The Detroit Tigers finished six games below .500 last season and are doing their best to improve this offseason under President Scott Harris and GM Jeff Greenberg.
The team acquired veteran pitcher Kenta Maeda from the rival Minnesota Twins this offseason in hopes of adding a veteran presence. It's also been a challenging offseason as the Tigers family said goodbye to a 1984 World Series hero.
Now the Tigers' president Scott Harris is revealing his thoughts on Maeda's potential role with the team's pitching staff.
Maeda Adds a New Dimension
Maeda didn't have the most promising stats last season. According to the Tigers' brass, he adds something new to the rotation that can't be quantified on paper.
#Tigers expect veteran Kenta Maeda to help young pitchers 'lock in our command'
Scott Harris: "Watching Kenta work, I hope our young starters notice that command, sequencing and using the whole zone can really allow your entire mix to play up." https://t.co/bF6XMYfkyT
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) November 29, 2023
Maeda had a 6-8 record last season with an ERA of 4.23. He did have 117 strikeouts in 104 innings, showing off his penchant for punching out opposing hitters with his command of the strike zone.
Article Continues BelowWith a career ERA of 3.92 and a 57% career win-loss percentage Maeda has the knowledge to help the Tigers' young pitchers to improve their craft this season according to Harris and others within Detroit's organization.
Tigers Active This Offseason
The Tigers may pursue talent including Luis Severino and Seth Lugo this offseason according to Jason Beck of MLB.com.
“We have young talent that’s already in the big leagues, and we have more young talent coming,” the Tigers' GM Harris said at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
“I’m really bullish on this dominant young talent, so anything we do this offseason — in free agency or trade — we’re going to have to be mindful of walking the line between finding outside additions that can help us without blocking some of the young talent that may prove to be the best solutions we can find at those positions. We owe it to our organization and those individuals to give them enough runway to demonstrate that they can be solutions.”