During this offseason, I have written quite a bit about how the Detroit Tigers could find their best internal defensive solutions, but the reality is that the standard is quite far from offering the level the team needs to be able to count on a defense that is at least capable of getting close to the league average.

That has been practically impossible over the last two seasons, in which the infielders used by the Tigers have ranked 26th with -31 Fielding Run Value, which qualifies them as the third-worst defense in the American League, only behind the Los Angeles Angels (-38) and the Tampa Bay Rays (-31).

If you think FRV doesn't reveal enough, OAA shows Detroit in 25th place in the league with -43, while in DRS they rank 14th with +31, the same mark that center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has accumulated over that same span of the last two campaigns.

The Tigers move farther and farther away from even achieving an average defense; this continues to create more problems for a pitching staff that has also lost its ability to strike batters out and finished 2026 with a 21.8 K%, the lowest rate since the 19.8% the team recorded in 2021.

Detroit needs to define a plan to improve its defensive inconsistencies

Detroit’s recent major problems have been on the defensive side of its infielders, especially because of the numerous inconsistencies at the corners and second base. Gleyber Torres just finished 2026 with -5 FRV over the last two seasons as a second baseman. Colt Keith (-1 FRV), Hao-Yu Lee (-3 FRV and -12 OAA in 2026), and Javier Baez (-2 OAA as a shortstop in 2026) have also been unable to solve the defensive problem over the last two seasons. As if that were not enough, Spencer Torkelson (-12 OAA) is a disaster at first base and was the worst at the position when he had to make plays toward his right side.

Zach McKinstry led the team with +8 OAA and was the only current Tigers infielder with a prominent role who has been able to provide positive defensive value. It is worth noting that the Rookie of the Year, Kevin McGonigle, looked much better in the 676 innings he played as a shortstop, where he recorded +0 OAA, slightly better than the -1 he accumulated in 644 innings as a third baseman, with limitations in his range. That said, the most negative point here is that the offensive production of most of them does not fully compensate for poor defense.

It is not that this is the most correct way to balance things, but if you cannot provide enough defensive value, at least do everything possible to make the offense repay that contribution with something worthwhile.

Unlike McGonigle, who just finished a historic season with an impressive 7.1 bWAR at 21, Baez has been a disaster, seeing his career OPS drop from .722 over the first ten seasons of his career to just .619 (72 OPS+) over the last three seasons. Torkelson and Lee have improved their contributions over the last two years, but it has not been enough for the prominent roles they have within the roster.

All these problems, which create such a lack of depth, lead us directly to ask ourselves what the Tigers’ plan is starting this offseason to find solutions that can truly drive improvements in the future.

There are several free agents available on the market; it's time for Detroit to start acting and draw up some kind of plan, whether they prefer to look for a veteran player who can provide experience while distributing playing time among other internal options, or whether they enter the open market to finally bring in a player who takes ownership of the solution.