The gritty Detroit Tigers have already made a run for the ages to get to the postseason. They had a 52-59 record and a 0.5% chance to make the playoffs on Aug. 3 and nearly a month later, they knocked the Astros out of the Wild Card.
Detroit is one of the youngest teams in MLB and Houston was the most experienced in the playoff race . The Tigers’ unconventional, unexpected run should give the Boston Red Sox some hope, but more importantly, motivation to act this offseason.
The Sox and Tigers have similar profiles as teams — a core of mostly young players with a few veterans sprinkled in. Detroit has taken youth to the extreme, though. Kenta Maeda is the oldest player on the 40-man roster at 36. Javy Báez and Andy Ibañez follow at 32.
Maeda and Báez haven’t been significant parts of the Tigers’ postseason run. Báez was moved to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 26 with hip and back issues, but his struggles since he signed a contract extension are well-documented. Maeda didn’t make the Wild Card roster after he pitched to a 6.09 ERA over 112.1 innings this year.
The Sox had a handful of veterans who posted great seasons this year, like Rafael Devers, Rob Refsnyder, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen. A healthy Trevor Story would make a huge impact on the team next year. But like the Tigers, Boston’s core of position players, and even their backups, were relatively inexperienced. Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, David Hamilton and Nick Sogard were all rookies and Triston Casas and Jarren Duran have only played one or two seasons of major league ball. If Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell make it to the league next year, Boston will only get younger.
The Tigers have proven that age is just a number, and the Sox had every opportunity to do the same. Detroit’s Wild Card run looks strikingly like the hot streak Boston went on to finish out the first half — the Red Sox got hot at the wrong time, and couldn’t maintain their high-level offense and pitching simultaneously.
The Tigers’ postseason run could inspire the Red Sox’s offseason moves
Detroit pulled off its unlikely run with consistent contact and pitching down the stretch. The Sox struck out far too often to succeed against the hardest second-half slate in the league, and the bullpen fell apart at the same time. The Tigers’ rotation also boasts Tarik Skubal, the guaranteed American League Cy Young award winner, who posted a 2.39 ERA with 228 strikeouts in 192 innings this year. He blanked Houston for six innings in their first Wild Card matchup, and he’ll continue to carve up lineups as the Tigers make their way through the postseason. Detroit also has the fifth-best bullpen ERA in the league, while the Sox rank all the way down at 24.
Boston and Detroit’s position player profiles are similar, but the Tigers have an edge in their pitching staff. The Red Sox front office has said that pitching reinforcements will be of high priority this offseason, and if they model their staff after the Tigers’, they could be in their boat next October.
In order to go the distance, the Red Sox need a true ace and a much deeper bullpen with more experience. Tanner Houck posted quite the breakout season and pitched like an ace for the first half, but he lost some steam along the way — as is expected as a first-time No. 1 starter. Corbin Burnes and Jack Flaherty are impending free agents, and they would take Boston’s rotation to the next level.
The Tigers have shown that relatively young and inexperienced teams can make the playoffs if they get hot at the right time and have the right resources. If the Sox had an ace and a deeper bullpen, they could still be in the race alongside Detroit.
Boston’s needs are clear, and the front office has once again made promises to address them this winter. It should look to the Tigers for a model of what needs to change.
