Coming off a surprise playoff run in 2024 and emerging from a long rebuild at the same time, the Detroit Tigers face a critical season in 2025. The club can rise to meet the demands of the season to come by doing more to distinguish the roster in the everlastingly winnable American League Central and more broadly in the entire AL, which has methodically gotten weaker in recent years. That, it says here, is the mandate over the remainder of the winter for lead decision-maker Scott Harris and owner Christopher Ilitch.
At the outset, let’s acknowledge that the Tigers, on the heels of their upstart 86-win campaign of 2024, haven’t been mime quiet like some contenders. They’ve notably added second baseman Gleyber Torres to a modest pillow contract that allows Torres to rebuild his value coming off a disappointing walk year. As well, veteran moundsman Alex Cobb is new to the rotation mix. Now, though, it’s time for more.
What’s encouraging for Tigers partisans is that the club is heavily linked to third baseman Alex Bregman, who’s quite easily the top remaining free agent. They don’t need to squander their current position when it comes to Bregman’s market. While the long-time Astro does have some pink to reddish flags in his offensive profile, there’s no doubt he’d greatly help the Detroit cause in the near- to mid-term. Last season, Detroit got a slash line of .234/.294/.350 from their third basemen, and Bregman would greatly improve upon that while also upgrading the hot-corner defense. Bregman on another level brings right-handed productivity to a lineup that’s still a bit too left-handed even after the addition of Torres.
Right now, Jace Jung is penciled in as the starter, but there’s real doubt as to whether he has the arm for the left side of the infield. Jung was a primary second baseman coming up through the system, and he should get back to that role in Triple-A and be positioned as the post-Torres regular at the keystone. Jung of course could also be traded to address roster needs elsewhere.
Speaking of roster needs elsewhere, there’s the rotation. Right now it consists of uber-ace and reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, right-hander Reese Olson, the aforementioned Cobb, promising youngster Jackson Jobe, and former top pick Casey Mize. Yes, that’s five starters, but rotation depth is needed, particularly in the current high-attrition era. Last regular season, for instance, the Tigers gave at least five true starts – i.e., not counting “openers” – to seven different pitchers. They gave 15 or more true starts to six different pitchers. You’re going to need more than five starters, particularly in light of Cobb’s age (37) and Mize’s recent injury history. Perish the thought, but Skubal as a high-velocity starter and veteran of flexor-tendon surgery is no guarantee to stay healthy. Heck, go with a six-man rotation if it makes sense. No team understands the need for a seemingly but not actually “crowded” rotation quite like the world-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Detroit should follow that model.
Yes, it’s late out there but a couple of compelling starting-pitcher options remain available. One is veteran right-hander Jack Flaherty, who enjoyed an impressive renaissance on Detroit’s watch last season before being moved to the Dodgers at the deadline. Flaherty’s coming off a 2024 season in which he threw a combined 162 innings with a 127 ERA+ and a 3.47 FIP, and struck out 29.9% of opposing hitters. His pre-trade numbers were even better, and his profile bodes well for the near future.
Another option might be future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. Scherzer’s 40 and at risk of decline and injury, but he put up some impressive underlying numbers in his partial season with Texas in 2024 – numbers that suggest he’s still capable of missing bats and being a worthy contributor to a contending rotation, particularly as a depth addition. This is to say nothing of the fact that Scherzer previously spent half a decade in Detroit and won the 2013 AL Cy Young Award as a member of the Tigers. Suffice it to say, it would be an inspiring reunion from the standpoint of paying Tiger customers. Elsewhere, the Tigers have been linked to Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde, who rebuilt his value during a 2023 season in Korea and then put up a WAR of 5.6 last year with the White Sox and then St. Louis. He’s owed just $7.5 million for his walk year of 2025, and that fits any team’s budget. It’s not certain the Cardinals are willing to move Fedde just yet, but it’s worth trying to persuade them if Flaherty or Scherzer won’t or can’t happen.
Yes, the Tigers have the resources to make these deals happen, and that’s the case even assuming Bregman signs a deal that approaches $200 million. Last season, the Tigers ranked 26th in Opening Day payroll, and presently they’re in line to have roughly the same figure – just a bit more than $100 million – for 2025. That’s far too low for a young-ish team that made the playoffs and bounced the Astros in the opening round. According to Cot’s Contracts, the Tigers are presently more than $100 million below the first Competitive Balance Tax threshold, so no plausible suite of moves is going to put them in taxpayer territory.
More to the point, this is the time to capitalize on the success of 2024. We’re moving out of the RSN money-spigot era, which means teams aren’t going to get as much money merely for the triumph of existing. They’re going to become more reliant on gate receipts and game-day revenues, and they’re going to need to earn subscriptions to the direct-to-consumer streaming options that are the future of watching the sport. You do those things by building fan enthusiasm and putting the best possible team on the field. The Tigers are going to see an attendance boost in 2025 because of the playoff run in 2024. However, Detroit ranked just 24th last season with an average home attendance figure of 22,942. Comerica Park seats almost twice that, so there’s going to be lots of meat on the bone even after the post-2024 boost is realized.
All of this is to say, it’s not just possible to make these splashy additions, it’s also smart – smart when it comes to on-field results in 2025 and smart when it comes to the business side of things. One certainly gets the sense that Detroit is ready to embrace the Tigers once again after many seasons of losing and disinvestment. It’s the responsibility of team brass not to squander what’s before them.
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