Around this time of year, MLB teams begin to consider whether they should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline that falls at the end of July. In other words, if they are out of playoff contention, ball clubs generally trade away some of their better talent to obtain players and prospects to improve for the future. On the other hand, if teams have a good chance of competing for playoff position, they generally add to their already talented roster in hopes of finding themselves in the postseason. For the Tigers, it is time to add a bit of pitching to sure up the starting rotation, and some bats to make the offense more potent. If these steps are taken, this club could finally overtake the weak American League Central Division.
Despite the Detroit Tigers being well under .500 at 37-47, the fact is, that the team could still win this division. A look at the standings shows that every team in the American League Central, minus the Minnesota Twins, does not have a winning record, paving the way for any club to come out on top. Why not the Tigers? To do this, the Tigers should add some solid hitters to support Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Zach McKinstry. There is no doubt that these guys would perform even better if some of the pressure was taken of them to carry this team. We need to add a bat or two that can hit for average and power. Adding such pieces would make this team demonstrably better than their divisional competition.
Yes, this division is less than stellar. Even so, many would say that the Tigers should trade some of their key pieces that have contributed to their moderate success this season in an effort to obtain players that will make this team more successful in the future. However, no one team is guaranteed to be competitive from season to season, so when they have the opportunity, it should be taken advantage of. If this is not done, competitive years could be few and far between.
In order to conquer this division, it is probable that this team must only be marginally better. To get there, they need the returning starting pitchers in Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, and Eduardo Rodriguez to regain their magical abilities they displayed pre injury. Additionally, they need to acquire a solid starter or two to bolster this already good rotation. If the Tigers pull off these moves, they would be capable of obliterating the rest of the division. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
Needless to say, Tiger fans are hungry for a winning team. A squad that is must see TV every night. For much of the season, they have provided an entertaining product periodically this season. Now, we are just waiting for a little more consistency that can dominate the competition. It’s my opinion, that with some slight adjustments, the Tigers could find themselves in playoff contention the rest of the year.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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