The Tigers’ Silver Slugger finalists tell the story of where this roster is headed.
When FanSided unveiled the American League finalists on Thursday, Detroit showed up exactly where fans would expect: behind the bats that have become the club’s clearest foundation. Dillon Dingler is in the catcher mix with the Kansas City Royals’ Carter Jensen.
Riley Greene is among the outfield finalists with Wilyer Abreu, Randy Arozarena, Cody Bellinger, Jac Caglianone, Chase DeLauter, Tristan Peters, Chandler Simpson, and Mike Trout. Kevin McGonigle is listed at shortstop and utility, alongside Bobby Witt Jr. and Zach Neto at shortstop, and Sam Antonacci and Ezequiel Duran in the utility group.
That group points straight to the idea Detroit once seemed to be building toward: a three-headed core of Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter. But that vision has shifted. Torkelson remains a conundrum, while Carpenter has been reduced to little more than a platoon bat.
Greene, meanwhile, has become the clear standard. He is, hands down, the best Tigers draft pick of the 2010s.
McGonigle has already taken that title for the 2020s. And Dingler, as a late bloomer, has become a reminder of what patience and player development can do.
McGonigle is already signed to an eight-year, $150 million deal that begins next season, but the bigger question is whether Detroit can keep this trio together long term. The Dingler-Greene-McGonigle combination feels too strong to casually split apart.
That said, the business side is never simple. Greene is only two years from free agency, which makes an extension difficult, and the best window to get something done may already be behind the Tigers. Dingler won’t reach free agency until he’s 32, so there’s no urgency there, and Detroit still wants to see whether he can rebound from his second-half slump.
Still, the Tigers need to back up the idea of building around their own. They aren’t major spenders, but they also aren’t operating like the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, or Cleveland Guardians, who move their best players a year from free agency rather than pay to keep them.
Scott Harris usually holds onto prospects until he has to move them, but if Detroit really wants to be known as a team that values homegrown talent, then it has to pay those players accordingly.
The Dingler-Greene-McGonigle trio - and all three look like strong bets to win - should be at the top of the Tigers’ lineup for years. Between them, there are already five All-Star nods, a Silver Slugger for Greene in 2025, two Gold Gloves, down-ballot MVP votes, and a soon-to-be Rookie of the Year award. They should stay in Detroit.
FanSided will reveal the winners on Nov. 17.
In Other News...
Tigers Free Agency Debate Keeps Coming Back To One Roster Problem
The Tigers keep getting mentioned in the same free-agent conversations, but the roster picture in Detroit keeps steering the discussion back to the same place. With a crowded left side of the infield already packed with prospects and other options, the idea of adding a second baseman looks more like a luxury than a necessity, even with names like Jazz Chisholm and Luis Arraez floating around in speculation.
What Detroit needs more clearly is help in the bullpen, where the fit is easier to see and the spending expectations make more sense. Raisel Iglesias has been pointed to as the kind of arm that matches both the clubs needs and the market, which is why the smarter bet for the Tigers appears to be relief reinforcements rather than a run at another middle infielder. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers May Have Created A Bench Problem They Still Need To Solve
The Tigers roster shuffle around the deadline did more than just change the back end of the bullpen pipeline. By sending Jahmai Jones to Boston on July 14 and officially bringing in pitching prospect Jojo Ingrassia on Aug. 1, Detroit opened a spot that helped pave the way for catcher Eduardo Valencia to come back up, and Valencia has done enough to look like part of the answer. But the move also left the club with a familiar kind of hole to manage, one tied to how it wants to balance its bench on a day-to-day basis.
Jones, meanwhile, has already shown Boston something useful by hitting left-handed pitching better there, which only sharpens the question of what Detroit wants in that right-handed hitting role. Ingrassias early work in High-A has been uneven, so the trade return is still a developing piece rather than an immediate fix. For a Tigers team trying to keep its lineup flexible, the bench now looks like one more area where the front office may still need to solve a problem it created. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face A Familiar Tarik Skubal Question Again
Tarik Skubal is headed toward the kind of free-agent market that can quickly turn into a bidding war, with several clubs expected to line up for his services. The Dodgers, Mets, Angels, Padres and White Sox are all mentioned as potential suitors, while the Tigers remain in the mix as a familiar possibility for the left-hander who has become one of the more prominent names on the board.
For Detroit, the question is less about interest than about price. The club is reportedly not expected to match Skubals asking level, and there is a sense it may be holding out for a discount that never really arrives. At some point, the Tigers may have to decide whether to keep waiting on a reunion that feels increasingly unlikely or redirect those resources toward other needs. [Read more 🡒]