Tigers' AJ Hinch Points the Finger As To How Decisions Will Be Made Closing Out 2026
In this story:
Going into the final couple of weeks of the regular season, the playoff chances for the Detroit Tigers were getting less and less by the day. Manager AJ Hinch and his team were officially eliminated from the postseason on Sunday afternoon with an 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
It was a long and painful day at the park for the Tigers. They had to wait out the rain for nearly four hours before scratching out just six hits and one run in the eighth inning. At 73-83, Detroit is playing out the string over the final week with series at home against the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates, a pair of National League clubs who also have nothing to play for.
One question for a manager in the situation that Hinch is in is how to play out the final week of the season when the games have no meaning. It's not a situation anyone wants to be in, but the reality is that, for Detroit, it's the position they're in. After Sunday's loss to the White Sox, Hinch dropped a hint as to how things might look over the final six games.
AJ Hinch Doesn't Tip His Hand on How He Will Finish Out the 2026 Season
The writing has been on the wall for the Tigers for some time in terms of their postseason hopes. Reality sank in on Sunday and now, how will Hinch and his staff finish out the season with an eye toward 2027?
“When you start seeing the schedule shortened, we’re going to need to make decisions on the starting guys,” Hinch said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. “Being fully transparent, it’s hard to work all this in and keep everybody getting a start. We’ll sort out how it goes based on availability and how we’re going to put together the games.”
One year after losing five games to the Seattle Mariners in the American League Division Series, Detroit will be home for the playoffs that begin next week. However, they still have six games to play with an eye toward a 2027 season, hopefully given the potential lockout looming this winter.
This is an opportunity for Hinch to get a look at some of his younger players over the final six games and evaluate them. When Hinch looks back on the season, the 6-22 stretch in May did it in his club and dropped them from the top of the American League Central Division standings to near the basement. They never fully recovered and are now playing out the stretch.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Scott Roche has covered both college and professional sports for nearly three decades for various outlets. Scott has covered the MLB, NHL, and college sports and he is someone always looking for a good rumor, no matter which sport it is.