589 have the metrics on his swing plane in front 00:05:56.589 --> 00:05:59.750 of me But I would be curious to see if he starts 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:02.170 cutting upwards more and more as he's trying 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:06.350 harder and harder to produce That was what I 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:10.699 gleaned in red And some other sources and again, 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:13.699 I think there's a lot to hang our hat on He is 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:16.139 not gonna get my game ball. We'll get to that 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:20.259 in a minute and then Torkelson Let's take a step 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:23.759 back going into the season the media literally 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:27.319 thought that he was a question mark to make this 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:31.370 roster And if you look at what he accomplished 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:33.610 this season, and I'm just going to kind of go 00:06:33.610 --> 00:06:36.930 through it. You know, he had 72 walks. He struck 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:40.269 out 169 times. He ended up with a batting average 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:46.009 of 240. His slug was 456. His OPS was 789. And 00:06:46.009 --> 00:06:48.350 you already talked about, you know, being second 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:51.189 on the team in home runs. He was clutch. And 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:53.930 again, if you take away where he was drafted, 00:06:54.089 --> 00:06:56.949 I think you're looking at a really, really solid 00:06:56.949 --> 00:07:00.069 player. really, really solid first baseman. Is 00:07:00.069 --> 00:07:04.250 he Pete Alonso? No, but he's... But he's in there 00:07:04.250 --> 00:07:06.709 with some of the first baseman they're talking 00:07:06.709 --> 00:07:09.449 about. He's in there with a contrarious for the 00:07:09.449 --> 00:07:11.589 Cardinals. He's in there with guys who are... 00:07:11.589 --> 00:07:14.420 He's like right in the mix. I would say he's 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:18.660 a top five first baseman, I think, in most metrics. 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.540 Top six. And that is worthy of a first round 00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:23.519 pick because think of how many first round picks 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:25.680 not only the Detroit Tigers have had, but across 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.879 Major League Baseball that haven't panned out 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:30.620 at all. 31 home runs is nothing to sneeze at 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:34.459 either. So and he was runner up in RBI's at 78. 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:37.480 So he was it was him and Riley Green for most 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:40.870 of the season for our offense. So and I have 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:43.910 to apologize for our last pod I kept saying at 00:07:43.910 --> 00:07:46.970 bats when I meant we needed more batters Yeah, 00:07:47.310 --> 00:07:50.689 and what I still would like to say is that I 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:53.970 think if there was a veteran bat that could help 00:07:53.970 --> 00:07:57.490 protect those two individuals green and torque 00:07:57.490 --> 00:08:01.350 I think the sky's the limit because going into 00:08:01.350 --> 00:08:05.689 the season Colt Keith was removed From his natural 00:08:05.689 --> 00:08:09.050 position, second base, Gleybar Torres was signed 00:08:09.050 --> 00:08:11.649 to play second base, all because the Tigers' 00:08:11.930 --> 00:08:14.610 front office and Tigers' system didn't think 00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:17.470 that Torkelson would actually be an everyday 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:19.410 player for them. Yeah, he kind of threw a wrench 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:22.230 in things a little bit. In a very pleasant way. 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:24.490 But he did kind of throw a little wrench in the 00:08:24.490 --> 00:08:28.730 plan. So, pleasant surprise from Torke, and I 00:08:28.730 --> 00:08:31.069 think the sky's the limit for Riley Green. Where 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:34.559 I would like to move is to talk about your important 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:37.019 metric batting average and who the leader was 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:40.179 of the regulars who also is my tiger to get the 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:42.679 game ball for the offensive side and that would 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:46.039 be one Dylan Dingler who emerged on the scene 00:08:46.509 --> 00:08:49.590 is again a pleasant surprise chat. We thought 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:52.669 that we would see a lot of the mustached catcher 00:08:52.669 --> 00:08:56.149 this year as the everyday player. And we didn't 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:59.210 see Jake Rogers all that much. He was really 00:08:59.210 --> 00:09:01.850 only in there every fifth day, every fourth day, 00:09:01.950 --> 00:09:05.029 because Dingler not only manned a really solid 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:08.070 defensive position behind the plate, but also 00:09:08.070 --> 00:09:11.769 led the team in regulars with a 278 batting average. 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:14.990 And again, his OPS slid throughout the year, 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:19.009 but he finished at 752 and I would say that he 00:09:19.009 --> 00:09:22.409 gets my game ball for the fact that he was nothing 00:09:22.409 --> 00:09:25.570 short of a revelation and he seemed to get timely 00:09:25.570 --> 00:09:29.409 hits when the rest of the bats got cold and also 00:09:29.409 --> 00:09:32.269 hit in clutch situations when others were hitting 00:09:32.269 --> 00:09:35.049 as well. So your thoughts on all that? I'm good 00:09:35.049 --> 00:09:37.590 with that. I, you know, the batting, it's kind 00:09:37.590 --> 00:09:40.289 of interesting that the highest batting average 00:09:40.289 --> 00:09:45.019 on the team was a catcher. the end and I'm looking 00:09:45.019 --> 00:09:48.120 across here the only OPS that ended up over 800 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:52.440 was Riley Green's OPS at 806 and so I'm kind 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:55.440 of looking across these hitting stats they drop 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:59.620 off 20 digits from Dingler to the next highest 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:02.879 batting average which was McKinstry at 259 so 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:05.940 I am definitely looking at these batting averages 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:10.320 and saying you know after Dingler the next regular 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:14.879 position player who got, you know, in of course, 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.000 we're putting a certain amount of at bats on 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.740 this. There are other guys who may have had higher 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:23.860 averages, but they didn't get the at bats. I'm 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:27.600 looking at regulars here. McKinstry with a 259 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.240 and then jumping up to 278 to Dingler. But everybody 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.139 else is down around McKinstry. and even worse, 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:38.039 lower. So I'm fascinated by the fact that our 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:40.279 batting average is really, outside of Dingler, 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:44.159 didn't cross the 250, 260 mark for anyone else 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:47.519 after a season that we just had. Granted, bad 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:50.340 September does that to the numbers, but I'm sure 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:51.879 there were other guys that were up there closer 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:55.179 to Dingler's numbers up through August. So one 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:57.379 of the things I would like to see the Tigers 00:10:57.379 --> 00:10:59.799 do that was alluded to in the press conference 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:02.659 by Hinch and you'd like to see them hit more? 