The Detroit Tigers have gotten off to a pretty good start this season, but it's largely been because of their dominant pitching staff. Through 12 games, the Tigers have only allowed 45 runs, which ranks fifth in the league. The trio of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Casey Mize have allowed just 11 earned runs through eight combined starts and 45 innings.
But the team's offense hasn't been great, and some of that can be attributed to the loss of offseason acquisition Gleyber Torres. Torres went down with an oblique strain early in the season and was replaced at second base with 23-year-old former top prospect Colt Keith.
In Torres' place, Keith has been inconsistent at best, slashing .171/.383/.229 with 12 walks boosting his on-base percentage quite a bit. But the aforementioned Torres is seemingly set to return soon, as he was seen pictured on the Tigers' team flight to Minnesota, and this could be big news for breaking Keith out of his slump.
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Gleyber Torres' imminent return is good news for slumping Colt Keith
With Torres set to return, the Tigers will be able to slot him in at second base while Spencer Torkelson plays first base. This would allow the Tigers to give Keith more rest days while playing him in a bit of a utility role. As Torres works his way back to being 100 percent, he's going to need some days off mixed in there, so Keith could come in at that point.
The Tigers could also explore the idea of sending Keith down to Triple-A in order to boost his confidence and help him find his stride, but the smarter idea is to leave him in the big leagues to figure out his swing and approach at the highest level.
Keith's ability to play all over the field opens up a lot of potential lineups for the Tigers to use. The youngster could slot in all across the infield or in the DH slot to make things work for the Tigers. But the most important thing is that he figures his swing out and begins contributing on offense.