Detroit Tigers Not Done Looking For Pitching Despite Signing Maeda
The Detroit Tigers reportedly aren't done looking for starting pitching this offseason.
Even though the team locked up veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda to a two-year deal this week, GM Scott Harris says they want to add more.
Per Evan Woodbery of MLive on social media:
Scott Harris: "We're going to keep looking to add pitching. You'll never hear me say that we have enough pitching. I don't even believe it's possible to have enough pitching. We're going to see what's available and if we can find more ways to make our staff deeper and better."
This seems like a prudent move by Harris, especially given all the injury concerns on that Tigers staff.
A few years ago, when the organization started its rebuild, it leaned heavily on pitching, but the group just hasn't been able to stay healthy.
Casey Mize missed all of 2023 and most of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Matt Manning has missed significant time over the last two years as well. Tarik Skubal was injured much of 2023 also.
While all three appear to be healthy heading into 2024, they have shown that they can't just be relied upon. Furthermore, the team lost Eduardo Rodriguez this offseason and Maeda is on the wrong side of 35, leading to further questions about the rotation's durability.
It's unknown if the Tigers will shop in the most expensive corners of the free agent market for guys like Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Blake Snell, but there plenty of good mid-tier options available like Michael Wacha.
Bounceback candidates like Lucas Giolito are appealing as well.
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