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:05.620 I would like to see them strike out less, actually, 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.919 Chad. No, no, no. Yes. Yeah. I'm chuckling as 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:10.539 well. Yes, of course, batting ever should be 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.840 key. But I think more selectivity would be better 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:17.620 because here's the thing. When the Tigers did 00:11:17.620 --> 00:11:20.740 hit, they were first in Major League Baseball, 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:24.759 getting first to third in creating. extra opportunities 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:28.159 on the base paths, which was an excellent job 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.259 organizationally and from AJ Hinch to do that, 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:34.460 given that the team speed is not one of the strengths 00:11:34.460 --> 00:11:36.799 of this team. As a matter of fact, I don't really 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:39.399 think they have many guys outside of Parker Meadows, 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:43.779 maybe ZMAC, that have above average speed. And 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:45.759 that's one of the things that I would like to 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.519 shout out organizationally, that they, when things 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:50.360 were rolling through the first hundred games, 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:52.759 nobody was going first to third like the Tigers 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.159 were. Nobody was just generating extra bases 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:59.379 like the Tigers were. And if they can cut down 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:02.460 on strikeouts, increase their ability to generate 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:05.120 walks, because I think you and I both know that 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:07.899 Torres will not be part of the Tigers' future. 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:11.330 And he was... Arguably their best batter at taking 00:12:11.330 --> 00:12:13.549 pitches and he definitely had the best played 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:16.230 approach Throughout the season. Well, at least 00:12:16.230 --> 00:12:18.610 for the first hundred games. He fell off a cliff 00:12:18.610 --> 00:12:22.669 as well. So noted noted Yeah, but that's really 00:12:22.669 --> 00:12:25.750 what I was trying to listen to was at the press 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:28.029 conference, let's not get upset with what they're 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:30.529 saying. Let's try to really listen to where the 00:12:30.529 --> 00:12:33.470 Tigers could improve organizationally and within 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:35.590 the clubhouse. And that was one of the things 00:12:35.590 --> 00:12:37.649 that really jumped out to me is that not only 00:12:37.649 --> 00:12:39.769 are they cognizant of it, but they have a plan 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:42.889 put together to try to decrease the strikeouts, 00:12:43.230 --> 00:12:46.049 increase the walk rate and get back to what they 00:12:46.049 --> 00:12:49.169 did best, which was generating extra bases. Sure. 00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:53.099 I agree with that. And I would like to see those 00:12:53.099 --> 00:12:55.080 averages creep up. I'd just like to see that 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:57.980 on base percentage stay up. Even if it's just 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:00.360 taking walks, getting on base, making things 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:02.740 difficult on that other team's pitcher, we saw 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:04.360 that in the first half of the season. As you 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:06.600 noted, didn't see it in the second half of the 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.960 season as much. And I do think that that is kind 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.639 of where this team lost itself down the stretch. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.299 Something I want to call out here. We're going 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:18.820 to move on to pitching here in a minute. Most 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:21.860 of our batting metrics for the Detroit Tigers 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:24.960 this season all sit somewhere in the middle of 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.259 the league. We weren't the worst at anything. 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:30.320 We weren't the best at anything. Batting average, 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:34.840 on base percentage, strikeouts, we had the leader. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:38.299 And strikeouts with Riley green at 201 so we 00:13:38.299 --> 00:13:41.039 were down the list a little ways there But as 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.080 far as team stats go we sit around the 15 16 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.679 spot 14 spot and a lot of these statistics That's 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.659 as a team to make the ALDS and have offensive 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:53.460 stats in the middle of the pack Must mean that 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.450 we did something with pitching right bill Tarek 00:13:56.450 --> 00:14:00.909 Schubel led the team in ERA at 2 .21. I would 00:14:00.909 --> 00:14:02.970 say he still has to be the front runner for the 00:14:02.970 --> 00:14:04.990 Cy Young. I've seen nothing really to say that 00:14:04.990 --> 00:14:06.789 it won't be Schubel. He's going to win the American 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:10.009 League Cy Young and the National League. That's 00:14:10.009 --> 00:14:11.669 still up in the air for me. Well no, just give 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:16.049 it to the Dodgers. Just pick a Dodger. Next stat 00:14:16.049 --> 00:14:19.169 that sticks out to me is wins. Wins stat for 00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:21.210 a pitcher is in this day and age kind of just 00:14:21.210 --> 00:14:24.059 a... You know, it's a vanity stat. It's really 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:26.460 a team stat more than a pitcher stat. But it 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:28.559 shocked me that Casey Mize actually led the team 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.179 and wins. He ended up 14 and 6 on the season 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:34.960 and Scubal ended up 13 and 6 on the season. Now, 00:14:35.299 --> 00:14:37.720 that's take it for what you will. It's wins. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.639 I'm not going to, you know, ERA and wins don't 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.580 tell the entire story. There are a few others 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:45.940 like Fip that I would look at fielding independent 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:50.980 pitching. Scubal leads that too at a 2 .45. Scubal's 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:59.029 whip. was ridiculous at a .891 whip. .891 walks 00:14:59.029 --> 00:15:01.590 hits and he's pitched. That is unbelievable. 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:04.090 It's jaw -dropping and he is the best in the 00:15:04.090 --> 00:15:08.889 game. Period. Walks per nine, 1 .5. Okay? Led 00:15:08.889 --> 00:15:11.980 the league in both of those. categories. Strikeout 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:15.519 to walk ratio 7 .3. Led the league there. Incredible 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.759 stuff as far as Scubal stats go. The rest of 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:21.700 the team in those areas somewhat pedestrian for 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:24.019 pitching. And I think we kind of saw that, Bill, 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:27.059 like past Scubal. Mize did some things and stood 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:30.340 out at a 3 .7 average for the ERA for the season, 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:33.909 which isn't bad. Everybody else on this list 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:37.309 sort of just falls off and goes into a very, 00:15:37.370 --> 00:15:40.769 very middling to medium category once you get 00:15:40.769 --> 00:15:43.149 outside of Scoobles dominance, which scares me 00:15:43.149 --> 00:15:45.590 for next year because I think our staff is going 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:47.509 to be made up of a lot of these guys. Now, some 00:15:47.509 --> 00:15:49.570 may turn the corner. We get Reese Olsen back. 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:52.529 He made he had some pretty darn good stats prior 00:15:52.529 --> 00:15:54.129 to getting hurt and going out for the season, 00:15:54.250 --> 00:15:56.370 which I think hurt us quite a bit. Glad you called 00:15:56.370 --> 00:15:58.970 that out because. Yeah. I'm still looking at 00:15:58.970 --> 00:16:01.450 war, wins above replacement player. He and Casey 00:16:01.450 --> 00:16:05.409 Mize were second after tied with Will Vest at 00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:09.629 a 1 .7. Yep. And the really number that jumped 00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:12.289 out to me was Rhys Olsen's earned run average 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:16.590 at 3 .15. If we can get Rhys Olsen healthy. Yep. 00:16:16.909 --> 00:16:19.669 A lot of questions. I feel real good about our 00:16:19.669 --> 00:16:22.509 staff if Rhys Olsen comes out healthy and throwing 00:16:22.509 --> 00:16:26.570 next year as he ended this year. And another 00:16:26.570 --> 00:16:30.570 gentleman whose ERA looks very inflated, but 00:16:30.570 --> 00:16:33.409 you have to remember that he pitched in relief 00:16:33.409 --> 00:16:37.090 and he was not as effective in relief, especially 00:16:37.090 --> 00:16:39.070 high leverage situations where he was inheriting 00:16:39.070 --> 00:16:42.830 runners on base, is Keiter Montero. So going 00:16:42.830 --> 00:16:48.059 into 2026, let's just... Let's talk about the 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:51.139 Scubal. I like Keiter as a five or a four in 00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:52.860 our rotation. I do too. I do too. I would be 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:55.899 perfectly fine with him as a number five in our 00:16:55.899 --> 00:16:59.299 rotation. And that leaves like Scubal, Mize, 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.940 Olsen as your top three. And then you slide Keiter 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:05.259 in there. What if like Melton is your four and 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:08.339 Keiter is your five with that group? Well, let's 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:10.599 talk about Jack Flaherty for a moment. I'm leaving 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:14.799 him for the end. Yeah, he, I think, is going 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:16.900 to be a tiger again. You think he's picking that 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:21.000 option up? That's what I think is going to happen. