Scott Harris Gives Tigers Fans a Glimpse at His Free-Agency Plans This Offseason
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The Detroit Tigers had World Series aspirations when the 2026 campaign began, with several top-notch starting pitchers leading the roster and a young offense looking to find its stride. Unfortunately, the Tigers are watching the postseason from the sidelines, finishing fourth in the AL Central.
For a season that was filled with highs and lows, none lower than May, when the franchise went 6-22, the offseason poses a big question for Detroit: What will Scott Harris do?
The President of Baseball Operations is already pointing the finger at himself for not building a strong enough depth for his roster this past offseason, but he can't continue to look at what went wrong; he and the rest of the organization have to look forward.
Will Scott Harris Build Through Free Agency?
In his 2026 end of season press conference with members of the media, alongside Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, Harris offered the fanbase an answer for what it should expect from the organization this offseason.
"We're not building through free agency; I've been very consistent on this point since I've gotten here; we are building through development," Harris said. "We are participating in free agency and we always will participate in free agency, but that is designed to supplement the core we are developing.
It might not be the answer a handful of fans want, but it's the trajectory in which the franchise is heading. Not every franchise can be like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees, who often have the most money to play with in free agency. For a team like Detroit, they're leaning on their guys.
Harris defended himself with the wins he's gotten from free agency, such as signing Michael Lorenzen, who became an All-Star and then was traded for Hao-Yu Lee, who can help this franchise for years to come.
Or when Harris signed Jack Flaherty before trading him to the Dodgers for a slew of prospects that rank within or just outside the Tigers' Top 10 in the farm system. Can't forget about Gleyber Torres either, who made the top of the lineup more legit against opponents in 2025 and 2026.
However, when looking at the Tigers roster, they could benefit from an additional bat with experience. Not one or two years of experience, perhaps seven or eight years of experience. Detroit was tied to Alex Bregman when he hit free agency as a potential fit, but it never panned out, though it almost did in 2025.
Will they Sign a Bat?
Harris was asked whether he would go out and sign a veteran bat for the middle of the lineup and his response stuck true to how he wants to lead the franchise.
"I've gotten that question for four straight years, I think, and if you look at the trend line of our WRC+ for four straight years, it's gone straight up," Harris said. "If you exclude May, we're second in all of baseball in team WRC+. We need to translate that better into run scoring and to make sure our runs per game match what the underlying performance shows."
"We don't get there by signing free-agent bats every single offseason; we get there by developing our players and getting them opportunities to demonstrate that they are better players than what we can acquire in free agency."
For Detroit Tigers fans wondering how the offseason will unfold, they should expect Detroit to be active, perhaps not as active in the offensive department as some would like.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.