Scott Harris; Detroit Tigers President of Baseball Operations
There have been quite a few quotes from Scott Harris that have come out from the Winter Meetings and they’ve been documented by Jason Beck and Cody Stavenhagen. There were a few quotes that stood out to me and they’re below with my interpretation of what Harris is actually saying.
Quote 1: “One thing we won’t waver on is we’re going to invest in our young players. We’re going to earmark at-bats and innings for our young players. One of our most valuable resources in this organization is opportunity at the Major-League level.”
Interpretation: “Look, I know you want me to go out there and make some flashy signings and trades to make this team better, but, we’re not going to go out and acquire a big name player this year. I’ll be blunt, Al left a team riddled with holes and I need to see if there is anything within the system that is worth the time, so, we’re going to use the 2023 season as a means to evaluate our young prospects at the Major League level. This would include players like: Wilmoer Flores, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Reese Olson, Dillon Dingler, Wenceel Perez and Andre Lipcius.”
Quote 2: “The supply of talented catchers out there is very thin. It’s really hard to find a stable Major League catching duo. There are a lot of teams out there searching for that. Fortunately, we have two catchers that have a chance to stay with us for a while.”
Interpretation: “The catcher market is very thin outside of Wilson Contreras, but I’m going to keep an eye on it. We feel like our internal assets of Eric Haase and Jake Rogers can get it done in 2023 and be our 1A, 1B catching duo. As I said earlier, there will be plenty of innings made available to our young talent if these two can’t get it done. We’re going to watch Dillon Dingler and Josh Crouch closely and will elevate them if necessary.”
Quote 3: “One thing we have tried to convince the players that we are pursuing is that you can come to Detroit and be surrounded by the resources and support staff that are going to help you take the next step in your development, no matter where you are in your career.”
Interpretation: “We all know that Detroit itself isn’t a huge incentive for free agents to come play here, but Al Avila and the horrendous staff he built are gone now. While the city may not be overly enticing to you, as an organization we will be dedicated to you as the players. We are going to do our best to ensure that our players have everything they could possibly need whether they are a prospect or a veteran. We believe the staff we have put together and the improvements we plan to make to our facilities and schemes will allow us to be at the top of the league.”
Are there any other quotes that you’ve found interesting from Harris coming out of the Winter Meetings? Do you think he’s being transparent thus far? How do you interpret each of these quotes?