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:22.359 He's going to exercise the option, you think? 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:26.779 I don't know. The more I read, the more I realize 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:30.279 that 20 to 25 mil a year for a pitcher is just 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.630 kind of standard right now. That gets you your 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:35.609 4ERA guy. I mean, look at the Matt Boyds, look 00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:37.210 at the Jack Flaherties, look at the... I mean, 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:38.829 that's just kind of what you're paying these 00:17:38.829 --> 00:17:41.589 days. So he may go back out on the market and 00:17:41.589 --> 00:17:44.170 try and catch a little more. I will say this. 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:47.309 I am fine and at peace with whatever happens. 00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:51.089 If he's a Tiger next season, to your point, it's 00:17:51.089 --> 00:17:53.609 money well spent just to have another arm in 00:17:53.609 --> 00:17:56.170 the starting rotation, which is all he is. He's 00:17:56.170 --> 00:17:58.769 not a number two. Yeah, he's definitely a four 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:00.630 or five. You know, you just gave the starting 00:18:00.630 --> 00:18:03.069 rotation as we envision it. He can pitch like 00:18:03.069 --> 00:18:06.130 a two, but he can also pitch like a five or five 00:18:06.130 --> 00:18:11.049 man. Yeah. Thought I have those it's a win -win 00:18:11.049 --> 00:18:13.789 for the Tigers if he does exercise that option 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:16.450 and is elsewhere It doesn't really hurt you that 00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:19.549 much and if he's a tiger again It's a nice piece 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:23.650 to have if we can can I do the negative on these 00:18:23.650 --> 00:18:25.950 wars because we talked about the positive And 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:27.990 I'm gonna try to stay with starters here for 00:18:27.990 --> 00:18:31.569 a minute really ugly numbers for Charlie Morton. 00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:35.490 Yeah negative point oh eight war Yep. And Sawyer 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:38.109 Gibson won. Yeah, he got a couple of starts and 00:18:38.109 --> 00:18:41.589 did not pan out. Yep. And then the other Patek 00:18:41.589 --> 00:18:45.029 negative point six. I mean, yes. Oh, jeez. The 00:18:45.029 --> 00:18:47.569 trade deadline was not kind to us. It wasn't 00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:49.329 even dumb. Go on and on about that. It wasn't 00:18:49.329 --> 00:18:52.269 even dumpster diving shut. It was it was bad. 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:55.970 It was just inquiring stop gaps to just breathe 00:18:55.970 --> 00:19:00.210 on the mound at times. It felt like. As I go 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:03.460 across and I look at the war. You know, you see 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.579 these negative war numbers and then I look at 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:09.500 our pen. You know, most of our guys had a positive 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:13.099 war of our regular relievers with with the exception 00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:15.839 of Tommy Canley, who had a negative point one 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:18.759 war, which felt like a lot more. at times. When 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.220 I saw that number, it absolutely stunned me because 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.819 I thought I thought he would have been at least 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:27.200 like a negative. A full digit, a full digit at 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:29.980 least. Oh, my gosh. I mean, you know, Will Vest 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:32.059 had the one big one that stands out with a one 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:34.440 point seven war, and that still isn't even that 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:36.680 great. Like, let's just leave that where it is. 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:40.759 So I think in the end of this, when we do start 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:42.740 talking about the big picture here in a couple 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:45.200 of minutes. They gotta get some strikeout guys 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:46.960 in there. They gotta get some swing and miss 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.099 guys. Have to get swing and miss guys. Like, 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.500 if there's one thing we do in the off season, 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:54.539 I know you want a big bat, we gotta go after 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:56.579 some bullpen help. Because looking at these numbers, 00:19:56.859 --> 00:20:00.099 the bullpen was just so pedestrian. It's actually 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:02.079 shocking we didn't throw more games away early 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.920 on with this pen. Can't I ask for both? Or am 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.660 I? You can. You can ask. Or am I? I just don't 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:11.470 know if you're gonna get both. So that'll put 00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:14.230 a bow on pitching. Basically it was Tarek Schubel, 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:17.410 some moments by Mize and Olson. We saw a new 00:20:17.410 --> 00:20:19.349 guy in Troy Melton come along that I'm really 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:22.490 excited for next year. Who was, overall, getting 00:20:22.490 --> 00:20:24.990 off of pitching now, getting onto the team as 00:20:24.990 --> 00:20:26.589 a whole, who was your biggest surprise player 00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:29.029 this season? It's got to be Dingler. You think 00:20:29.029 --> 00:20:31.150 it's Dingler? He just stands out so much to you. 00:20:31.670 --> 00:20:34.869 I think it was, at one point, you could have 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:37.259 sold me on Zach McKinstry. Being the biggest 00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:39.539 surprise player with a runner -up to Spencer 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:41.980 Torkelson But I think Dingler takes the cake 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:43.980 because I don't think we thought we were getting 00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:46.740 anything from him this year at catcher I honestly 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:48.759 thought catcher was gonna be a major weakness 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:51.839 So we go back to our beginning pods from spring 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:54.480 Wondering who was gonna fill our catcher role 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.880 and we were talking about guys like who we might 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:59.460 see Theron Lorenzo We might see Bersagno. We 00:20:59.460 --> 00:21:01.440 might see those guys never even came to the equation 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.380 because Dingler was so good up there for rookie 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:08.660 of the year in the AL and really looking like 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:11.240 the future of this team. Now, I'm going to ask 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:13.579 you another question. Who is the biggest disappointment 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:17.400 this season? I mean, I can't bury Trey Sweeney 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:20.160 anymore, so let me move off that. Does it have 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.700 to be a positional player? Well, it can be anybody 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:25.640 you want. I'm gonna give - I'm opening this up 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:27.839 to pitching. I'm opening this up to the whole 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.500 thing. Tommy Cannelly became a running joke for 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:33.940 me and you as well most of the season. He didn't 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:37.240 even make it to the 100 game mark unscathed. 