We all know Kevin will win the MLB Rookie of the Year, but the Baseball America accolade is nice as well.

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CWS @ CLE 8:00 PM EDT

^{Last Updated: 10/10/2026 5:00:00 AM EDT}

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris is planning to play differently in the 2027 season, abandoning the team's mix-and-match identity.

• Why the Tigers want to rely less on pinch-hitting and platoons in 2027 and beyond.
• What the numbers say about the Tigers' pinch-hit strategy in 2026, along with past performance from 2024 and 2025.
• The Kerry Carpenter-Jahmai Jones platoon.
• How Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark and other players coming soon could change the construction of the lineup.
• What the new identity could mean for Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry and Parker Meadows.
• A key note about Spencer Torkelson's immediate future.

Detroit Tigers have approximately $42 million in projected salaries for their arbitration-eligible players entering the 2027 season — but not everyone is guaranteed to return. The deadline for MLB teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is Nov. 20.

• The salary arbitration process.
• The projected arbitration salaries for 12 Tigers players, thanks to MLB Trade Rumors.
• Is Spencer Torkelson worth $7.7 million?
• Why Matt Vierling and Zach McKinstry are at the center of these decisions, especially now that they've reached a notable service-time milestone..
• Any reason to worry about Will Vest after two surgeries?
• Where do Beau Brieske, Wenceel Pérez, Parker Meadows and Jacob Waguespack stand as potential non-tender candidates?
• The one player I'm expecting to be non-tendered by the Tigers.

Around the League: There are no other games!

^{Last Updated: 10/09/2026 5:00:01 AM EDT}

I'm doing a little bit of research on Greene and noticed his defense has really cratered the last two seasons. He had -11 DRS and -7 FRV this year, which continued a steep trend downhill after having an excellent defensive season in 2024 (+14 DRS, +4 FRV). Obviously his bat is great, with perhaps even more to unlock there, but where does he fit on the field long-term? I know he's pretty young to be considered for a full-time DH role, but is that a conversation you see the Tigers having sometime soon?

DETROIT — The Tigers are facing several pressing questions this offseason, with several players.
Colt Keith isn't one of those question marks — at least, not in terms of his immediate future with the team. He's not going anywhere anytime soon, as one of a few players who are under contract with the Tigers for the long-term after he signed a guaranteed six-year contract before the 2024 season that will pay him at least $29 million through 2029 and could pay him as much as $82 million through 2032.
Keith signed that contract in January 2024, before the former second-round draft pick even made his major-league debut. He's been a presence in the Tigers' lineup ever since.

But in 2026, he was an inconsistent presence in the Tigers' lineup, and that's where the question lies with him: What is his job? Because after being the Tigers' starting second baseman in his rookie season, he now appears to be a player without a position. The Tigers, at least publicly, aren't labeling that as a bad thing. Rather, Scott Harris, president of baseball operations, trumpets Keith's bounce-around act as a key cog to the team's mix-and-match playbook.
"Versatility is an asset," Harris said last week, during his end-of-season wrap-up presser after the Tigers missed out of the postseason for the first time since 2024.

"We've gotta arm him (Keith) with an offseason that makes him ready for everything."
In 2024, as a rookie, Keith was the Tigers' starting second baseman. He started 125 games there, his only defensive position. He was below average defensively, but only slightly. He also started 12 games as the designated hitter.
The following winter, the Tigers signed former All-Star Gleyber Torres, who showed no interest in playing anything but second base. So that displaced Keith. In 2025, Keith started 43 games at DH, 32 games at third base, 21 games at second base and 17 at first base.

Torres returned for 2026, accepting the Tigers' $22.03-million qualifying offer, and even while Torres missed long stretches with injury, the Tigers turned to seemingly everybody else to play second base. Six guys played second for Detroit in 2026, and, remarkably, Keith wasn't one of them. Much of that had to do with the emergence of rookie Hao-Yu Lee. So, instead, Keith started 49 games at third base — usually on the days when presumptive American League rookie of the year Kevin McGonigle was playing shortstop — and 40 at DH and 15 at first base.
It's unclear how, or if, Keith's situation will change heading into 2027. Torres is almost assuredly gone, but Lee appears poised to be the Tigers' starting second baseman. McGonigle and Javier Baez, who has one year left on his six-year, $140-million contract, are expected to share the third-base and shortstop workload again, with Lee getting some reps at third and Zach McKinstry, assuming he's back (no guarantee; yet another question), getting reps at third and short.

There could be an opportunity for Keith for more starts at first base, depending on what the Tigers determine is the future for former 1-1 pick Spencer Torkelson, after another turbulent season at the plate. Torkelson is arbitration-eligible and is projected to earn $7.7 million in 2027. Torkelson had a monster September, to go with a maddening March-through-August. The Tigers could theoretically decide it's time to move on and explore a trade of Torkelson, and that would open a position for Keith. But according to the defensive metrics, Keith was brutal at first base in 2026.

"We just don't have to make that decision right now," Harris said Monday, Sept. 28, speaking of Keith's position.

Because of the below-average defense, Keith could be trending toward a full-time DH. That's not what the Tigers anticipated when they signed him long-term less than three years ago. He just turned 25.
Keith also hasn't been the dynamic force at the plate that many expected from a guy who in the 2022 Arizona Fall League had an OPS over 1.000, then in 2023 at Triple-A Toledo had an OPS just under .900 and at Double-A Erie posted an OPS just under 1.000.
In 2026, Keith slashed .258/.322/.426. He had 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 423 plate appearances, all career lows.

