With the weather starting to warm up, that means one thing: Tigers baseball is back! Last season ended in heartbreak for the Detroit Tigers, losing in game five of the divisional series to the Seattle Mariners. The game ended after 15 innings with Seattle scoring a run to win 3-2. This was also the second year in a row that they lost in game five of the divisional series. This season, the Tigers hope to build on their success from last season as well as hopefully win multiple series in the playoffs. During the offseason, the Tigers have proved that they want to go all in this year with some major signings and bringing back a lot of their players. They are also most likely losing back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal after this season, so this is an important season for them.
Major offseason signings:
The Tigers have made a couple of huge splashes in free agent signings this year, including pitchers Framber Valdez and ex-Tiger Justin Verlander. Valdez was signed to a three-year, $115 million contract after his contract with the Houston Astros was up. He was one of the best left-handed pitchers last season. He was tied for 12th overall in wins for pitchers last season with 13. He was eighth in innings pitched with 192, as well as 20th in strikeouts with 187. Verlander was signed to a one-year, $13 million contract after his contract with the San Francisco Giants was up. After nine years away, Verlander returns to Detroit, where he spent his first 13 seasons and will likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is a big signing for the Tigers to help them succeed this season and allow Verlander to retire in Detroit. Sophomore Moe Woll said, “I definitely believe that we signed good players like Valdez, and bringing back Verlander brings a veteran mindset to the locker room, which I think will really help. Although I think we could have benefited from adding a few more batters.” He also added, “I believe it has set them up for success. They maybe should’ve added a few more batters, but they definitely improved the pitching staff. We have a ton of depth now that we’ve added two more good arms.”
Returning players:
The Tigers have returned most of their players from last season and did not lose any top players. They still have their ace Tarik Skubal, although potentially not for long, and retained their top batters, including Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, and more. The most notable players that they lost are batters Justin-Henry Malloy and Andy Ibáñez.
Top Prospects:
Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark have been top prospects for several seasons, and this is finally the year they hope to play for the Tigers. According to MLB.com, McGonigle is a shortstop and second baseman who is the number two prospect in the MLB going into the 2026 season, and Clark is an outfielder who is the number ten prospect in the MLB going into the 2026 season. They have both been playing in the Tigers’ spring training. McGonigle started off strong by getting a hit in his first at-bat. Clark did not start off well, dropping two fly balls coming towards him. However, he recovered from his early struggles by getting a hit later in the game. Both prospects have made their way through Single-A and Double-A, but they hope to bypass Triple-A and make the opening day major league roster for the Tigers.
Tarik Skubal:
Tarik Skubal has been the best pitcher in the MLB for the past two seasons, winning back-to-back Cy Youngs. He only has one more year on his contract with the Tigers, which means that he is going to want a lot of money. Due to the fact that there is no salary cap in the MLB, teams like the Dodgers and the Yankees have more money than teams like the Tigers. Skubal’s agent will want to make sure Skubal gets paid what he deserves, which will be a lot of money. So the Tigers will most likely not be able to pay him. If this is true, that means that they will have him for this full year to try and win now, or trade him mid-season before the trade deadline for a lot of assets. Woll commented about this, “Unfortunately, either mid-season or after the 2026 season, I do believe they are going to lose Tarik Skubal. Baseball is bad right now since there is no salary cap. So rich teams, like the Dodgers and the Yankees, can just outbid everybody else because they have more money. Therefore, they also have more assets for trading, so yes, I think we will lose him.”
This season will be a big season for the Tigers, which could have as high of a ceiling as the World Series with all of the potential they have. As Woll said, “They have the energy and the mindset. Last year, at the end of the regular season, they faced some adversity, losing 12 out of their last 15 games. They stepped it up in the playoffs, beating the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card round. They went to game five with the Mariners in the ALDS. So they definitely can go far in the playoffs.”
