The veteran outfielder hits lefties reasonably well and fills the Tigers need in center field.
Last last night the Milwaukee Brewers released outfielder Manuel Margot. He wasn’t on the shelf very long as the Detroit Tigers swooped in this afternoon to sign the 30-year-old right-handed hitter to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million. The deal has incentives worth up to an addition $1.2 million based on the number of plate appearances Margot gets this season.
Obviously this is a move precipitated by Parker Meadows’ prognosis now forecasting a mid-to-late May return at the earliest. Margot only makes sense as a hitter who hits lefties reasonably well and can handle a center field platoon with Wenceel Pérez, who is less experienced at the position, but hits right-handed pitching pretty well.
Margot came up with the San Diego Padres and spent four years there and four years with the Tampa Bay Rays before spending 2024 playing mostly corner outfield in a limited role for the Minnesota Twins . He’s an experienced center fielder who is typically fringe average at the position. Last year in very limited action he was a -1 in both DRS and Statcast’s OAA metric. Those numbers were a little worse in a larger sample with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023.
Margot really can’t hit right-handed pitching, so he has pretty limited utility. He posted a 103 wRC+ against lefties in 2024, slashing .269/.322/.391 with a very low strikeout rate. Those are basically his career splits against left-handed pitching, so he is at least consistent in that role.
Margot can steal you a base here and there, and still will hit the occasional home run, but he’s a very minor offensive presence even against lefties. He’ll get on base and spray some doubles around the park, but he’s made a 10 year career in the major entirely on his ability to handle center field and put up good numbers at either corner. If he was still an above average center fielder there would be a lot more interest in him, but as he’s gotten older his speed has slipped just a little bit and he’s average at best these days.
This move would seem to end Jahmai Jones’ chances of making the roster in the same role. It would be a surprise if Margot ended up playing the whole season with the Tigers. This feels much more like a stopgap measure until they get Matt Vierling, and eventually Parker Meadows back in the fold. Margot will have to surprise with a little more production than he’s put up in recent years to really hold a spot on the bench all season long.