The Tigers got back three players entering their age-26 seasons, including super utility man Nick Maton and right-handed hitting OF Matt Vierling.
www.detroitnews.com
“I think this trade is a variant of one of those calculated risks I’ve talked about,” Harris said after finalizing the deal Saturday, “You’re never entirely confident that young players are going to hit in the big leagues. But you are a little more confident when you see flashes of their performances in the big leagues already.
“It makes you feel better when you are getting players who have already done it at a high level. It increases your confidence that they will be able to help us in 2023 and beyond.”
Harris did say he was working to add a left-handed reliever to the mix. With Soto gone, Tyler Alexander is the lone lefty reliever on the roster.
"We are hard at work on that," he said. "It may not be a major league deal (an indication the Tigers aren't re-bidding on Chafin), but someone we're excited about. We also have some pitchers in the minor leagues who are on the verge of taking a step forward."
When you look at Harris's three year tenure with San Fransisco, the biggest free agent hitter deal he ever signed was a 1-year, $6M deal. This was done twice; once with Wilmer Flores (2020) and more recently with Joc Pederson (2022). It would not surprise me if Chris Illitch hired Harris specifically for these moneyball type antics in order to cut payroll.
To give Harris credit, he was successful with turning several players into (at least part time) MLB players with the Giants: Thairo Estrada, Luis Gonzalez, Darin Ruf, and Lamonte Wade Jr.
But the Tigers need more than just Maton and Vierling; their offense last year was one of the worst MLB offenses in recent memory. Jonathan Schoop and his .239 OBP (note: OBP, not BA) is still an every day starter.
Detroit was linked to Willson Contreras, who signed what I consider to be a bargain of a contract (5yrs, $87.5M), but a deal like was still clearly too rich for the Tigers' blood. It's insanely disappointing how bad this organization has become; the only team with fewer wins over the last 6 seasons is Baltimore, and they will obviously leapfrog Detroit's win total shortly.