Somewhat surprisingly, Detroit is the first team known to have interest in either Bassitt or Giolito, even though the right-handers are coming off successful 2025 seasons. This could reflect the relatively slow-moving nature of the rookie pitching market, with top players like Suarez, Gallen and Framber Valdez are all still looking for their next contract. With those bigger names still unsigned and some trade suitors (e.g Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore) are still potentially available, teams may want to fully explore their chances with these pitchers before turning to more second-string options like Bassitt or Giolito.
Bassitt’s age doesn’t help him either, as he turns 37 in February. Still, there isn’t much evidence of Bassitt slowing down, as he has thrown 723 innings over the past four seasons with the Mets and Blue Jays, with only two minimal stints on the injured list. The second of those short IL stints (a bout of lower back inflammation) occurred last September and may have cost Bassitt a spot in Toronto’s playoff rotation. Bassitt wasn’t healthy enough to compete in the ALDS, but when he returned in a relief role for the ALCS and the World Series, the righty had a sparkling 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 postseason innings.
Over the past four seasons, Bassitt had a 3.77 ERA, a 22.4% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. The K% is slightly below league average and the BB% is slightly above average, and Bassitt has done a very good job limiting hard contact. He won’t surprise anyone with his speed or swing-and-miss ability, but Bassitt has managed to keep hitters off balance with what is technically an eight-pitch arsenal.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted Bassitt would get a two-year contract worth $38 million this winter, while ranking the veteran 24th on our list of the winter’s 50 best free agents. Giolito wasn’t far behind in the #27 spot, expected for two years and $32 million. That number could very well have been higher if not for a bout of right flexor irritation and a bone problem in his throwing elbow right before the Red Sox began their playoff run. Giolito has since created the “crazy injury‘ as just a temporary problem that quickly resolved, and testing showed no damage to his surgically repaired UCL.
Giolito missed the entire 2024 season due to UCL surgery, and he underwent Tommy John surgery early in his pro career in 2012. A hamstring injury also delayed the start of his 2025 season and his comeback from his most recent elbow procedure, but Giolito had a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings for the Sox. However, these solid results were undermined by a SIERA of 4.65 and a string of below-par results. Statistics figures.
Giolito doesn’t turn 32 until July and may offer more opportunity, even if he hasn’t looked like a true frontline pitcher since his heyday with the White Sox from 2019-2021. Bassitt is the older and more stable of the two, because while he’s probably not a good fit to hold down a spot at the front of the rotation, he’s about as solid a choice as you can get for the back end of a pitching staff.
In theory, Detroit is only looking for backup rotation help, as the team’s starting five is on paper Pull Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olsonand Anderson. Troy Melton, Keider MonteroAnd Sawyer Gipson-Long are among the depth candidates slated for Triple-A starts, bullpen work or perhaps simply the role of fifth starter if Anderson is instead used as a reliever.
After 2026, however, Olson is under team control and the Tigers have a $10 million club option on Anderson for 2027. Skubal, Flaherty and Mize are all scheduled to enter free agency next winter, so bringing in a starter on a multi-year contract would help the Tigers extend their rotation in 2026 and add a degree of stability for the future.
Skubal’s situation shapes Detroit’s future plans, as it remains possible the Tigers could still trade the superstar rather than risk letting him walk for nothing more than a compensatory draft pick. Skubal’s upcoming arbitration hearing will have a more immediate impact on the rotation, as Rosenthal and Sammon note that the Tigers’ ability to spend money on Bassitt, Giolito or other roster upgrades will certainly be affected by whether or not Skubal will cost $19 million or $32 million in 2026.
Grid source estimates the Tigers’ 2026 payroll at approximately $171.2 million, which is higher than the estimated $154.7 million payroll as of the end of the 2025 campaign. The $13 million hole in Skubal’s salary options isn’t nothing, but Detroit fans eager to see the team make a bigger transactional splash won’t be happy if the club finds itself at even a relatively modest investment in the Bassitt/Giolito level resistance. Broadcast uncertainty is also a revenue factor, as the Tigers are one of nine teams to terminate their agreements with Main Street Sports.
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