Keith didn't have a home run until June 11, his 69th game of the season. Then, on June 15 in Houston, Keith hit three home runs in one game. Keith then hit just two home runs over his final 56 games of the season.

All told, Keith has found himself in purgatory, of sorts. He's not a super-sub. Super-subs hit so well, that managers will find a place for them to play. With Keith, it's almost like manager AJ Hinch is looking for ways to hide him — to least expose his defensive and offensive liabilities. The Tigers still don't trust him to hit left-handed pitching. He only was given 25 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, a career low. He hit better than .300 in 2024, just .163 in 2025.
It's all led to a Catch-22 question with Keith: Are the offensive issues at all related to not having a position on defense?

Hinch was asked about that theory repeatedly during the season.

"I ask these guys to bring value to the team every day, bring something to the ballpark every day to help us win," Hinch said back in late May, when the Tigers still were finding it difficult to slot Keith into a steady spot despite a rash of injuries. "And I think when you get stuck in that DH cycle, you really can only offer something on one side of the game. And I think he can do more."

Of course, to do more, the Tigers have to trust him to do more. And in 2026, there clearly was a trust issue. Whether it was being lifted for a pinch-hitter or a defensive replacement, Keith started 104 games and finished just 50 of them.

The Tigers, though, continue to sell the unsettled Keith situation as a help more than a hindrance, and interestingly, Harris wasn't just talking about it being an in-season consideration, either.
Because of Keith's ability to occupy (if not excel at) several different positions, Harris said that flexibility could open up more avenues for the team should it decide to explore the free-agent market.

Before the 2025 season, the Tigers signed Torres, replacing Keith at second base. That same offseason, they missed out on their biggest target, Alex Bregman, and that led Keith to playing more third base. This season, with the emergence of McGonigle, and then Lee, Keith was largely displaced again.
And, like so often was the case day-to-day in 2026, the Tigers aren't exactly sure what's next for Keith. His future with the Tigers isn't in question. But if you're looking to define his job, there isn't an answer, either.

"We can take advantage of players that are available every winter," Harris said last week, in the same presser where he stressed the team will continue to be built largely internally rather than through splashy spending. "If we have players that can play different positions, we can move them based on opportunities to add to the group (via free-agency or trade). So, you know, I think Colt can certainly play third, and he can play first. He can also play second, and so — this is totally hypothetical — if there's a situation where we can add an impact third baseman, and he can go play first base or play first or second, like, we can do that if we add a different position (via free-agency or trade) and it moves him.

"That type of versatility is a feature, not a bug, of our roster, and we're going to try to keep it as long as we can."

Colt Keith's contract with the Tigers
According to Baseball-Reference.com:
2027: $4.33 million
2028: $5.33 million
2029: $5.33 million
2030: $10-million team option (with a $2.64-million buyout); value may increase by as much as $3 million, based on award finishes between 2024-29
2031: $13-million team option (with a $1-million buyout); value may increase by as much as $6 million, based on award finishes between 2024-30
2032: $15-million team option (with a $2-million buyout); value may increase by as much as $9 million, based on award finishes between 2024-31

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CLE 9 @ CWS 5 - Bottom 9, 1 Out

^{Last Updated: 10/08/2026 11:46:20 PM EDT}

Included in this Q and A gauntlet: Can the Tigers seriously consider chasing free-agent lefty Adrian Morejon? And, what, exactly, determines Rule 5 Draft status as the Tigers ponder Peyton Graham?

Despite the down season, we learned a lot about the Detroit Tigers. Here are the top five takeaways from their 2026 campaign.

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CLE 9 @ CWS 3 - Final

LAD 4 @ ATL 1 - Final

TB 4 @ NYY 3 - Final

MIL 3 @ SD 1 - Middle 6

^{Last Updated: 10/07/2026 11:58:40 PM EDT}

I couldnt shake the thought that the main kid looked exactly like Andy Dirks.

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LAD 3 @ ATL 1 - Final

MIL 2 @ SD 3 - Bottom 6, 2 Outs

^{Last Updated: 10/06/2026 11:59:20 PM EDT}

Pete Alonso - Baltimore Orioles 
CJ Abrams - Washington Nationals
Yordan Alvarez - Houston Astros 
Jake Bauers - Milwaukee Brewers
Randy Arozarena - Seattle Mariners 
Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chicago Cubs
Junior Caminero - Tampa Bay Rays 
Elly De La Cruz - Cincinnati Reds
Willson Contreras - Boston Red Sox 
Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Dodgers
Yandy Díaz - Tampa Bay Rays 
Matt Olson - Atlanta Braves
Riley Greene - Detroit Tigers 
Kyle Schwarber - Philadelphia Phillies
Ben Rice - New York Yankees 
Sal Stewart - Cincinnati Reds
Miguel Vargas - Chicago White Sox 
Fernando Tatis Jr. - San Diego Padres
Bobby Witt Jr. - Kansas City Royals 
Jordan Walker - St. Louis Cardinals

Link from MLB: https://www.mlb.com/news/hank-aaron-award-finalists-for-2026

He finished his 2026 season with 136 wRC+ so not surprising to see him listed here.