THE Detroit Tigers I have decisions to make this winter.

With a roster full of young talent, they can choose to let it play out and see what this group can achieve, or they can get aggressive and try to add established players at positions of need to really give themselves the edge. better chance of competing. .

Of course, there’s also a happy medium between these two options, signing some veterans to short-term contracts that won’t block the progress of their rising stars.

That’s probably how the Tigers are operating this offseason, especially with an ownership group rumored to be willing to spend money to be able to compete for titles in the AL Central in the years to come.

One area Detroit could look to improve is first base.

Although their former top prospect and first overall pick Spencer Torkelson is there, he struggled early in his career to the point where he was demoted to the minors for much of last season.

Some fear that he will never reach his projected ceiling, and if that is the case, then the Tigers will need a reliable and powerful first baseman for the future.

Knowing this, Evan Petzold The Detroit Free Press reported a nugget of information on the franchise’s stance on Torkelson.

“He also set the worst marks of his career in strikeout rate and walk rate. His defense has improved at first base, but all signs point to the Tigers moving on from Torkelson as a starting player. first goal of the future, perhaps this offseason,” he said. wrote.

It’s interesting.

It looked like the slugger might finally break through in 2023 when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs, but he followed that up with a disappointing campaign last season where he slashed .219/.295/.374 with just 10 runs. at home. runs and 37 RBIs.

His strikeout rate was also 27.6%, while his hard hit rate fell to 39.7%, a worrying development for where he is in his career.

If Detroit feels like he’s not going to be the long-term answer for them at first base, then this winter it would make sense for them to move him since he’s still relatively young at 25 and could move him back into a team that missed its chance. on the free agency sweepstakes for Pete Alonso and Christian Walker.