Detroit Tigers Newsletter: The shortstop problem is even worse than you think

That old cliché of “adding insult to injury” sprung to mind Friday night, a few seconds after Ryan Kreidler’s shoulda-been triple was turned into an inning-opening out for the Detroit Tigers in Houston.

Kreidler was making his fourth appearance for the Tigers this season, filling in for the injured Javier Báez (who, by the way, has delivered plenty of insult — unintentional, we suppose — to the folks who’ve had to watch him for 2½ seasons in the Old English “D,” even without the injury).

As the Freep’s Evan Petzold noted last week, Kreidler isn’t here to replace Báez — El Mago’s contract, featuring about $85 million for 3½ more seasons isn’t disappearing, and neither is he.

But Kreidler completely failing to touch first base on his way to second (not to mention third) felt perfectly on-brand for the position that has given the franchise so much trouble for nearly a decade. (Yes, really: Tigers shortstops have ranked in MLB’s bottom 10 by bWAR each of the past seven seasons; 2016, with Jose Iglesias getting a majority of the work, was the last time they broke into the top 20.)

Indeed, for as boneheaded as the blunder was — "I can't remember the last time that's happened,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters afterward, “but that's why the rule is what it is." — it was essentially a microcosm of the Tigers’ woes at shortstop in 2024.

Hello, and welcome to the Long and Short(stop) Newsletter!

No MLB team has gotten less from its shortstops this season than the Tigers, and it’s not particularly close. Think of the worst team you can name this season — Hiiii, Chicago White Sox — and even they have gotten better play at short. In fact, only two teams have failed to get positive bWAR production at shortstop this season: the Miami Marlins, at minus-0.7 WAR and the Tigers, more than TWICE as bad, at minus-1.5.

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And yet, we have an even worse number to present. In a league full of at least average shortstops, the Tigers have been so far behind the curve (and the slider, and the fastball, and the … well, you get it) this season that they’re threatening to set a big-league record. No set of shortstops in MLB history has ever had a worse OPS relative to the league mark at the position than this season’s Tigers: Their sOPS+ comes in at 31 (with league-average being set at 100). In short, Tigers shortstops are producing less than a third of what a league-average group would this season. (The Marlins, meanwhile, check in with an sOPS+ of 58, while the Athletics are nearly historically bad as well, at 42.)

So what does this mean? We took a look at the four previous worst teams (among those with complete totals at Baseball Reference) to see what went wrong for them, and whether they found any fixes along the way:

NEAL RUBIN:A salute to the late Mike Downey — which he would have written better

1999 Angels: 47 sOPS+

The problem: To the Angels’ credit, they had a plan going into the ’99 season after starter Gary DiSarcina suffered a broken arm in spring training — they picked up Andy Sheets, coming off back-to-back .700 OPS seasons, in a late-March trade with the Padres. Unfortunately for the Halos, Sheets’ bat didn’t make the trip up I-5; he slashed .194/.233/.278 with 55 strikeouts in 71 games at shortstop before DiSarcina was healthy in late June. Equally unfortunate: DiSarcina was barely an improvement, with a .229/.273/.273 (not a typo) slash line in 81 games, and the group as a whole posted a .537 OPS.

Hope for the future? The Angels brought DiSarcina back, but also added Benji Gill (coming off an .810 OPS in Triple-A the previous season) as a backup and then, when they struggled, added Kevin Stocker (who had a .773 big-league OPS in April and May) via a trade with Tampa Bay. Did it work? Sort of; DiSarcina was injured early, Gill slashed .235/.312/347 and Stocker didn’t hit a home run in 227 at-bats … but the Halos’ shortstops did finish with a .650 OPS — a definite improvement despite finishing ahead of just one AL team.

1958 Orioles: 44 sOPS+

The problem: The O’s split the work at short between 32-year-old journeyman Willy Miranda (.201/.250/.243) and 27-year-old Foster Castleman (.179/.246/.253), who was clearly in Baltimore for his glove alone, as he was often a late defensive replacement. Even in an American League in which no team had a shortstop OPS above .666, Baltimore’s .470 mark was well off the league average of .612.

