The Tigers are heading into the offseason with a clear message from A.J. Hinch and Scott Harris: keep the path open for the young guys.
That was the through line when the manager and the president of baseball operations met with the media earlier this week, laying out Detroit’s plans and giving a look at the 2027 picture. The infield came up often, especially the defensive side of things, because the Tigers have built their roster around movement, matchups, and flexibility under Hinch.
Kevin McGonigle sits right in the middle of that approach. The rookie split his time almost evenly between shortstop and third base in 2026, and he won’t be locked into one spot going into next season. Hinch and Harris made it clear that the organization wants to keep his versatility intact.
McGonigle made 94 appearances at third base and 96 at shortstop this year, though there was naturally some overlap as Detroit shuffled pieces around him. He had entered the season having played only shortstop and second base as a pro, but the move to third base went smoothly.
In 644 innings at the hot corner, he posted 8 Defensive Runs Saved, and he added 2 DRS at shortstop. That kind of flexibility gives the Tigers room to chase a steadier answer at either position if they want one.
The rest of the infield picture has been more fluid. Light-hitting John Peck finished the year at shortstop, Javier Baez also saw time there, and Colt Keith and Hao-Yu Lee got looks at third base.
Keith is also expected to remain a movable piece next season. Hinch and Harris pointed to his ability to handle every infield spot except shortstop, and Detroit has leaned into that since he emerged as the team’s primary second baseman as a rookie in 2024.
Over the last two years, he has bounced around often, and most of his defensive work this season came at third base. He didn’t appear at second base at all.
The glove hasn’t been as clean a fit for Keith as it has for McGonigle. Big league metrics have viewed him as a negative defender by both DRS and Outs Above Average.
And at the plate, the questions are still there too. Keith opened the year with a serious power drought, not homering until the first week of June.
He finished stronger in the second half, but his final line still landed at a .728 OPS over 423 plate appearances.
Detroit also managed his matchups carefully. Almost all of Keith’s chances came against right-handed pitching, and Hinch gave him just 25 plate appearances against lefties. He went 3-for-24 with no extra-base hits in those opportunities.
The bigger lineup issue is what happens next. The Tigers finished 14th in scoring and landed just outside the top 10 in team wRC+. With Gleyber Torres headed for free agency and Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling standing as non-tender candidates, there’s room for turnover.
Even so, that overhaul may not come from the outside. Hinch and Harris emphasized not blocking young players with free-agent additions, and that stance points toward a lineup with a lot more youth in 2027.
That could mean more regular run for Lee, Max Clark, and Eduardo Valencia, with Jace Jung and Ben Malgeri also in the mix to a lesser extent. Prospects Max Anderson, Zyhir Hope, and Josue Briceno are close enough to be part of the conversation as well.
Detroit’s direction is pretty clear: a younger lineup is coming, and the Tigers seem determined to let it grow from within.
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Max Andersons stay in Triple-A has said as much about the Tigers roster as it has about his bat. Even with a strong season and signs of real growth in plate discipline, Detroit has kept the infielder in the minors while sorting through a crowded middle-infield picture and weighing how his game fits next to players already in the mix, including Gleyber Torres, Hao-Yu Lee and John Peck.
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Tigers Already Face A Big Question About Two Key Names
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For a club that has spent the postseason watching the rest of the league sort out its own October drama, the timing only adds to the intrigue. Detroit still has plenty of baseball left to absorb around the league, from managerial choices to fan reactions and other playoff developments, while John Peck is headed to the Arizona Fall League, but the bigger picture for the Tigers may come back to whether they can answer those contract questions before they become much harder ones. [Read more 🡒]