Can Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris learn from his mistakes?
That will ultimately determine how the Tigers do in 2027 – whether they can get back to the playoffs or if the back-to-back appearances in 2024-25 are their high-water mark as a franchise this decade.
Because he made two critical mistakes in 2026.
The first one sounded good, in theory: Harris tried to create a strong starting rotation (at least on paper) knowing that several young pitchers would get healthy by the end of the season, at which point, he planned to move some of the starters to the bullpen for the stretch run and into the playoffs. He was just waiting for right-handers such as Jackson Jobe and Troy Melton to get healthy, and for left-hander Andrew
Sears to develop.
“Our plan in our bullpen was to build a deep and overstocked rotation,” Harris said at his season-ending press conference on Monday, Sept. 28. “And then move some of those players to the bullpen to refresh our bullpen, add more swing-and-miss, and add deeper mixes for the stretch run and into the playoffs.”
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That was the plan at least.
“It worked the other way,” he said.
Several starters got hurt, which messed up everything. “We ended up moving relievers to the rotation instead of starters to the bullpen,” he said.
Put another way: It totally backfired.
That brings us to his second mistake: Harris built a roster with too many holes early in the season, knowing he wanted to eventually bring up youngsters such as Max Clark, Hao-Yu Lee, Ben Malgeri, John Peck and Eduardo Valencia, .
So, he didn’t bring in any players who might block them come July. Only, again, there was a problem. When several position players got hurt in April and May – before the youngsters were ready to come up – the Tigers didn’t have enough depth. The Tigers collapsed in May, with a 6-22 record (which Harris also blamed for 2026's finish), and never recovered.
"It felt like we lost a player and a game every day for about a month,” Harris said. “It felt like we were sunk in that moment, and upon reflection, our inability to overcome adversity in real time starts with me. I didn't build enough depth into this roster this year. Our vulnerabilities in this roster got exposed in May, and it cost us.”
That leads to the big question is: Can he learn from it?
Facing a similar situation
Harris is in a similar spot heading into 2027: The Tigers want to build a roster that can compete on Opening Day, all while seeing more prospects on the near-horizon. That includes players such as infielder Max Anderson, right fielder Zyhir Hope (who arrived from the LA Dodgers in August's Tarik Skubal trade) and first baseman Josue Briceño, who played only 42 games in 2026 because of injuries but bashed nine homers.
“How close are they?” I asked Harris.
“I expect them all to contribute to our team next year,” Harris said. “I expect all three of those players to be in the big leagues next year. They got to earn it, for sure. Just like a year ago, I sat here and said I expected Max [Clark] and Kevin [McGonigle] to impact this this team in 2026. I feel similarly about those players.”
So, that’s the tricky part. Harris will try to build a roster that is strong from the start of the season, while not blocking any of the youngsters. The good news for Harris? The Tigers had so many injuries in 2026 that it gave them a chance to develop that depth. Now, Peck has MLB experience at short, while Ben Malgeri and Brett Callahan have experience in the outfield.
So, the Tigers are in a safer spot.
Tigers arms are the question
It’s easy to say: Harris needs to fix the bullpen.
But before he can do that, Harris faces a bunch of issues with the rotation that have to be resolved first. The Tigers have several talented arms, but all of them come with questions.
Can veteran left-hander Framber Valdez snap back and get back to his old self?
“We know it's in there,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We've seen it. You know the bookends of his outings were often troublesome - the beginning of the game or maybe the end, where an elevated sinker got hit in the air a lot more this year than it did before. Those are little subtle things for the off season.”
Troy Melton is a young, incredibly talented pitcher but can he stay healthy?
He missed the start of 2026 with elbow inflammation, and he was pulled from his last start because of forearm twinges. He is still undergoing tests, which is enough to make your stomach turn.
Jackson Jobe rehabbed from Tommy John surgery to make nine starts, learning a ton and flashing a ton of potential. But he’s still incredibly inexperienced; he hasn't even thrown 100 innings in any of his five pro seasons. How many innings can he pitch in 2027?
Will the Tigers pick up swingman Drew Anderson’s option? Spoiler alert: They should, because he’s so valuable and there are too many questions surrounding the other pitchers.