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:39.779 Again, we talked about his war not being as bad. 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:43.539 Uh, I would - You know, he didn't pitch a lot 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:45.779 for us, but he was someone that I thought we'd 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:48.160 get a lot out of, and that's Bo Briski. I don't 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:50.220 know what happened to Bo Briski. What happened 00:21:50.220 --> 00:21:54.319 to Bo Briski? He, his war was negative point 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:56.960 eight, and he just kind of fell off a cliff. 00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:59.720 The other guy that I thought we might, I was 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:03.960 high on, but quickly realized that that was incorrect, 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:07.319 and that unfounded, and there was no basis of 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.400 factual... documentation was Sawyer Gibson Long 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.259 as well. I had very high expectations for both 00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:15.900 of those gentlemen, and it didn't seem like they 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:18.920 delivered at all in any way, shape or form. I'm 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.480 gonna throw a curve ball to you here on my biggest 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.660 disappointment. I agree with you on the biggest 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:26.180 surprise player being Dingler. That was a wonderful 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:28.359 surprise. My close runner up would be Torque 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:32.819 for surprises. My biggest disappointment, and 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:37.759 this goes back to day one, Jace Young. not taking 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.480 the opportunity that he was given to be the third 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.839 baseman for the future of this team. And maybe 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:45.220 he's not done, okay? There's a lot of talent 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:48.420 in that kid, but he is just a kid, but he is 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:51.299 24. I mean, he's got to start doing something 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:54.259 some point in time here. It's got to start happening 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:57.980 for him. And for all of the... He was a very 00:22:57.980 --> 00:23:01.039 highly touted prospect. Still is, to some degree 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.500 or another. Lost a lot of shine. Him not taking 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.859 that third base position and at least looking 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.000 serviceable over there really disappointed me. 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:12.799 And I think it actually created a massive hole 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:15.279 to a degree in our lineup, a position of need. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:17.960 We needed a power hitting third baseman, somebody 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:20.059 who could juice the ball a little, and we just 00:23:20.059 --> 00:23:23.009 never kind of got that. at that spot so jace 00:23:23.009 --> 00:23:24.890 young gets my biggest disappointment of the season 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:28.769 i could do a conglomeration of like sweeney young 00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:31.029 and you know throw another one of the young guys 00:23:31.029 --> 00:23:33.390 that didn't quite pop like maloy or something 00:23:33.390 --> 00:23:37.410 like that in there or or meadows but meadows 00:23:37.410 --> 00:23:39.970 was hurt for a good portion of season, a little 00:23:39.970 --> 00:23:43.509 unfair to him. Malloy did what Malloy was supposed 00:23:43.509 --> 00:23:46.170 to do when he came up at times. He hit and did 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:48.869 pretty well, showed some good, you know, approach 00:23:48.869 --> 00:23:51.009 the plate. But so I'll stay off of them. I'm 00:23:51.009 --> 00:23:52.670 going with Young is my biggest disappointment. 00:23:52.809 --> 00:23:54.450 I really thought that kid was going to fill a 00:23:54.450 --> 00:23:58.349 need. So not to be Pollyanna and, you know, silver 00:23:58.349 --> 00:24:01.170 lining, you know, glass half full, but we wouldn't 00:24:01.170 --> 00:24:04.210 have gotten as much that ZMAC had it not been 00:24:04.210 --> 00:24:06.450 for Jace Young not grabbing the opportunity. 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:08.430 So good for the Tigers having organizational 00:24:08.430 --> 00:24:10.910 depth, but it was interesting that Jace Young 00:24:10.910 --> 00:24:13.250 didn't. grabbed the opportunity. And then his 00:24:13.250 --> 00:24:15.829 brother, who is also a highly touted prospect, 00:24:16.069 --> 00:24:18.289 didn't grab the opportunity with the Texas Rangers 00:24:18.289 --> 00:24:21.769 either. And so struggles. Yeah, which is weird. 00:24:21.849 --> 00:24:24.589 You don't often see it like in the family where 00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:26.849 both are struggling in years that they could 00:24:26.849 --> 00:24:29.150 have really jumped off. Here's just if we can 00:24:29.150 --> 00:24:31.349 talk about age and some of these guys that were 00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:34.200 disappointments. What? I think is going to happen 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.319 moving forward is Jace Young's 24, so he's on 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.059 the younger end. So there is still hope for him 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:42.900 in terms of an age standpoint, but Justin Henry 00:24:42.900 --> 00:24:47.319 Malloy's 25 and I have a feeling that he is just 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:51.160 going to get left behind. That's very possible 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:54.200 with because there's a youth movement coming. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:58.759 Yeah. And we can touch on that in a minute. I 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:02.099 just, I think his opportunity was also here this 00:25:02.099 --> 00:25:05.279 season and was needed and he didn't capitalize 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.619 as well. I don't think it's as egregious as the 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:11.000 gentleman that you mentioned, but he's another 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.019 one that I'm just sitting here kind of scratching 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:16.579 my head that he had all the opportunity in the 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:18.819 world. The at bats were there for him and he 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:21.000 couldn't stay up on the, the big league lineup. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.019 And it was mainly because he would swing and 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:28.029 miss often. So, uh, all right. I agree on all 00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:29.910 those. I'm going to do one more thing here for 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:33.289 you before we button up 2025. I want to ask one 00:25:33.289 --> 00:25:36.829 more question here or or bring one more thing 00:25:36.829 --> 00:25:39.630 to the table. Our minor league performance this 00:25:39.630 --> 00:25:42.049 year, we had multiple teams winning championships 00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:45.089 at the minor league level. There is a correlation 00:25:45.089 --> 00:25:48.150 statistically in the past that shows that when 00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:50.049 your minor leagues are dominant and they're winning 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:54.410 like ours are it. eventually pays off at the 00:25:54.410 --> 00:25:56.529 major league level. I started looking at some 00:25:56.529 --> 00:26:00.349 of our minor league players, Bill, and a quick 00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:03.029 look. We're going to get to 2026 here in a second, 00:26:03.750 --> 00:26:06.769 but McGonagall, Clark both made a name for themselves 00:26:06.769 --> 00:26:08.789 this past season. Obviously, I mean, Clark had 00:26:08.789 --> 00:26:10.849 the name before McGonagall popped up this season. 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:13.369 I think based on things we've heard, we're going 00:26:13.369 --> 00:26:16.410 to see them in 2026. Josue Bersagno is another 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:18.509 name that's starting to pop up. He's a hitter, 00:26:18.549 --> 00:26:21.349 first baseman, catcher. Bryce Rayner got injured. 