Writer: Gage O'Leary
Twitter: @Deep_Shot_Gage
Twitter: @DeepShotSports
Tough 48 hours for Tigers fans:
It's been a rough 2022 season for Tigers fans and the last couple days have poured salt on the wound. With the trade deadline (which is now over) approaching, it likely gave most Tigers fans PTSD from recent years. Going into this season with such high expectations and now having the Tigers fall apart meant that deadline day was "Scary Hours". Maybe not all Tigers fans felt that way, but I sure did, and I know I'm not alone. With team owner Chris Ilitch, you just don't know what to expect, unfortunately he's not anything like his father and he's starting to face more unhappy campers then the team next door at Ford Field, the Detroit Lions. For years the Ford's have been ridiculed for they're poor ownership with the Motor City's NFL Franchise, but since Martha Ford gave way to Sheila Ford Hamp you don't see quite as much hate heading that way as she's seemed to atleast put some effort into trying to get the Lions back to playing meaningful, competitive Football. That's another story for another time though, point is, Chris is now starting to be considered potentially the worst owner in Detroit sports, he may not be all the way there yet as the Wings have some hope for a good 22-23 season. That also proves a point that although Chris Ilitch is certainly to blame for a lot of this travesty, a good General Manager makes a major difference, on the Wings end they have Steve Yzerman, a proven to be amazing GM and he's turning the Detroit Redwings franchise around in a big way, atleast it seems. AL Avila has to be fired and it should be soon, the fact that he was left in charge of the Tigers trade deadline is unbelievable and ridiculous. Even with a crappy owner, a good/smart GM can make a team strong contenders. That's the only hope for Tigers fans right now, they have to get Avila out of the organization... I'm sure there's Tigers fans who didn't think much of the deadline but I'm still quite frustrated with how it went. It started with the trade of Outfielder' Robbie Grossman, and I'm not one bit mad at the trade, even though we got a prospect who likely won't make a noteworthy impact in the Majors, it's still the right trade to make. That makes room for Akil Baddoo and Daz Cameron to get more playing time and it might also mean that we could see prospect Kerri Carpenter at the MLB level this year, Carpenter is having a tremendous year down on the farm, hitting .310, with 28 HR's, 67 RBI's, and a 1.012 OPS. In a year that's been so disappointing and from now to the end of the year will not be important. There's a great chance we'll see Kerri play in Detroit in 2022 and maybe even make a roster spot in 2023. The trade that sent Michael Fulmer to the Twins really had me fuming. I realize that trading Fulmer is probably the smart thing to do as he's only under team control for 2 months, but I feel there was a better relief pitching market out there for what we got and that doesn't bother me as much as the fact that we traded him to a division rival in the Twins, and basically for nothing. Ironically, Fulmer and the Tigers were in Minnesota facing the Twins as the trade took place, all Fulmer needed to do was walk over to the Twins clubhouse and swap uniforms. He joined his new teammates in the Bullpen just before the game started. He didn't pitch that evening but today (at the time of me writing this it's Wednesday, August 3rd) he came on to face the Tigers and threw I think 15 pitches, allowed a hit to former teammate Harold Castro but didn't allow a run. Fulmer was a fan favorite in Detroit and it'll be hard to see him in a Twins uniform moving forward, especially when the Twins come to Comerica Park on September 30th and October 1st & 2nd. Fulmer took to Twitter to thank Detroit fans for the memories over the past 6 years...
Alarming news about Miguel Cabrera:
Up until this point, it's been a refreshing year for both Miguel Cabrera and his fans, he was chosen by MLB Commissioner' Rob Manfred to compete in his 12th All-Star game which occurred last month. Up until close to the midsummer classic Cabrera was batting .300 and was consistently getting on base. Post All-Star break that hasn't been the case. Miggy has been slumping since and now we may know why. This was the report from Tigers beat writer Evan Petzold on Twitter: "Miguel Cabrera isn't doing well from a health standpoint. His right knee is really bothering him. He won't play as much down the stretch."... He also went on to share A.J Hinch's statement on Cabrera's status: "I've talked to him about playing time moving forward and trying to get him a few more regularly scheduled days off."... Last thing Tigers fans wanna hear is Miggy's health regressing in any fashion, in this case it's from a physical standpoint. You never wanna go there but it's possible that this could maybe force Cabrera into retirement by next season. If so, what approach does Detroit take...