Reese Olson is an extremely talented pitcher but he’s coming back from shoulder surgery; will he be ready at the start of 2027?.
Keider Montero? Where they will use him, as a starter or out of the bullpen? (Either way, he ha been fantastic.)
Can the Tigers count on River Ryan, another prospect from the Skubal deal, at the start of the year? He has a fantastic arm but little experience, with less than 50 innings since his own Tommy John surgery.
Sears? Certainly, there is reason to be excited about his future. But is he ready to start in Detroit? The guess here is that he will start out in Toledo.
Then there are others, of course, such as Ty Madden or even Enmanuel De Jesus, who could start or could be in the 'pen.
So, when you look at potential starters, not to mention bullpen pieces, the Tigers have a bunch of talented arms. But with most of those pitchers featuring health and durability issues (not to mention needing Valdez to bounce back), it makes a ton of sense for the Tigers to go out and get several more arms, to start and relieve.
I mean, that has to be the lesson from this season: Be prepared for anything. Don't assume anything.
Where does Kevin McGonigle play?
Now, a word here about the position players.
The Tigers are set at catcher with Dillon Dingler and Eduardo Valencia, who I could also see at DH.
It seems obvious that Riley Greene will be in left and Max Clark in center. But I have questions about right. Well, about Kerry Carpenter. They say availability is the best ability. And Carpenter played only 81 games in 2026, hitting .208 with 13 homers.
Harris has to figure that out and he can’t just wait for Hope – Zyhir or otherwise – to arrive.
Personally, I wondered if the Tigers could look into a change at first, but Harris all but anointed Spencer Torkelson the first baseman Monday.
"He's an incredibly talented player,” Harris said. “He's a very popular figure in our clubhouse. We really value him and all the contributions he makes on and off the field. And we think he's going to help us get back to the playoffs."
For me, the next big issue is what they do with Kevin McGonigle. He bounced between shortstop and third base for all of 2026 – sometimes during the same game, as he topped 90 appearances at both in just 156 games played –and they need to solidify one position and build out from there.
“The back and forth is hard on him,” Hinch said earlier in September in Toronto. “You know, he does it well and gracefully, and never complains. I think it asks a lot, specifically for a young player.”
Sure, McGonigle gives the Tigers incredible flexibility. But if I had to guess, the Tigers want him to be at one spot: short, third ... or even second.
“It'll be something that Scott and Jeff (Greenberg) and I talk about in the offseason and in trying to find some stability for him, but that's based on the way the rest of the roster is built,” Hinch said. “The thing [is], he can really play any of the three positions in the infield, and we can build around him. He's going to be in the lineup, and he's going to be at the top of the lineup, at or near the top, and it's comforting knowing that we're going to get a plus player at any of the three positions once we build the team.”
Where they put McGonigle impacts everybody else, as Hinch explained Monday.
“Lee's going to generally be second or third,” Hinch said. “Colt Keith’s defense at third base has gotten significantly better this year, in the eye test and by the numbers. He may factor in at third base a little bit, which may push Kevin around. So, it's not that Kevin can't play any of the positions, but we have the luxury to build the team around him.”
If the Tigers keep McGonigle at short, then Lee and Keith could focus on third and second. And that would also open up second base for another 2023 draft pick, Max Anderson, if he’s ready at the start of the season.
Or, McGonigle could move to third and then Lee and Keith would move to second.
But that means the Tigers would have to use some combination of Puck, Javier Báez and maybe even Zach McKinstry at short. Interestingly, I’ve heard Hinch say that he would love to use Báez almost as a super-sub – somebody who could move anywhere. Like a defensive weapon. The Tigers have tried to do that for a few years, first with McKinstry and more recently with Báez, but something always happens to prevent it.
So, in the end, so much of next season depends on Harris.
If he can thread that needle – improving this team in the short term by gathering enough pitchers while not blocking anybody in the long term – this team has a legit shot to return to the playoffs.
There’s enough talent here.
As long as Harris can learn from his mistakes.
Otherwise, the Tigers will be doomed to another October at home, watching the playoffs on TV.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Make no mistake: Scott Harris is Tigers' most important (market) player