00:26:21.410 --> 00:26:23.950 We didn't get to see much from him. Still quite 00:26:23.950 --> 00:26:27.369 a talent at the minor league level, but unfortunately 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:30.089 a lost season for him due to injury. Aaron Lorenzo 00:26:30.089 --> 00:26:32.130 kind of took some steps back. Howie Lee kind 00:26:32.130 --> 00:26:34.390 of took some steps back. Chris Rodriguez, too 00:26:34.390 --> 00:26:36.390 young, didn't hear much from him. I think we're 00:26:36.390 --> 00:26:39.269 going to see some deals coming up in the near 00:26:39.269 --> 00:26:42.529 future. I think in December, names like Howie 00:26:42.529 --> 00:26:45.789 Lee, names possibly like Lorenzo, Max Anderson 00:26:45.789 --> 00:26:48.170 popped on the radar this year. I think we're 00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:50.289 going to see those guys possibly involved in 00:26:50.289 --> 00:26:52.390 some trades to get some pitching. That is my 00:26:52.390 --> 00:26:55.029 hope or possibly get a hitter. I don't like what 00:26:55.029 --> 00:26:58.670 the free agent market lends. I just don't think 00:26:58.670 --> 00:27:01.170 there's anything there. It's very much like the 00:27:01.170 --> 00:27:03.430 trade deadline. It almost echoes it to a degree. 00:27:03.950 --> 00:27:06.970 I'm not looking forward like these these general 00:27:06.970 --> 00:27:08.589 managers meetings I just don't think are going 00:27:08.589 --> 00:27:10.869 to provide a ton of answers and based on what 00:27:10.869 --> 00:27:15.369 we heard in our end of season Presser that Scott 00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:18.970 did I don't think that Scott Harris and company 00:27:18.970 --> 00:27:22.690 Have a desire to go out and spend big in this 00:27:22.690 --> 00:27:25.190 offseason I think they think they're going to 00:27:25.190 --> 00:27:28.690 get the improvements they need from process within 00:27:28.690 --> 00:27:31.289 the organization and players within the organization 00:27:31.289 --> 00:27:36.339 and I know I am clamoring and desiring another 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:39.859 bat that probably can come from within and is 00:27:39.859 --> 00:27:42.619 probably a little greedy on my part wanting or 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:45.900 desiring that and I Echo your thoughts the free 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:50.180 agent Class is not looking very strong We are 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:53.259 seeing a day and age where more and more teams 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:56.500 are really keeping their players good players 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:59.799 within the organization It is interesting that 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:03.220 our guy, Alex Bregman, is opting out of his deal 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:06.019 and hitting the market again. I'm curious if 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:08.259 the Tigers make another stab at that or if they... 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:10.460 I don't think they will. I think that ship sailed. 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:12.759 You think they're jilted lovers and they... I 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:14.920 think it's a jilted lover deal. I don't think 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:17.920 they're gonna do it. I just don't. I still... 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:20.759 He answers so many needs for this team though. 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:24.279 A, third base, B, power. I think he'd play extremely... 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:27.099 I know Fenway's his ideal ballpark and where 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:29.490 his... best metrics happen. I think he would 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:33.349 be a wonderful addition for home games at Comerica. 00:28:33.349 --> 00:28:35.609 I agree to it. I agree. It just doesn't seem 00:28:35.609 --> 00:28:37.549 like it's going to work out. Like last season 00:28:37.549 --> 00:28:39.009 seemed like it would have been the time to get 00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:41.549 it done, right? Yeah. I just don't, I just don't 00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:43.529 think it's going to work out. And I also wonder 00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:46.230 like, is Bo Bichette off the table too? Cause 00:28:46.230 --> 00:28:48.369 that's another guy that, you know, is out there 00:28:48.369 --> 00:28:51.690 as a free agent possibility. I just don't know 00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:56.039 if we're going to see a big splashy deal. Yeah 00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:58.640 for for our Detroit Tigers. I just don't I mean 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:01.119 I'm looking across the you know first baseman 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:03.819 They're gonna be out there Alonzo. I think is 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:06.000 gonna opt out. I think from what I'm reading 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.920 but That could be dicey for him at 31 years old. 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:12.299 You've got a guy like Josh Naylor. Does he interest 00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:16.279 you at all? No What about like a Carlos Santana 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:18.799 at the age of 40? No is going to be a free agent. 00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:20.240 I mean, you're looking through this list. It's 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:22.579 like Paul Goldschmidt, 38 years old. You know, 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:24.140 I'm going through, this is the first basement. 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:25.960 So then all of a sudden you start looking at 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:27.799 a guy like Torque saying, you know what? I'm 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:29.980 good with Torque. Torque's as good as Hoskins. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:32.380 He's good as, you know, it's, it's a really bad 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:35.319 list once you get past Alonzo and maybe Naylor. 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:38.259 From there, the names are not great and the ages 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:41.140 aren't either. Yeah, yeah, 100 percent. I mean, 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:43.200 I start looking like, you know, the next spot, 00:29:43.380 --> 00:29:46.160 the next thing that we could possibly say we 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:47.859 have a need would be third base. Right. So you 00:29:47.859 --> 00:29:50.299 look for power there. You're right. Alex Bregman 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:54.019 sits atop the list. Peniel Suarez had a really 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:56.619 nice grand slam the other night to win a game 00:29:56.619 --> 00:29:59.960 for Seattle. He's going to be 35 next season. 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:03.769 I don't know if we want to invest in him. No, 00:30:04.250 --> 00:30:07.049 no, no, no, no. He might be on one year deals 00:30:07.049 --> 00:30:08.930 going forward for a ton of money. Who knows? 00:30:09.069 --> 00:30:11.890 Maybe you do a one year deal for him. I just 00:30:11.890 --> 00:30:13.910 don't know if he's going to be that effective 00:30:13.910 --> 00:30:17.890 in a ballpark like Detroit as a home park. And 00:30:17.890 --> 00:30:20.730 you're looking at he wasn't his effectiveness 00:30:20.730 --> 00:30:23.650 diminished. Yeah, the second to Seattle Yeah, 00:30:23.650 --> 00:30:27.410 once he left the friendly or cozy confines of 00:30:27.410 --> 00:30:29.750 Arizona So and can we just talk about something 00:30:29.750 --> 00:30:31.630 that came out of that presser at the end of the 00:30:31.630 --> 00:30:33.170 season and everybody's kind of talking about 00:30:33.170 --> 00:30:36.289 it why we didn't make deals at the deadline his 00:30:36.289 --> 00:30:40.369 name kind of was alluded to and Then they alluded 00:30:40.369 --> 00:30:42.490 to the fact that it would have cost Troy Melton 00:30:42.490 --> 00:30:45.230 to get him and you I don't want to trade Troy 00:30:45.230 --> 00:30:48.509 Melton for Eugenio Suarez I'm sorry, but after 00:30:48.509 --> 00:30:52.150 watching Milton Pitch, I loved what he had. Same. 00:30:52.670 --> 00:30:56.549 I am calling BS on Scott Harris on this. OK. 00:30:57.029 --> 00:31:00.589 There is no way that the Tigers were the only 00:31:00.589 --> 00:31:03.349 team that were trying to acquire players that 00:31:03.349 --> 00:31:06.670 wouldn't part with top 10 prospects because other 00:31:06.670 --> 00:31:10.470 teams made deals and gave up. Prospects that 00:31:10.470 --> 00:31:13.430 were well outside their top ten and their top 00:31:13.430 --> 00:31:16.950 ten prospects I'm looking at you Yankees Mets 00:31:16.950 --> 00:31:20.609 Padres weren't as good as the Tigers top ten 00:31:20.609 --> 00:31:24.430 product prospects so either Scott Harris is lying 00:31:24.430 --> 00:31:31.769 to us or He's he's bad at this negotiation Because 00:31:31.769 --> 00:31:35.410 two things these both things cannot be true at 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.950 once that he was the only guy playing poker that 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:41.319 everybody was demanding his best chips. I mean, 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:43.000 we weren't on the phone when these things were 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:45.259 happening, right? So we don't know. And calling 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:48.400 him a liar is pretty bold on my part, but that 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:50.640 was the part of the presser that really, really 00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:54.539 bothered me is you're saying to us that the only 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:58.000 pieces that people wanted were these top prospects 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.299 and obviously you wouldn't want to part with 00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:04.609 those valuable assets. but there was nothing 00:32:04.609 --> 00:32:06.950 else that could be done. I just, and then these 00:32:06.950 --> 00:32:10.049 deals were done, Chet, and it wasn't even close 00:32:10.049 --> 00:32:12.390 to the hall that, that he was talking about. 