The Tigers have another chance to revisit a name they let slip by earlier this season, and Alek Thomas suddenly makes a lot of sense as the kind of low-risk add Detroit has leaned on before.
Thomas was cut loose by the Diamondbacks in May when Arizona made room for Ryan Waldschmidt, a move that came after the club had already seemed to lose faith in its former No. 1 prospect. The offensive ceiling never really showed up in Arizona, even though Thomas brought dependable defense and real speed to the table.
Then came a surprising twist: the Diamondbacks dealt him to the Dodgers for a minor league outfielder. It was a rare trade within the division, and it said plenty about where Arizona stood on him.
Detroit was watching from the wrong side of that transaction. At the time, the Tigers were stuck in the middle of what would become a 6-22 month, with Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, and Javy Báez all on the IL and Max Clark not yet in the picture. The club cycled through outfield answers - Gage Workman, Trei Cruz, Corey Julks, and Twins castoff James Outman among them - but Thomas would have offered a steadier glove than any of those options.
The Dodgers also got a quick payoff from him. Thomas drove in a run in each of his first three games in Los Angeles, a brief burst that showed there was still something there for a club willing to give him a look.
Now he’s back on the market after electing free agency this week, and the Tigers could circle back. He probably does not profile as someone worth a major league contract, but a minor league deal would fit neatly with the kind of roster-building Scott Harris has talked about.
That kind of move is right in line with Harris’ “supplement, not buy” approach. Thomas is younger than Julks, carries a better pedigree, and while he will never be a power threat, he does check boxes Detroit cares about: defense and smart baserunning.
Harris also acknowledged one of his own biggest failings while looking back on the season - he hadn’t built enough depth into the organization. Tigers fans may prefer to see Brett Callahan or John Peck develop into depth behind a veteran outfield bat, but that isn’t the reality in Detroit right now.
There’s plenty of frustration that comes with Harris pickups, but the Tigers would be better served if they started gathering players more deliberately instead of simply taking whoever happens to be available. Thomas would at least be the kind of flier that fits the plan.
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The power is the part that gets attention first, with 24 home runs helping push his prospect stock upward inside the organization. For a club that has spent plenty of time searching for long-term answers on the right side of the infield, Ankeneys rise has created a new conversation around first base, even if the real decision on his future still has some runway left. [Read more 🡒]
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Under Scott Harris, the Tigers have generally steered clear of moving top prospects, so any serious swing at a player like Edwards would say plenty about how far this front office is willing to bend for the right fit. There is no trade on the table yet and no decision announced, but this is the sort of redundancy-driven conversation that can force a team to weigh long-term caution against the chance to improve the roster now. [Read more 🡒]
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What matters most is how Greene and Torkelson handle those at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs, the kind of spots that can swing a season from promising to frustrating. The Tigers do not need them to be different players so much as better versions of the ones they already have, because postseason-caliber teams tend to separate themselves in the small, high-leverage moments. Detroits ambitions will rise or fall with whether those two can turn more of those chances into runs. [Read more 🡒]