Hope for the future? The O’s made a pair of offseason deals, nabbing 30-year-old Billy Klaus from the Red Sox and 33-year-old Chico Carrasquel from the A’s. Carrasquel didn’t quite work out, with a .602 OPS, but Klaus showed a nice eye for the strike zone, with a .356 on-base percentage that pushed him to a .710 OPS. All told, the duo (plus 92 plate appearances from Miranda), finished with a .608 OPS that was good for seventh in the eight-team AL.

1963 Colt .45s: 43 sOPS+

The problem: In their second season, the soon-to-be Astros had an issue with Bob Lillis, their 33-year-old shortstop acquired in the 1961 expansion draft; he mustered just a .201/.228/.242 slash line with as many walks as extra-base hits (15). They attempted to solve that with a July call-up of 21-year-old Jim Wynn. At the plate, no problem; Wynn had a .793 OPS in his first 13 games at short. But in the field? Wynn committed three errors in those 13 games, and the team shifted him to the outfield. In all, .45s’ shortstops had a .460 OPS that was 46 points worse than the NL’s No. 9 squad.

Hope for the future? Wynn, at least, caught on in the outfield, going on to hit 223 homers over 11 seasons in Houston and earning the nickname, “The Toy Cannon." His and Lillis’ replacement at short, 33-year-old Eddie Klasko, wasn’t nearly as successful; after being picked up from St. Louis in January, Klasko posted a .578 OPS in ’64, leading the .45s (in their final season before rebranding as the Astros) to a .560 OPS, good for eighth in the NL.

1977 Tigers: 42 sOPS+

The problem: It’s almost impressive how bad this set of Tigers’ shortstops were, with all five —Chuck Scrivener, Mickey Stanley, Tom Veryzer, Mark Wagner and, yes, Alan Trammell — posting OPSes of .500 or worse en route to a .447 overall mark. Veryzer received the bulk of the work, with a .197/.230/.254 slash line in 373 plate appearances. But in by September, a skinny 19-year-old from California got the call from Double-A, where he’s posted a .779 OPS in 134 games. He was notably less successful in the majors, with just eight hits — all singles — in 43 at-bats.

Hope for the future? That kid, of course, was Trammell, who would go on to spend 20 seasons with the Tigers in a Hall of Fame career. Trammell locked up short in 1978, posting a .675 OPS in 136 games and finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting, as the Tigers shortstops — Wagner also made 30 appearances — improved to a .652 OPS, fourth-best in the AL.

2024 Tigers: 31 sOPS+

The problem: You can’t blame this entirely on Báez — Zack McKinstry’s .530 OPS in 63 plate appearances is certainly subpar, too — but Báez has done the lion’s share of the damage (or lack thereof), with a .456 OPS in 196 plate appearances. That’s dead last among big-league hitters with at least 190 plate appearances and 85 points worse than the next worst AL hitter (Chicago’s Andrew Benintendi). (Miami’s Tim Anderson is worst in the NL, at .477.)

Hope for the future? Not much, with Báez under contract for, again, three more seasons. Even if the Tigers decide to eat the $73 million remaining after this year, they’re not exactly stocked with premium replacements. In Triple-A, there’s Andrew Navigato, a 20^th-round pick in 2019; he has a .385/.357/.480 slash line in 51 games overall with the Mud Hens. But he also already has six errors in 43 games at short. In Double-A, Trei Cruz and Gage Workman — drafted in 2020’s third and fourth rounds, respectively — have OPSes of .718 and .713. The best hope might be 2023 draft pick Kevin McGonigle, who’s crushing Low-A pitching to the tune of an .854 OPS at age 19 … but he probably won’t be ready until 2026.