00:32:12.769 --> 00:32:16.809 So I just, I, I'm very dubious on that. The other 00:32:16.809 --> 00:32:19.269 thing I want to touch on while we're here, and 00:32:19.269 --> 00:32:22.069 I have gone back and forth on this all season 00:32:22.069 --> 00:32:24.650 and I did a deep dive on it this week. I listened 00:32:24.650 --> 00:32:27.970 to the 97 won the ticket. They've got to find 00:32:27.970 --> 00:32:31.119 a way to pay. Scoobal. They cannot let Scoobal 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.619 walk. There's no trade in this universe that 00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:38.319 you're going to get equal compensation. I disagree. 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:40.980 I think they have to trade. I think they have 00:32:40.980 --> 00:32:44.099 to. They're not going to pay him. Bill, he's 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:46.640 going to hit the open market. Boris has taken 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:49.339 him to the open market. You could offer, I swear, 00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:51.940 I think you could offer 10 and... 10 years, 500 00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:54.079 million. And Boris would be like, got to see 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:56.279 the open market anyways. Like, I just don't think, 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:59.200 I think any offer the Tigers make right now is 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:02.859 just pushing the number up. I think they're bidding 00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:05.240 against themselves for right now. And then on 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:06.660 top of that, I think they're just pushing the 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:08.539 number up for what are the Yankees? What are 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:10.440 the Dodgers? What do those teams have to do to 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:13.599 sign him? Fine. I can totally wrap my head around 00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:16.450 that. make the offer then. I need the Tigers 00:33:16.450 --> 00:33:19.009 to do something in good faith so that I know 00:33:19.009 --> 00:33:22.250 they made a good faith offer because I just don't 00:33:22.250 --> 00:33:25.029 see it that way. One Tarrick Scoobel isn't worth 00:33:25.029 --> 00:33:27.250 the multiple positions they could be able to 00:33:27.250 --> 00:33:30.990 get and fill with that money and in possible 00:33:30.990 --> 00:33:33.509 prospects in a trade. Okay, but let's talk about 00:33:33.509 --> 00:33:35.569 the strength of this. That's my thinking. I'm 00:33:35.569 --> 00:33:38.670 not disagreeing with you. However, we're talking 00:33:38.670 --> 00:33:41.869 about how great this farm system is and, you 00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:44.049 know, how... Actually, pitching is not... where 00:33:44.049 --> 00:33:45.990 it's that great right now. I know. They're very 00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:50.849 weak in that. They do need some. So I guess maybe 00:33:50.849 --> 00:33:53.630 in a December pod when we revisit this after 00:33:53.630 --> 00:33:56.950 the GM meetings, we can talk about what a potential 00:33:56.950 --> 00:33:59.369 trade would look like or maybe a potential trade. 00:33:59.549 --> 00:34:00.990 I think it's a good idea. We'll do that in December. 00:34:01.190 --> 00:34:03.470 I think we'll look towards that coming in December. 00:34:03.670 --> 00:34:07.500 I could be enticed with the good number of prospects. 00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:11.099 I guess we just did our recap on war. And if 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:13.940 you don't have Tarek Schubel these past two seasons, 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.440 you're not sniffing the playoffs. The Tigers 00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:19.340 play in the worst division in Major League Baseball 00:34:19.340 --> 00:34:21.699 right now. Let's just run down this. You've got 00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:24.019 the twins that are for sale or not for sale. 00:34:24.380 --> 00:34:28.730 They have no leadership at the top. Their players 00:34:28.730 --> 00:34:32.329 are either being sold off or often injured, meaning 00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:35.309 they're good players. The White Sox, you've got 00:34:35.309 --> 00:34:40.010 a owner that is selling that won't invest. And 00:34:40.010 --> 00:34:43.469 then you've got the Royals who are by all metrics, 00:34:43.530 --> 00:34:45.590 a small market team. They're competitive. They 00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:48.030 were buyers. And then you've got the Guardians 00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:50.409 who are your nemesis. So it's basically a three 00:34:50.409 --> 00:34:52.670 team race in the AL Central is what you're getting 00:34:52.670 --> 00:34:55.630 at. It's basically Tigers, Royals, Indians, and 00:34:55.630 --> 00:34:58.039 Guardians, excuse me, Guardians. God, do one 00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:00.739 more of those for this. Wow. Wow. Yeah. And so, 00:35:00.739 --> 00:35:02.880 yeah, instead of competing like in the American 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:04.619 League East, where you really are competing against 00:35:04.619 --> 00:35:06.800 four teams, you're really only competing against 00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:10.280 two. And I mean, the Royals aren't going to invest 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:12.079 heavy. We know the Guardians aren't going to 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:13.920 invest heavy. They're going to keep their payrolls 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:16.880 low. Now is the time that the Tigers should become 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:20.280 the Goliath of this division and rattle off 10 00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:23.429 straight. American League Central titles, and 00:35:23.429 --> 00:35:26.050 the fact is we've had magical years, Chad, the 00:35:26.050 --> 00:35:28.070 last two, and we don't have a division title 00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:32.849 to show for it. No. And I don't know that they're 00:35:32.849 --> 00:35:36.090 gonna get one next year. I mean, if Scubal is 00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:39.369 traded, it's not gonna be, I don't think, for 00:35:39.369 --> 00:35:42.710 Major League Ready talent, per se. Sure. And 00:35:42.710 --> 00:35:45.889 the biggest thing we need outside of another 00:35:45.889 --> 00:35:49.389 bat... is swing and miss guys. And actually that's 00:35:49.389 --> 00:35:52.630 a far more pressing issue than getting that additional 00:35:52.630 --> 00:35:55.570 bat. And are they going to get four swing and 00:35:55.570 --> 00:35:57.849 miss guys, three swing and miss guys? I'll go 00:35:57.849 --> 00:35:59.989 through, you know, I kind of sat here. I'm looking 00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:02.769 at the free agent list. It's not good up and 00:36:02.769 --> 00:36:04.730 down for offense next year. I mean, you're looking 00:36:04.730 --> 00:36:07.349 at Bregman, third base Bregman, Suarez, everybody 00:36:07.349 --> 00:36:11.719 else is Don't want Suarez is way up there in 00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:15.320 age like Max Muncie de Jong Moncada It's nothing 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:17.980 sexy about the names on the rest of those, you 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:19.960 know And if you want an outfielder Let's suppose 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:21.860 and I don't know where you're gonna put them 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:24.519 because you got Riley Green Carrie Carpenter 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:27.360 and Meadows out there in the outfield Maybe bias 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:31.340 and centerfield Whatever you do with centerfield 00:36:31.340 --> 00:36:34.820 Cody Bellinger is available Do you want to go 00:36:34.820 --> 00:36:37.360 down that road right now? How about Lourdes Gurriel, 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:41.260 32 years old with a 2 .9 war this season? Rob 00:36:41.260 --> 00:36:43.679 Refsnyder. I mean, these are the names that are 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:45.860 popping up that are available in the outfield. 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:49.039 Harrison Bader, Trent Grisham. I mean, none of 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.880 these. I can really, I can see you in your Detroit 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:55.980 Tigers Harrison Bader jersey next season. No, 00:36:56.119 --> 00:36:58.119 Cedric Mullins, 31 years old at a three and a 00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:00.079 half war this year. That's going to keep going 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:02.739 down every year now, for sure. Like it's just 00:37:02.739 --> 00:37:06.420 not. Lou Bob? You want Louisa Robert? No. He's 00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:09.760 28, but he's been a disaster for the past couple 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:13.420 seasons. And then you've got Kyle Tucker. He's 00:37:13.420 --> 00:37:17.239 your big, he's 29, 8 .7 war. He's going to command 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:19.579 a massive deal. after the season he just had 00:37:19.579 --> 00:37:22.480 for the Cubs. Word is around these parts, since 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.820 he was a Cub this year and that's where I live, 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:26.960 that he's cost himself quite a bit of money. 