Motor City Bengals

Today, on Tigers.com, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch spoke to the media about the bullpen, the rotation, player versatility, and what type of players Detroit seeks in free agency. Hinch spoke about stretching out Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander in spring training for a spot in the rotation. Alexander, who came up as a starter…

This week, the already shaky morale of the Detroit Tigers fanbase frustrated by the continuous lack of roster improvement has been driven further into the ground after GM Al Avila declared the team will not be big spenders in free agency this offseason. Jon Erkilla took a shot at interpreting Avila’s comments, which really boil…

Yesterday, Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch was a guest on XM Radio’s MLB Network show “Power Alley”  and discussed the priorities for the Tigers in the off-season including player development and the number one priority, pitching.  Here’s one quote that stands out.

After the winter meetings and the comments made by Al Avila last week, we have a general idea of what the Detroit Tigers lineup may look like on Opening Day. While the corner outfield, catcher, and first base (or third) are yet to be determined, with this whole concept that we will be doing throughout…

I was doing “Tiger Tales” when I first started here last year and it got away from me but inspired by the weekly Sunday Notes from David Laurila at FanGraphs and Adam Dubbin’s work over at Bless You Boys, I give you random notes and links of what you may have missed every Sunday from…

The Detroit Tigers tried to get second baseman Tony Taylor from the Phillies in a trade at the 1970 winter meetings. Detroit general manager Jim Campbell didn’t want to give up any of the pitchers that Philadelphia was asking for, which included John Hiller and Fred Scherman, the team’s two steadiest relievers that year. Campbell finally…

It’s been a year on December 13 since I have taken over as the co-expert here at Motor City Bengals and the Detroit Tigers are in the same exact boat in one aspect (There will be more fishing analogies to come so bare with me) as that is that the fans are upset about the…

Detroit Tigers GM Al Avila had his first press availability of the off-season and did his level best to pour cold water on the hopes of as many fans as possible for the upcoming year. It was an amazing Tour de Force of Avila’s skills in setting low expectations.

LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 24: Zack Hess #68 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the Spring Training game against the Houston Astros at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on February 24, 2020 in Lakeland, Florida. The Astros defeated the Tigers 11-1. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

There has been a craze on Twitter over the last week. Following the #BauertoAnaheim hashtag deployed by Angels fans across the country,  Detroit Tigers fans have made their own ploy to try and lure the recently-released outfielder David Dahl to the Motor City.

Detroit Tigers principal owner Chris Ilitch is ultimately the guy who decides where the team vehicle is going. Al Avila and AJ Hinch will be doing the daily driving…but Ilitch picks the lane they drive in. Some are concerned the trip hasn’t started yet with no moves by Detroit at the MLB Winter Meetings. Let’s…

CINCINNATI, OH – JULY 22: Anthony Castro #38 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during an exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 22, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds defeated the Tigers 2-1. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Detroit Tigers, after selecting Akil Baddoo in the major league portion of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, selected former Cubs right-handed pitcher Yunior Perez to add to their minor league system. Perez, who will be 22 on December 19th, pitched in Short-Season A for the Chicago Cubs organization in 2019.

After plenty of speculation, Major League Baseball finally confirmed their list of the 120 teams to comprise the new look of the minor leagues. MCB’s Chris Brown also gave us a comprehensive rundown which can be found here. After initially being left on the list of the 42 teams projected to lose its affiliation to…

Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft marks the end of this year’s rather uneventful Winter Meetings, which means it’s likely the last chance for the Detroit Tigers to find middle infield help any time soon. The organization hasn’t been terribly forthcoming about which positions, if any, they are targeting this off-season, but we can assume they’ll want…

Minor-league baseball affiliations have always been somewhat strange. MLB teams like the Detroit Tigers would sign minor-league clubs to player development contracts lasting two or four years, and every so often teams switched affiliates.

You see the comments and the threads on Reddit about why X team should not trade their prospects for a veteran bat. So I started thinking about the major trades the Detroit Tigers have made since 2000, and if any of them have come back to haunt the team.

So far this off-season, we have done several trade target pieces that could fit into the Detroit Tigers 2021 plans. Originally, I said to trade for Cubs catcher Victor Caratini simply because it would not cost Detroit some higher-end prospects and he is serviceable defensively for a young pitching staff, despite his lack of power…

The Winter Meetings are underway and Monday night into Tuesday brought the majority of activity throughout the off-season thus far; with Lance Lynn heading to the South Side and the Royals signing first baseman Carlos Santana to a two-year, $17 million contract. Santana was a name I had previously suggested the Detroit Tigers should target–especially…

The Detroit Tigers’ outfield ranked 25th in fWAR, thanks largely to hot stretches from JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes. They head into 2021 with no left fielder, and realistically, they could stand to upgrade at all three outfield spots.