Road warriors

Sunday brought more of the same from the Tigers’ shortstops — McKinstry went 0-for-3 with a strikeout — but that didn’t stop the party for at least four die-hard Tigers fans in Houston. As Our Man Petzold details, Al Crawford, Steve Plumb, Steve Rosneck and Mark Wejrandt finished off a lifelong project when they saw the Tigers play the Astros in Houston — giving them a visit to see the Tigers play all 29 other MLB teams. As some other folks known for traveling might say, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Or, as one of the traveling quartet said, “Good places, bad places, Oakland."

Jack’s spot

They weren’t the only ones enjoying the weekend in the Lone Star State. Right-hander Jack Flaherty made a mostly triumphant return to the mound after missing 11 days (and one start) with back woes. On Saturday, he scattered three hits and a walk over five scoreless innings to pick up a win and drop his ERA to 3.01 (good for ninth in the AL entering Sunday). So how’s he feeling? As he told Our Man Petzold, he’s “in a good spot” and “ready for the next one.”

Dynamic duo

Flaherty’s time in Houston went better than that of Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who was touched for four runs in a rough sixth inning Friday night — just the second time this season he has allowed more than two in a start. But of course, his pal (and batterymate) Jake Rogers knew just what to say: “Skubs is human.” From calling pitches to delivering a slap to the face to chipping in on crossword clues, according to Our Man Petzold, Rogers has kept Skubal right on track (and vice versa) during their 14 starts together this season.

Tork tok

Also recently departed from metro Detroit? Old Friend Spencer Torkelson, who is still crushing the ball for Triple-A Toledo; he’s 14-for-49 (.286) with 12 strikeouts and six walks in 12 games. More importantly, according to the Freep’s Carlos Monarrez, he’s showing the humility that will allow him to get back to dropping Tork Bombs in the majors. As Torkelson put it in a video for the Mud Hens, “I’m playing baseball. This is what I love to do, this is what I dreamt of as a kid. You know, me 10 years ago would be absolutely thrilled to be in Triple-A right now.”

3 to watch

KERRY CARPENTER: Arguably the Tigers’ best hitter in April and May could be back from his back injury by July.

JUSTYN-HENRY MALLOY: It’s a numbers game for the rookie — not the ones on his baseball card, but the one on his back.

ALEX LANGE: The Tigers’ former closer, now in Triple-A, departed from the Mud Hens’ game early Friday, and the prognosis isn’t good.

Happy birthday, Sheriff!

Tigers left-hander Andrew Chafin, aka “The Sheriff,” turns 34 on Monday, in the midst of his second stint with the Tigers. Oddly enough, it has been a tale of two seasons for Chafin. Over his first 15 appearances, he allowed just three runs with 14 strikeouts and six walks in 14 innings. But since May 10 — a run of 11 appearances — he has allowed 12 runs (nine earned) in just nine innings, albeit with another 14 strikeouts and six walks. All together, Chafin has an ugly 4.70 ERA despite the peripherals — 28 strikeouts, 12 walks and just two homers allowed — to sport a solid 3.40 FIP. That’s a solid reflection of all the offseason work Chafin put in, according to Our Man Petzold.

Other Tigers birthdays this week: Ian Kinsler (42 on Saturday).

Mark your calendar!

Jackson Jobe is back in Michigan! Not for a long time, but hopefully for a good time as the Tigers’ top pitching prospect — and the No. 9 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline — begins a rehab stint following his left hamstring strain. Jobe is set to start for West Michigan, the Tigers’ High-A affiliate, on Tuesday in Grand Rapids, notes Our Man Petzold, with a return to Double-A Erie on the horizon (and maybe a visit to Detroit by the end of the year).

TL;DR

So what’s the solution at short for the Tigers? A time machine to go back to December 2021 and knock the pen out of Al Avila’s hand? Eat Báez’s contract and spend on a splashy replacement? (Hey, former Tigers prospect Willy Adames might be available!) Sacrifice a Hot ’n’ Ready halfway between second and third base in Comerica Park in hopes of breaking up the bad juju there?

At this rate, the Tigers might be best off following their 1977 path and promoting a near-teen in McGonigle.

Or maybe just seeing if Tram is up for one more turn around the diamond.

Contact Ryan Ford at[email protected]. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?)@theford.