Tigers Need to Make Serious Changes at Third Base Before Start of Next Season

The Detroit Tigers have some serious things to consider this offseason.

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch speaks to reporters April 5, 2024, before the home opener at Comerica Park. | Evan Petzold / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Tigers need to take some big steps forward this offseason.

They started with one of their best years ever before they had a monumental slide in mid-July. They never quite looked the same after that despite reaching some highs once again, and that resulted in them blowing a historic division lead.

The Tigers narrowly slipped into the playoffs after plummeting in the second half of the season. They then beat the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card round to advanced to their second consecutive ALDS, but despite borderline flawless outings from their ace Tarik Skubal, Detroit was eliminated in a Game 5 once again.

As the front office and ownership group puts together a plan to get this team to the next step, they will be pondering how to upgrade their third base position for the second winter in a row.

Zach McKinstry and His Role this Season

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

At the beginning of the year, there was no reason to even consider moving on from Zach McKinstry. Through the first 88 games, he batted .285, slugged .472 and had an OPS of .836. But across his last 56 games, the batting average dropped to .213 with an OPS of .656.

It was a drastic change in how he performed, and it also coincided with when the whole team collapsed across the last few months of the regular season. Unfortunately, his performance at the plate continued on into the playoffs. In 29 plate appearances, he had only five hits with 10 strikeouts, three RBI, no doubles, no triples, no homers and two runs scored.

The defensive side of his game doesn't justify his usage, either, since he didn't rank in the top half of baseball in any major category during the regular season.

Zach McKinstry is a great story and I’m happy for him that he made an All-Star game this year.

But he absolutely cannot be a main part of your lineup next season. If he is, you’ve failed the offseason.

— Griff (@deeptocenter) October 11, 2025

One target the Tigers could look to pursue is Alex Bregman. He announced that he would be opting out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox shortly after the team was sent home by the New York Yankees in the Wild Card round.

Detroit chased after him last offseason and came up short, but they could pursue him again and try to get him on the roster this time around. He finished in the top-15 defensively across the board, but more importantly, he was would be a major upgrade at the plate compared to what the Tigers had.

If they are able to add Bregman this time around, that doesn't mean they have to part ways with McKinstry since he can be a great tool off the bench as a utility man. But he should not be taking the majority of the reps at third in 2026 if Detroit is going to be a serious contender.