The Winter Meetings have now come and gone for baseball and it isn’t surprising that the Detroit Tigers didn’t make any huge additions during their time in Orlando. Typically that is where the foundations are built for the deals that are to come.
Over a week ago before that baseball convention the Tigers had three primary areas that needed addressing if they wanted to avoid the same fate that came in 2024 and then again in 2025 where their season ended in an ALDS heartbreaker.
There are gaps to fill in the lineup and the organization is in need of a veteran hitter, another starter for the rotation and depth in the bullpen. That is still true today.
Starting Rotation:
It feels safe to say that the Tigers’ management has taken their back-to-back Cy Young winner off of the trade market and rightfully so. This means that their rotation is needing of a nice complement to Tarik Skubal because as good as he is, he can’t carry the pitching staff.
Skubal has hinted at the fact that he is staying in Detroit as he has been publicly adamant about the fact that he wants to stay with the ballclub. Both Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty will be back but another arm is crucial to solidify a starting rotation for 2026.
An Experienced Bat:
The Tigers did have two Silver Slugger winners this season with both their outfielder Riley Greene and utility man Zach McKinstry taking home the highest offensive honor. But who else is there?
Catcher Dillon Dingler was the lone man who was mostly used at the plate this past season to post a batting average over .260 and that won’t cut it down the stretch which was on full display in the postseason as only two hit over .235.
More Arms in the Bullpen:
Easily the best move that Tigers have made so far since their season ended was locking down Kyle Finnegan who emerged as the best reliever that Detroit had. However there isn’t a team in baseball who cannot benefit from having additional arms on the pitching staff as it has proven time and time again it is better to have too many than not enough.
Opening day is a long ways off but the moves that need to be made for an organization to compete for a pennant and a trip to the World Series need to be made now which very much includes the Tigers.