00:37:27.239 --> 00:37:29.840 Yeah, I think he probably did because he slumped 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:31.440 off at the end of the season. But he and Bregman 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.559 are the top two names. Yeah, it just doesn't 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:37.239 turn me on. Like Bregman, that'd be great. OK, 00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:39.760 he fits at third base. If we can get him. I just 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.610 don't think they're going after Bregman. So do 00:37:42.610 --> 00:37:45.349 we want to talk about pitching free agency here? 00:37:45.969 --> 00:37:48.710 I that that's the next thing on my mind. OK, 00:37:48.730 --> 00:37:51.070 so now we talk about pitching. We have needs 00:37:51.070 --> 00:37:55.150 there. So the big names that stick out to me, 00:37:55.250 --> 00:37:59.849 you know, Chris Sale at 37 in a 10 war. I I like 00:37:59.849 --> 00:38:03.010 Chris Sale, but he had some down years. He kind 00:38:03.010 --> 00:38:04.969 of got back up to the top of the mountaintop 00:38:04.969 --> 00:38:07.309 over the last two years with a Cy Young and then 00:38:07.309 --> 00:38:10.199 but he's still not there. Right. Like you don't 00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:12.659 want to go invest in Chris sale at 37 years old 00:38:12.659 --> 00:38:15.480 right now. Talk about making yourself feel old. 00:38:15.860 --> 00:38:19.219 The fact that Chris sale is 37. I know. I know. 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:22.800 It's unbelievable. I know. And so you could go 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:25.019 for a guy like Ranger Suarez at the age of 30. 00:38:25.179 --> 00:38:27.079 You had a seven and a half war last year. You 00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:29.559 could go for Framber Valdez at 32. You could 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:32.059 go for Dylan Cease at 30 years old. These guys 00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:35.889 are all going to command. 25 to 30 mill a year 00:38:35.889 --> 00:38:38.769 and multi -year deals to lock them up and I don't 00:38:38.769 --> 00:38:42.289 know if I like that Well, this goes back to my 00:38:42.289 --> 00:38:45.550 point that if you're gonna spend the money Yeah, 00:38:45.989 --> 00:38:48.369 and I know we know I know we know what Flaherty 00:38:48.369 --> 00:38:51.650 is going on. Yeah, just give it to the guy That's 00:38:51.650 --> 00:38:54.269 your ace give it to scubal and he'll just keep 00:38:54.269 --> 00:38:56.110 doing what he's done the last two seasons or 00:38:56.110 --> 00:38:58.929 he won't You know, he he's already been through, 00:38:58.929 --> 00:39:02.420 you know multiple surgeries. He's 28 will be 00:39:02.420 --> 00:39:06.460 29 in the offseason. So. Here's my thing, though, 00:39:06.460 --> 00:39:09.960 is I am 100 % convinced when looking out across 00:39:09.960 --> 00:39:13.760 the baseball landscape that unless you get this 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:17.159 magic hall trading scuba, which I don't think 00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:19.320 is going to happen, what I don't want to see. 00:39:19.619 --> 00:39:21.699 And I may have just talked myself into the fact 00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:23.539 that we have to sign him just looking at this 00:39:23.539 --> 00:39:26.380 list of free agents. It's like it's just a lot 00:39:26.380 --> 00:39:29.880 of stuff, you know. Well, anybody on here really 00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:34.159 gets me really gets your juices flowing. And 00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:36.860 where we need the swing and miss is not only. 00:39:36.860 --> 00:39:38.739 Shota Imanaga could be a guy, but he's got a 00:39:38.739 --> 00:39:40.519 mutual option. It's probably going to get picked 00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:42.480 up by the Cubs, even though he had kind of a 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:44.679 rough season this year. He's not going anywhere. 00:39:44.960 --> 00:39:46.820 Still quite good. And I think the Cubs are going 00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:49.559 to pick that up. So after that, like your choices 00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:52.800 are a bunch of guys who are cresting into their 00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:55.940 mid thirties. I don't know. And another thing, 00:39:56.099 --> 00:40:00.460 Chet, is that bullpens. The variance in a successful 00:40:00.460 --> 00:40:03.639 bullpen versus a leaky bullpen year to year, 00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:07.679 like last year, 2024, the Tigers bullpen was 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.800 the greatest strength of the team. 2025, it was 00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:15.159 a huge weakness. I don't know that. pieces can't 00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:18.639 be picked up because bullpens sure it's it's 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:21.659 not an exact science it's more like alchemy and 00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:24.340 i feel like it's kind of just lightning strikes 00:40:24.340 --> 00:40:26.860 right exactly you catch lightning in a bottle 00:40:26.860 --> 00:40:28.980 and it's like we got a bullpen and that's just 00:40:28.980 --> 00:40:32.019 how it works every season i mean i would love 00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:35.500 the tigers to make a very very healthy offer 00:40:35.500 --> 00:40:39.039 to kyle finnegan yeah i believe in will vest 00:40:39.039 --> 00:40:43.119 and you know i still believe in my guy, Tyler 00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:47.739 Holton, and also believe that Hanafi has some 00:40:47.739 --> 00:40:50.119 good there. I believe Brandt Herter also has 00:40:50.119 --> 00:40:52.199 some good. So there's some pieces there. They 00:40:52.199 --> 00:40:54.099 still need the swing and miss guys, the high 00:40:54.099 --> 00:40:58.179 velocity guys. And the guys that are available 00:40:58.179 --> 00:41:01.639 for the bullpen pieces on free agency are equally 00:41:01.639 --> 00:41:03.659 as rough as what we're seeing for the starting 00:41:03.659 --> 00:41:05.860 pitching. And they're old. And they're old. I 00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:08.019 mean, you're talking mid to late thirties on 00:41:08.019 --> 00:41:10.579 a lot of these guys. Reza Iglesias, Robert Suarez, 00:41:10.739 --> 00:41:13.300 Edwin Diaz. I mean, a lot of these guys have 00:41:13.300 --> 00:41:15.679 options and whatnot. Like Andres Munoz would 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:17.960 be wonderful, but he has a club option and they're 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:20.739 not going to let Andres Munoz go. Evan Williams 00:41:20.739 --> 00:41:24.599 at 31. Does he? Kenley Jansen at 38. Do any of 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:28.210 these names? make you say, yes, that's all of 00:41:28.210 --> 00:41:30.170 these are a roll of the dice. Are you going to 00:41:30.170 --> 00:41:32.789 have it next year or not? Jansen goes in the 00:41:32.789 --> 00:41:35.650 Cedric Mullins category, and I know totally different 00:41:35.650 --> 00:41:37.710 players, but those are guys that I would have 00:41:37.710 --> 00:41:40.630 been interested in the past trade deadline, not 00:41:40.630 --> 00:41:44.090 this off season. Like we've evolved beyond that. 00:41:44.349 --> 00:41:47.269 And that's not necessarily what I'm looking for 00:41:47.269 --> 00:41:50.070 at this point. So we know we need a third baseman. 00:41:50.210 --> 00:41:52.800 We know we need bullpen help. We need to strike 00:41:52.800 --> 00:41:55.500 out guys, right? Some swing and miss guys. And 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:58.980 we know we probably need, I would say, one starting 00:41:58.980 --> 00:42:01.440 pitcher. If Flaherty re -ups, we need one. If 00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:04.460 he doesn't, we need two. OK? Just to have some 00:42:04.460 --> 00:42:07.539 depth. Well, yeah, because as great as he pitches, 00:42:08.139 --> 00:42:11.500 Ree Solson has not proven to be a healthy baseball 00:42:11.500 --> 00:42:13.980 player. And from what we saw in the end of season 00:42:13.980 --> 00:42:16.280 presser, just Scott Harris just doesn't look 00:42:16.280 --> 00:42:18.500 like he's going to make a splashy deal. You know 00:42:18.500 --> 00:42:21.360 who I could see him signing? He won't come here 00:42:21.360 --> 00:42:23.119 because he's on the west coast and likes it, 00:42:23.239 --> 00:42:25.780 but like a - like a Kyle Hendrix. I could see 00:42:25.780 --> 00:42:29.159 him rolling the dice on a Kyle Hendrix and signing 00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:31.679 a guy like that to bring in a professor as a 00:42:31.679 --> 00:42:34.320 number five starter just to fill some space. 00:42:34.539 --> 00:42:37.480 Wouldn't that be gross? Oh, God. You think Justin 00:42:37.480 --> 00:42:39.659 Verlander might go back for one more year at 00:42:39.659 --> 00:42:42.219 the age of 44? I mean, I'm looking at some of 00:42:42.219 --> 00:42:44.119 the guys on the list, Patrick Corbin. I mean, 00:42:44.119 --> 00:42:46.920 these are not sexy. So we know he needs a starting 00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:48.699 pitcher. We know he needs bullpen help. We know 00:42:48.699 --> 00:42:50.820 we need a third baseman and a bat in the lineup. 