Detroit Tigers: Hunter Renfroe worth a look after being DFA’d by Rays

The Detroit Tigers should give Hunter Renfroe a look as the Tampa Bay Rays have designated him for assignment.

The Detroit Tigers will need to make a few additions to their roster this offseason so that they can fill it out. Given the Tampa Bay Rays most recent move where Hunter Renfroe was designated for assignment (DFA‘d), the Tigers should make their first addition.

Renfroe may have had a less than ideal season in 2020 for the Rays, but he would add some power to the Tigers outfield, likely right field. The Rays have seven days to trade for the player or place him onto irrevocable waivers.

While trading for Renfroe might not be the move, it should be considered if the Rays are willing to part with him for extremely cheap. The Tigers will start phasing in some of their younger talents, so a move for Renfroe might cause a “logjam,” but the depth is worth it.

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If the Rays have Renfroe end up on waivers, the Tigers should jump on that looking to add the outfielder if a trade has not been worked out.

Again, Renfroe’s 2020 season stats are not the most exciting, but the power shown in prior seasons, full seasons, should be considered.

In 2020, Renfroe played in 42 games where he hit .156/.252/.393 with eight home runs and 22 RBI for the Rays.

This was after being sent to Tampa in the Tommy Pham/Jake Cronenworth trade that left Renfroel, Xavier Edwards, and Esteban Quiroz headed to Tampa Bay.

Before he arrived in Tampa Bay, Renfroe was a four-year member of the San Diego Padres, where he consistently showed his power.

Over his four seasons with the Padres, he was a .235/.294/.494 hitter with 89 home runs.  He was pretty consistent around that .230 mark while with the Padres, also being around 26 home runs as well.

He could add some pop to the Tigers’ outfield and help them fill out their roster this offseason. While the outfield situation currently seems like it will be Daz Cameron, Travis Demeritte, Derek Hill, JaCoby Jones, Victor Reyes, Christin Stewart, and Troy Stokes Jr. handling the duties.

It seems like Jones, Reyes, and Stewart could get the initial nod; however, Cameron deserves a look, and Stewart is on thin ice. Renfroe could be added to this mix for depth. He is arbitration-eligible, and it just seems like he could be worth the investment.

With the hope that Renfroe could get back to hitting .230 with 25-plus home runs, it would be worth it for the Tigers. So as the offseason continues to unfold, the organization should kick things off by sitting down and taking a look at Renfroe.

Hunter Renfroe could be the perfect addition to get the offseason moving for the Detroit Tigers organization.