DETROIT — This offseason feels like a litmus test for everything the Detroit Tigers have established. They have emerged from a terrible rebuild, made back-to-back playoff appearances, built a robust farm system and made massive leaps in three years under president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
And yet. They have not won more than 87 games in a regular season since 2014. They made the playoffs the past two years thanks only to MLB’s expanded postseason. In 2024, it took a historic finish to crack the field. This past season, they had to fend off a historic collapse.
The future in Detroit remains bright, but Tarik Skubal, the Tigers’ all-world pitcher, is entering a contract year, forcing a crucial decision point. A talented young team is bringing back every core position player except free agent Gleyber Torres. There are positional logjams even as the idea of adding a more impactful veteran bat beckons this winter.
It will be perhaps the most important offseason yet for Harris, general manager Jeff Greenberg and the rest of the Tigers’ brass. It could serve as an even bigger reflection of team CEO and chairman Chris Ilitch. The question at hand: What sort of organization will the Tigers be?
Will they continue to rely on small-market savvy like the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians? Can they keep threading needles and build a sustainable behemoth like the Houston Astros? Could they turn bolder and look to reassert themselves as a larger-market force? Or could they go the way of the 2025 Baltimore Orioles, stashing their chips but going in reverse?
This sort of winter has long been foreshadowed, and now it is here. A blessing of progress. A curse of raised expectations.
Whatever direction the Tigers choose, it might have ripple effects, good or bad, for years to come.
What to do with Skubal?
It all starts here, of course. This is a storyline that should dominate headlines and radio waves all fall and winter. At his end-of-season news conference, Harris had the chance to dispel the notion of trading Skubal. He did not, instead providing what amounted to a blanket “no comment” on one of the most intriguing decision points in all of baseball.
Skubal is likely to win his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award. As a Scott Boras client, the chances of negotiating an extension with Skubal before he at least tests free agency are slim to none.
Harris has talked of pragmatism and sustainability. The idea of the Tigers pushing their chips to the middle, going on a spending spree and hoping to win it all with one more year of Skubal seems out of character for this organization. The idea of trading him and recouping value while they still can has real appeal despite the division it would likely cause among fans. Sensible as a trade could be in the long run, it is also difficult to imagine the Tigers fielding a better team in 2026 without Skubal, no matter what they would get in return. The Tigers over the past two seasons are 42-20 on days Skubal pitches. They are 131-131 without him.
Perhaps we will gain more clarity in the coming weeks or months. Either way, one thing to consider is whether the Tigers can conduct other business with the Skubal situation in flux. Or do they have to decide on Skubal before they can truly begin shaping the 2026 team?
Bolstering the pitching staff
Without or without the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, expect the Tigers to do what almost every team does: Find more pitching.
Two years ago, the Tigers prevented runs at one of the best rates in franchise history. Talented as some of their arms are, it always felt difficult to sustain. In 2025, though, the drop-off was more stark than imagined. Injuries, roster management mistakes, bad signings, poor trade choices and bouts of underperformance resulted in a team that ranked 17th with a 3.97 ERA. Take away Skubal’s 2.21 ERA over 195 1/3 innings, and the Tigers had a team ERA of only 4.25.
The good news is the Tigers are set to bring back the bulk of last year’s rotation, with depth to boot. Jack Flaherty choosing to return rather than opt out could already count as a win despite his up-and-down 2025. Still, the Tigers are likely to target at least one proven starting pitcher in free agency. Michael King or a comparable player could make sense.
There could be even more pressing needs in the bullpen, where the Tigers had a 4.05 ERA and ranked 29th in strikeout rate. Kyle Finnegan, easily the best of Detroit’s trade deadline acquisitions, expressed interest in returning after the Tigers’ AL Division Series loss to the Seattle Mariners, and he would make sense for the team if the Tigers can ward off other suitors.
Given the Tigers’ year-over-year struggle to generate whiffs out of the bullpen, it will be interesting to see if they would break from their norms and pursue a higher-priced relief arm like Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams or Ryan Helsley.
Fixing the lineup
The Tigers ranked 11th in runs scored, a respectable achievement for a young offense despite the team’s stark second-half falloff.
What became more clear in the second half, and something Harris addressed at his end-of-season postmortem, is the fact that too many hitters exposed holes in their plate approaches. Detroit finished with the fourth-highest strikeout rate in baseball. Only the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies and Orioles were worse. The Tigers’ 8.4 percent walk rate ranked 14th.
Dig deeper into the strikeout woes, and there’s not one clear solution. The Tigers punched at a troublesome clip despite chasing fewer than 15 other teams. Per Sports Info Solutions, their 76.7 percent contact rate ranked in the middle of the pack, and they took called strikes at a rate lower than 19 other clubs.
Pair those truths with the fact that every core position player except Torres remains under team control, and we will see how the Tigers go about adding both punch and reliability to their lineup.
People in the industry will naturally link the Tigers to big-ticket free agents such as Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette. Such players could give the Tigers needed veteran leadership and help the lineup improve through Bregman’s plate approach or Bichette’s bat-to-ball skills.
Still, it remains to be seen just how aggressively the Tigers might pursue such players, particularly with infield prospects such as Kevin McGonigle, Max Anderson and Hao-Yu Lee all likely to play in the majors next season.
Could the Tigers merely stand pat and hope their young hitters continue to evolve? Or can they get creative, make a couple of hard decisions and improve with more proven production?
Keep in mind the Tigers ranked only 24th with 1.0 bWAR from center fielders — albeit with injuries to Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling — and 28th with 0.7 bWAR from their shortstops.
Key dates
Thursday: This is the deadline for option decisions and qualifying offers. Flaherty has already decided on his player option. The Tigers are likely to decline the $10 million mutual option on Paul Sewald. The team has a less certain decision on whether to pick up José Urquidy’s $4 million option. The Tigers also have until 5 p.m. ET to decide whether to extend the $22 million qualifying offer to Torres. Coming off hernia surgery, there’s a chance Torres could accept the qualifying offer and return on a one-year deal.
Nov. 18: If extended a qualifying offer, Torres would have to decide whether to accept or decline by this date. There could be more roster shuffling as the Tigers choose which players to protect on the 40-man roster. Thayron Liranzo and Lee should be locks. Others, such as RJ Petit, Trei Cruz, Jake Miller, Eduardo Valencia and more, could be tough decisions.
Nov. 21: The contract tender deadline will reveal whether the Tigers bring back pitchers such as Beau Brieske, Alex Lange and Jason Foley, all talented arms who battled injuries in 2025. Andy Ibáñez, projected to earn $1.8 million in arbitration, could also be a decision to watch. In all, the Tigers have 15 players eligible for arbitration.
Feb. 21, 2026: The Tigers will begin their spring training schedule against the New York Yankees.
March 26, 2026: Detroit’s Opening Day will be against the Padres in San Diego.
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