Tigers could look into finding a power DH in 23' if left without Cabrera, which could mean reuniting with an old friend:
It's hard to imagine baseball without Miguel Cabrera but it's bound to happen, maybe sooner rather than later and it may not be the worst thing for Tigers fans even if it's sad to see him not in the lineup no more. Cabrera's contract has caused issues over the past few years for Detroit and maybe beyond that Miggy's loss of power has hurt Detroit in a rather big way and the day Miggy does retire, not only can they fill that DH spot with a powerful hitter but they can also spend a little more freely. What if Miggy is done after this season, what are the options for Detroit, are they committed to trying to win in 2023 or are they gonna prolong this rebuild another 3-4 years?. J.D Martinez may not only be a good fit for Detroit but probably they're best option to get a power upgrade in 2023. He's no stranger to Detroit having played for the Tigers from 2014-2017. That trade ended up being another case where Al Avila failed miserably not getting anything back to help Detroit in the years to follow. It's unclear wether or not Avila will be here for the 2023 seasons, let's hope not, if he is than I'd say this is even more unlikely to happen then it is now. I personally think that at J.D's age his price will be affordable and he'd make a nice impact on the Tigers in 2023, but another thing that could prevent this from happening is Martinez himself, once Free Agents, players can some what decide their own fate, would he even be willing to come back to Detroit?. There's many questions about that situation and even though I think it's unlikely, it's in the realm of possibility now, something I wouldn't have said a couple days ago. What if it's not J.D Martinez, who else could the Tigers target next season at the DH spot?...
1.Mike Zunino, Tampa Bay Rays: The Tigers don't need a catcher, but they do need an upgrade in the power category and Zunino would provide a bit of an up kick compared to Miggy. Another move that could be somewhat unlikely but Detroit surprised with some of they're moves this most recent off-season, Zunino can rotate in from behind the plate and spend some time DH'ing, I think it'd be a sart investment for Detroit, they aren't massively off of competing, they're pitching has been really good this season, they just need some life at the plate...
2.Trey Mancini, Houston Astros: I'm sure most of you think I'm getting carried away right now but Mancini could be a realistic option IF Cabrera is done next year. The Tigers have young Spencer Torkelson who has struggled this year, hope is he'll be back up and showing off his potential next season but if he don't Mancini can slide over to 1B. I could see Mancini spending a lot of time at DH with the Tigers as he's had health issues in the past...
3.Josh bell, San Diego Padres: Fresh off being acquired along with Juan Soto in one of the biggest trades in MLB History, He's made the list. He'll be competing for a title in SD, if he gets it, whose to say he won't sign with a building team in 2023. Bell holds the power Detroit needs to unlock the potential in they're lineup and it'd be a game changing signing for 2023 for sure...
4.Carlos Santana, Seattle Mariners: This would perhaps be the most realistic player on this list but it'd still be a nice add for Detroit if they could sign him. He was traded from a rebuilding team to a contending team recently and so he'll have a chance to make a deep postseason run this year. He's provided more pop for the Mariners since joining them a couple weeks ago, he could do the same for the Tigers in 2023...
That's 4 players not named Martinez who could help make an impact next season for Detroit. Hope you enjoyed the read, before I finish I wanna acknowledge the life of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully who passed away at 94 on Wednesday. He's an inspiration to many and his impact will be felt for years to come, my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time. 🎙️
Thanks again for reading, have a great rest of your week and have an awesome weekend.
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