What is the Detroit Tigers most pressing need?
In my eyes, both as a sports writer and as a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan, I think the Detroit Tigers currently have three pressing needs. I will leave it up to all of you as to which is the most pressing and what (if anything) they should be trying to do at the trade deadline.
Their needs as I see them are starting pitching help, another corner outfielder with power at the plate, and more power at the third base position. Let's start by looking at the starting rotation. For our purposes, we will take Justin Verlander out of this equation as he has proven he is the man, and is a legit number one starter.
With that being said, the lowest (beyond Verlander) ERA of the five regular starters is Max Scherzer's 4.53. On top of that the other starting pitchers have gone 28-28 including Phil Coke and Charlie Furbush and that simply will not get it done. There is no question this team needs another mid to backend starter, and for me it has to rank pretty high on the list of needs.
Now let us take a look at the situation at third. Brandon Inge is an above average defender and that says a lot, but he is hitting just .177 with one home run and 17 RBI. Simply put that is not good enough production from a third baseman, and does not justify his salary in anyway. Something needs to change here, and I have no confidence he can have his usual second half uptick given his recent comments about the fans and their treatment of him.
This of course brings me to the corner outfielder spot. The Tigers seem pretty set with Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch in Center and Right respectively. However the third and fourth options, Magglio Ordonez and Ryan Rayburn, have not got it done at the plate or in the field and something needs to change here as well. They do have Andy Dirks (.256 BA, 6 HR and 17 RBI is 125 at bats), but I wonder if the Tigers view him as an everyday guy. They also have Casper Wells who has similar numbers but was recently sent back to Toledo.
Given their numerous options in the outfield, I don't think we can list that as their primary need, but the trade deadline moves may warrant them addressing that hole. For me pitching rules all and beyond Verlander, there is not a guy in the starting rotation I fully believe in. For me that would mean I would add a pitcher who can get it done every fifth day, but hey that's just me.
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