00:42:51.820 --> 00:42:55.380 Is a trade going to be the path for that? Well, 00:42:55.380 --> 00:42:59.219 if they're going to maximize Scoobles value outside 00:42:59.219 --> 00:43:02.099 of him re -upping, which I agree with you, Boris 00:43:02.099 --> 00:43:05.039 is going to force the hand. But I still think 00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:08.019 you make an offer that they can't refuse and 00:43:08.019 --> 00:43:11.019 you do it for four. Probably right. Your four 00:43:11.019 --> 00:43:14.320 years, 50 million or something insane, 60 million. 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:17.300 I don't know. And you do it on your terms, but 00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:19.699 also meet them on their terms with opt outs. 00:43:19.940 --> 00:43:22.420 You know, you keep them until he's 30, maybe 00:43:22.420 --> 00:43:25.239 and then you, you let him go do his thing. You 00:43:25.239 --> 00:43:27.900 front load it and you have to have to do something 00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:30.980 in good faith on it because we just talked about 00:43:30.980 --> 00:43:34.920 it. I don't think there's value in trading. Meaning, 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:36.960 if you don't trade them and you don't get anything 00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:39.000 for them, there's no value. That's the worst 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:41.699 case scenario. However, you don't re -sign them 00:43:41.699 --> 00:43:43.559 and you don't trade them, and he just walks and 00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:46.840 you get a comp pick? Yeah. But the same vein, 00:43:47.239 --> 00:43:49.139 everybody knows what the Tigers are up against. 00:43:49.389 --> 00:43:52.730 Yeah. And are they really going to get fair value 00:43:52.730 --> 00:43:56.110 in that? So I still think he plays for you. He's 00:43:56.110 --> 00:43:58.710 in your clubhouse. You have more access to him 00:43:58.710 --> 00:44:01.789 than any other club. Get Boris on the phone, 00:44:02.050 --> 00:44:04.389 get Scoobal on a plane or excuse me, get them 00:44:04.389 --> 00:44:06.869 both sitting in Detroit or you go out to meet 00:44:06.869 --> 00:44:09.449 them and you sit down and you just say, how do 00:44:09.449 --> 00:44:12.030 we make this click? How do we avoid you hitting 00:44:12.030 --> 00:44:15.190 the three agent market? So. Yeah, I one other 00:44:15.190 --> 00:44:18.289 thing that I want to ask you here before we wrap 00:44:18.289 --> 00:44:21.030 this thing up. What are you looking forward to 00:44:21.030 --> 00:44:23.449 the most in the twenty twenty six season Tigers 00:44:23.449 --> 00:44:26.630 surviving that initial road trip? I can see like 00:44:26.630 --> 00:44:31.809 a two in ten start and I can see not a lot of 00:44:31.809 --> 00:44:34.610 moves being made by this front office. And the 00:44:34.610 --> 00:44:37.449 kids won't be up at that point in terms of Clark. 00:44:37.449 --> 00:44:39.289 You aren't going to get McGonagall and Clark 00:44:39.289 --> 00:44:42.489 until after service time. Yeah. And so you're 00:44:42.489 --> 00:44:44.510 going to get, they'll come up in like the middle 00:44:44.510 --> 00:44:46.849 of April or beginning of May at the earliest. 00:44:46.869 --> 00:44:49.889 I think March and April is going to be rough 00:44:49.889 --> 00:44:53.289 for us. And I think I'm saying this like back 00:44:53.289 --> 00:44:55.989 to the future, like future Marty McFly saying 00:44:55.989 --> 00:44:59.050 to, you know, past Marty McFly. You and I are 00:44:59.050 --> 00:45:02.030 going to need to temper Tigers fans expectations 00:45:02.030 --> 00:45:05.429 because I think it's going to be a rough start. 00:45:05.590 --> 00:45:08.090 I think if they're playing 500 baseball, that's 00:45:08.090 --> 00:45:10.550 going to be about it. And I think the media is 00:45:10.550 --> 00:45:13.030 going to latch on to, hey, this is who the Tigers 00:45:13.030 --> 00:45:16.650 are. Like the first hundred games of 2025 and 00:45:16.650 --> 00:45:19.010 the end of 2024 isn't the real Tigers. The real 00:45:19.010 --> 00:45:22.110 Tigers is this middling team that can't hit and 00:45:22.110 --> 00:45:24.550 presses and can't pitch and doesn't have swing 00:45:24.550 --> 00:45:27.349 and miss guys. And then I think by the time the 00:45:27.349 --> 00:45:30.780 weather starts warming up and they have a few 00:45:30.780 --> 00:45:34.059 good home stands at Comerica. I think we'll see 00:45:34.059 --> 00:45:36.280 the real Tigers. I'm looking forward to just 00:45:36.280 --> 00:45:38.179 seeing McGonagall and Clark coming up and playing 00:45:38.179 --> 00:45:39.699 at some point. That's what I'm looking forward 00:45:39.699 --> 00:45:42.659 to. And if, if, if you want to throw one more 00:45:42.659 --> 00:45:46.880 thing in there, I'm looking forward to the progression 00:45:46.880 --> 00:45:50.960 or the maturation of Troy Melton. I think he's 00:45:50.960 --> 00:45:53.599 going to be a great starter in our organization. 00:45:53.760 --> 00:45:57.659 I think we're going to love him. His, his demeanor. 00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:00.480 on the mound all the way down to how he carries 00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:02.900 himself. And then his pitching repertoire is 00:46:02.900 --> 00:46:05.739 wonderful. I think he could, I mean, I'm not 00:46:05.739 --> 00:46:08.019 saying he's going to be Tarek Scugel, but I think 00:46:08.019 --> 00:46:10.860 he could be our next it thing. Great. In the 00:46:10.860 --> 00:46:12.960 Detroit pitching staff. So I'm looking forward 00:46:12.960 --> 00:46:15.059 to those things, Bill. All right. Got to have 00:46:15.059 --> 00:46:16.900 stuff to look forward to, man. We've got to have 00:46:16.900 --> 00:46:18.800 stuff to look forward to. Was I too negative 00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:23.420 in mine? No, no, but I I got where you were going. 00:46:23.440 --> 00:46:25.320 It's gonna be a rough start to the season You're 00:46:25.320 --> 00:46:27.380 looking forward to the smoother sailing later 00:46:27.380 --> 00:46:30.059 on in the months of May and maybe they start 00:46:30.059 --> 00:46:33.119 on fire You know playing away from home and you 00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:35.199 know, I could be terribly wrong on that like 00:46:35.199 --> 00:46:37.079 after I said it I'm like boy, that's kind of 00:46:37.079 --> 00:46:39.920 a glass half empty approach But the schedule 00:46:39.920 --> 00:46:41.960 makers did them no favors opening on the west 00:46:41.960 --> 00:46:44.940 coast again The good news is it's one west coast 00:46:44.940 --> 00:46:47.039 trip less that you have to do later in the year 00:46:47.039 --> 00:46:48.940 So you might as well just get out and agree with 00:46:48.940 --> 00:46:50.909 that And the weather will be dicey in the Midwest 00:46:50.909 --> 00:46:53.489 at that time, so you might as well go and get 00:46:53.489 --> 00:46:55.610 the games out of the way and we'll see what happens. 00:46:56.090 --> 00:46:58.849 Well, I think that's it. I think we've put a 00:46:58.849 --> 00:47:02.849 bow on the 2025 season. Your Detroit Tigers were 00:47:02.849 --> 00:47:06.050 87 and 75, finished in second place in the AL 00:47:06.050 --> 00:47:09.570 Central. One game out of first. They went to 00:47:09.570 --> 00:47:11.789 the AL Division Series to the fifth game and 00:47:11.789 --> 00:47:14.809 lost to the Mariners, who are currently on the 00:47:14.809 --> 00:47:17.199 doorstep of a World Series appearance. They beat 00:47:17.199 --> 00:47:19.739 the Guardians, their nemesis in the wild card. 00:47:20.500 --> 00:47:23.039 And all in all, I think it was a successful season. 00:47:23.300 --> 00:47:26.239 Bill, your thoughts? Absolutely. It was a successful 00:47:26.239 --> 00:47:28.900 season and we can nitpick all we want. Did it 00:47:28.900 --> 00:47:32.800 end the way we absolutely wanted it to? No. But 00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:36.300 it was fun and exciting along the way. I mean, 00:47:36.380 --> 00:47:38.900 they've gone the distance in the ALDS two seasons 00:47:38.900 --> 00:47:41.199 in a row. And when you look at the division, 00:47:41.420 --> 00:47:43.880 there's no reason to think they can't. capture 00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:46.500 the American League Central moving forward. Moves 00:47:46.500 --> 00:47:48.820 still need to be made. No team is perfect, but 00:47:48.820 --> 00:47:52.119 their needs, the Tigers, are far less than a 00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:55.119 lot of Major League Baseball. I would say they're 00:47:55.119 --> 00:47:57.699 one of the top three to five organizations currently. 00:47:58.139 --> 00:48:01.440 So there's a ton to look forward to and I can't 00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:04.679 wait for catchers and pitchers to report in February. 00:48:05.440 --> 00:48:08.239 Signing off for litter box Detroit Tigers for 00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:11.179 the moment. We will be back with you somewhere 00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:13.420 around the General Manager's meetings in December. 00:48:14.139 --> 00:48:18.380 Everybody have a good fall and winter. And baseball 00:48:18.380 --> 00:48:21.920 will be back in a couple of months. See you all 00:48:21.920 --> 00:48:27.260 later. Thanks for listening. Go Tigers. All right. 00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:29.420 That's going to do it for this episode of the 00:48:29.420 --> 00:48:32.360 Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers podcast. Thanks for 00:48:32.360 --> 00:48:34.599 hanging out with us. We're Bill and Chet. We'll 00:48:34.599 --> 00:48:37.510 be back soon with more Tigers Talk. If you're 00:48:37.510 --> 00:48:40.110 enjoying the show, be sure to follow or subscribe 00:48:40.110 --> 00:48:43.829 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 00:48:43.829 --> 00:48:46.369 your podcasts. And hey, if you got a minute, 00:48:46.769 --> 00:48:50.650 leave us a quick review. Till next time, Go Tigers!