The Detroit Tigers off-season has a lot of excitement from the fight we saw last season, along with the fact that they look as if they will be spending some money to build on this team. The top target will come at the shortstop position, where the biggest upgrade is needed, and the one name that keeps getting brought is Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros. His relationship with former Astros and current Tigers manager A.J. Hinch make the Tigers a perfect destination as he hits free agency this winter.
Correa was one of numerous players honored with Gold Gloves on Sunday night. Your other 2021 Gold Glove winners include:
American League
First Base- Yuli Gurriel (Astros)
Second Base- Marcus Semien (Blue Jays)
Third Base- Matt Chapman (Athletics)
Shortstop- Carlos Correa (Astros)
Left Field- Andrew Benintendi (Royals)
Center Field- Michael A. Taylor (Royals)
Right Field- Joey Gallo (Rangers/Yankees)
Catcher- Sean Murphy (Athletics)
Pitcher- Dallas Keuchel (White Sox)
National League
First Base- Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals)
Second Base- Tommy Edman (Cardinals)
Third Base- Nolan Arenado (Cardinals)
Shortstop- Brandon Crawford (Giants)
Left Field- Tyler O’Neill (Cardinals)
Center Field- Harrison Bader (Cardinals)
Right Field- Adam Duvall (Marlins/Braves)
Catcher- Jacob Stallings (Pirates)
Pitcher- Max Fried (Braves)
And if Correa is not the route the Tigers are able to go, there are other options to upgrade the position:
Corey Seager
The 27-year-old would give the Tigers power from the left side of the plate, and even has a World Series MVP on his resume from the 2020 season. He has hit over .300 each of the past two seasons and has been a doubles machine, surpassing 30 of them three times, and even led the National League with 44 of them in 2019.
Marcus Semien
The veteran has a little more age on him at 31 years old, but he was a pleasant surprise for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, as he clobbered 45 long balls with 102 runs driven in while playing in all 162 games. All of that production at the plate, and he showed his versatility by sliding over to second base to let Bo Bichette hold down the shortstop position. A season away from the position might worry some, but six seasons with the Oakland Athletics between second and third tells me that he’ll be okay.
Trevor Story
Now many will assume that Trevor Story’s offensive numbers are because he has played for the Colorado Rockies in hitter-friendly Coors Field, but Nolan Arenado moved on to St. Louis and never really slowed down. Story was the Rockies’ lone All-Star this past season and has reached 20 home runs and 30 doubles in four of his six major league seasons. He also brings some spark on the defensive side of the ball, and is in desperate need of a refresh elsewhere with a contender. Story fortunately overcame a slow start to finish strong last season with 24 home runs and 34 doubles. It’s safe to say that he can hit anywhere outside of Denver with over half of his home runs coming away from Coors Field.
Javier Baez
Javier Baez didn’t make too many friends with his new faithful from the New York Mets, but did finish with 31 home runs combined between the Mets and Chicago Cubs. He brings plenty of flash, but what comes with flash is some defensive errors. He had 22 of them last season, but after committing 18 with the Cubs, that number downgraded to four during his time with the Mets. This might be a last-ditch option if all else fails, but he might be the most productive last-ditch option you will find.
