The Detroit Tigers chose not to tender Jeimer Candelario a contract for the 2023 season and are now on the hunt to find a player to fill the hole at third base. One player I’d like to see the Tigers take a look at is Brandon Drury.
Brandon Drury had a resurgent 2022 season, split between the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, after playing only 51 games in 2021. He would end the season slashing .263/.320/.492 (.252/.302/.434 career). Drury belted 28 homeruns to go along with 31 doubles (136 total hits) while driving in 87. Per Fangraphs he posted a 3.0 WAR and 123 wRC+, ultimately earning his first Silver Slugger award of his career. According to Baseball Savant he also posted a career high Barrel% of 10.4 and lowered his K5 and upped his BB% in comparison to his 2021 season.
Headed into his 30 year old season Drury’s defense does leave something to be desired, however, his offensive production outweighs this fact. Are Scott Harris and the Detroit Tigers looking for Izaac Pacheco (2025 projected MLB Debut), Colt Keith (2024 projected MLB Debut) or Andre Lipcius (2023 projected MLB Debut) to make the step forward in the coming seasons and take over as the organizations everyday third baseman? Remember, all three of those prospects currently rank in the organization Top-30. I’d like to think that Drury would be a step up in offense and an even swap in defense at third would be an acceptable upgrade for a short term stop gap while the top prospects are further evaluated.
Could a 2-year $15m deal get this done in Detroit?