The Detroit Tigers' 78-84 record this season was good enough for second place in the American League Central, their highest finish in the division since 2016. Yet they ended up nine games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins.

President of baseball operations Scott Harris and manager A.J. Hinch reflected on the season Monday at the Tiger Club in Comerica Park. It was their first season working together. The Tigers hired Harris in September 2022 and Hinch in October 2020.

"This city deserves a playoff team," Hinch said. "We're trying to build towards that. On this date, I don't know what that's going to look like yet, but the tone behind the scenes is always going to be, find ways to improve and find ways to get more wins. ... I'm not in the prediction game, but I am in the standards game. Our standards will be high enough, our expectations will be high enough once we reconvene in Lakeland."

Here are the quick takeaways from the Tigers' end-of-season news conference, which lasted 55 minutes.

Three contract decisions

Shortstop Javier Báez and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will determine whether or not to exercise the opt-out clauses in their contracts with the Tigers, after the World Series is completed.

Báez has four years, $98 million remaining; Rodriguez has three years, $49 million remaining.

"Eduardo and Javy are in the same boat," Harris said. "The way their contracts were structured, they have a decision to make. We don't have a decision to make as an organization. It is their decision the way that their contract has been structured."

Báez is a huge bet to opt in; Rodriguez is a huge bet to opt out. Harris said the Tigers have not had and will not have any contract discussions with Rodriguez, or agent Gene Mato, until Rodriguez makes a formal decision.

Rodriguez, who invoked his limited no-trade clause to block an Aug. 1 trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, is expected to net more than three years, $49 million — a $16.3 million average annual value — on the open market.

When Rodriguez opts out, the Tigers could let him walk as a free agent rather than trying to negotiate a new contract.

"I can't speculate with Eduardo," Harris said. "He's put up a great year. We just have to make the decisions that are actually in front of us when they're in front of us. That one just isn't right now."

Rodriguez, 30, posted a 3.30 ERA with 48 walks and 143 strikeouts over 152⅔ innings in 26 starts in 2023. He logged a 4.24 ERA in his final 15 starts after returning from the injured list.

The Tigers will be stuck with Báez. The 30-year-old hit .222 with nine home runs in 136 games this season. The Tigers owe him $25 million in 2024, $25 million in 2025, $24 million in 2026 and $24 million in 2027.

Catcher Carson Kelly, whom the Tigers acquired Aug. 19 to replace Eric Haase as their backup catcher, represents the third option decision coming after the World Series, but in this case, the Tigers get to make the decision.

Kelly is set to earn $3.5 million (plus incentives) in 2024, but only if the Tigers bring him back. The 29-year-old hit .173 with one home run, two doubles, seven walks and 17 strikeouts over 18 games.

"It's very much an open decision or open question for us," Harris said. "We're going to spend a lot of time on it. ... Whatever we end up with as a catching unit, a huge priority for us is going to be how they manage the staff, how they call games and how they make adjustments to what hitters are trying to do."

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Contract extensions?

Spencer Torkelson? Riley Greene? Kerry Carpenter? Tarik Skubal?

The Tigers aren't ready to lock up those young players to long-term contracts with pre-arbitration extensions. Harris said he is open-minded to extending players with long-term potential. But it doesn't sound like the Tigers are having those negotiations at this time.

"I just hope that we can get to a place where we can find players that we really want to extend and get it done," Harris said, "and then announce it to you guys and talk about how excited we are."

Keep an eye out for contract extensions after the 2024 season.

That seems to be a more likely timeline.

Austin Meadows

Outfielder Austin Meadows, under team control through the 2024 season, hasn't played baseball since April 6. He landed on the injured list April 7 with anxiety after six games. He transferred the work he was doing on his mental and physical health to his home in Florida in mid-June, without a plan to return.

"I haven't talked to Austin in a few months," Harris said.

"I need to talk to Austin in October. We're going to talk to him, and we're going to explore what the path forward is. I don't have any answers on that. I hope he's doing well. I got to reconnect with him, and that's going to be a priority for October."

The Tigers can non-tender Meadows after the World Series — thus cutting ties and making him a free agent — in his final year of arbitration eligibility. He has received $8.3 million for 42 games (and 37 hits) in the 2022-23 seasons.

Third baseman Isaac Paredes, whom the Tigers traded to acquire Meadows, hit .250 with 31 home runs and an .840 OPS in 143 games with the Tampa Bay Rays, while playing three positions. The 24-year-old is expected to receive AL MVP votes for his performance. The Rays won the AL wild-card race and host Texas beginning Tuesday.

Spencer Turnbull

The Spencer Turnbull saga was exhausting.

It included poor performances, a revoked option, placement on the injured list for a neck injury, more poor performances, a cracked toenail.

Turnbull started two games down the stretch for Triple-A Toledo after recovering from his toenail issue.

"We are going to have an exit interview with Spencer," Harris said. "We expect him to prepare as a starter this offseason and show up to Lakeland ready to compete for a job in our rotation. You guys have heard me talk many times about how talented Spencer is. We've seen flashes of it in this organization, what he can do."

Turnbull, 31, is entering his third year of arbitration eligibility. The Tigers will decide whether or not they will tender him a contract for the 2024 season. If tendered, he returns; if non-tendered, he becomes a free agent.

It sounds like the Tigers will bring him back.

"We got to find a way to get the best version out of Spencer," Harris said. "It starts with reflecting on the season, planning for the offseason and making sure he shows up in Lakeland ready to compete for a job."

Turnbull had a 7.26 ERA with 15 walks and 24 strikeouts over 31 innings in seven starts with the Tigers, returning from Tommy John surgery. He had a 3.60 ERA over five innings in two starts with High-A West Michigan and a 6.86 ERA over 21 innings in six starts with Toledo.

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Infrastructure developments

Harris announced several infrastructure projects:

• The Tigers purchased land for a new complex in the Dominican Republic for young international players. The project is currently in the design phase. The current Dominican Academy is located in San Pedro de Macoris. "That's going to make us a lot more competitive internationally," Harris said. "It's also going to include some development features that are going to allow us to tap into that development on the day that these young players walk into the organization, and then we're going to be able to hand them off to Lakeland."

• The Tigers are working on a new dormitory building in Lakeland, which will include developmental features. Minor-league players in spring training, Complex League players and Low-A Lakeland players will live in the dorm.

• The Tigers are working on baseball expansion projects in Lakeland, home of the spring training complex. There will be a covered field, new batting cages and new mounds for all players to use in spring training.

• The Tigers are beginning the second phase of the clubhouse and performance center renovations at Comerica Park. Before the 2023 campaign, the Tigers built a first-class kitchen and cleaned up the weight room as part of redesigning the clubhouse.

• The Tigers are about to debut a new team plane.

• The Tigers are making "very significant investments" in technological improvements, Harris said, and those upgrades are "really expensive, but it's something we have to do if we're going to be sincere about building this organization the right way."

Harris explained the completion of these projects will require patience.

"We have to modernize our organization," Harris said. "We have to modernize our operation. We have to find new tools that are going to help us get a little bit more out of all the players that come through this organization. To do that, we have to make significant, multi-year infrastructure investments in this organization, up and down this organization. That is a mission that we have already started."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Takeaways from Detroit Tigers chat with Scott Harris, A.J. Hinch