Offseason Outlook: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers were the best team in the American League for a few months. They had a quiet deadline and narrowly avoided what would have been a historic collapse. While winning the Wild Card series and pushing the Mariners to the brink in the Division Series kept this from being a complete disaster, they undoubtedly lost momentum in the second half. They now face the departure of several free agents and questions about the future of the sport’s best pitcher.

Guaranteed contracts

• Javier BaezSS: $48 million through 2027
• Jack FlahertyRHP: $20 million player option for 2026
• Colt Keith3B: $20.642 million through 2029 (includes buyout of ’30 club option; deal also includes club options for 2031-32)

Option decisions

Additional financial obligations

Guaranteed contracts for 2026: $30.5 million or $50.5 million, depending on Flaherty’s option decision
Total future liabilities: $71.142 million or $91.142 million through 2029, depending on Flaherty

Arbitration-eligible players (service time in brackets; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Rainey, Vierling, Foley, Lange, Ibañez, Brieske

Free agents

It only took a few days after the Tigers were eliminated for speculation to arise Pull Skubal. He is a few weeks away from his second Cy Young award and now a year away from free agency. Jon Heyman of The New York Post has already suggested that Skubal could seek a $400 million contract. Heyman reported that this was at least $250 million higher than what the Tigers were willing to offer during extension talks last winter. Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press then reported that Detroit had offered a four-year deal between $80 million and $100 million.

That was a non-competitive proposition when Skubal was two years removed from the open market. His asking price has only increased after another dominant season that put him a year closer to free agency. It’s not accurate to say they’re facing a $300 million hole — the Tigers would obviously be willing to offer more than that now — but it doesn’t exactly indicate they’re likely to sign a long-term deal. That, of course, leads to wishes from other teams (and their fanbases) about the possibility of pulling off a blockbuster trade.

There’s no mention of the Tigers planning to seriously hear teams out on Skubal, let alone actively shopping for him. The rumors so far have stemmed from some recent examples of rival clubs trading a superstar before his final season of arbitration. The Mookie Betts trade was a disaster for the Red Sox. The Padres did pretty well when they traded Juan Soto to the Yankees, winning more than 90 games in each of the next two seasons. The Brewers had a solid but not overwhelming result Corbin Burnes and have remained one of the best teams in the NL in recent years. The Astros have landed a strong three-player package Kyle Tucker but narrowly missed the playoffs in its first year.

The Tigers have made it to the playoffs after a nine-year straight playoff drought. The front office has already come under fire for a deadline in which they expanded the pitching staff in bulk without relinquishing any significant impact acquisition prospects (aside from arguably Kyle Finnegan). They already have a top-tier farm system and can enter the offseason with just $30.5 million in guaranteed contracts. They can easily accommodate a $17.8 million arbitration salary for Skubal.