Kevin McGonigle’s trophy shelf keeps getting crowded, and the latest piece of hardware comes from his own backyard. The Detroit chapter of the BBWAA named him 2026 Tiger of the Year, making him the first rookie to win the award since Riley Greene in 2022.
McGonigle pulled in 21 of 23 first-place votes, a strong finish to an offseason that has already turned into an awards parade. He’s a Silver Slugger finalist, he’s up for 2026’s All-MLB team, he’s The Sporting News and Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year, and he’s an MLB American League Rookie of the Year finalist. The source even calls him a soon-to-be winner, if the voters do the right thing.
At this point, there’s not much left to say besides waiting to see what comes next. Fangraphs’ Steamer projections already have McGonigle finishing the 2027 season at 5.5 fWAR, a mark topped only by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr., and Junior Caminero. That’s the kind of profile that can put a player in the top three of MVP voting.
Elsewhere, former Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo has landed with the Pirates. Baddoo left for the Brewers in free agency, but he was on the 60-day IL by Opening Day and later optioned to Triple-A after he recovered. He hit well enough in Nashville, but Milwaukee never brought him up to the big league roster.
His time with the Brewers ended Monday when he was squeezed off the 40-man roster and claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh. Tigers fans may not miss him much in Detroit, but they can at least be glad he’s found another home.
Former Tigers infielder Andre Lipcius is also moving on, this time into coaching. A third-round pick in 2019, Lipcius spent from 2020 through 2023 near the bottom third of Detroit’s top-30 prospect rankings before making his major league debut on Sept. 1, 2023 as a pinch-hitter. He followed that up with his first and only big league homer the next day.
That brief run was enough for a respectable cup of coffee, but the Tigers designated him for assignment in February 2024. Lipcius later bounced to the Dodgers and then the White Sox before leaving MLB after the 2025 season to spend time in the Mexican League. Now, at 28, he’s joining the Rockies as a game planning coach, though Colorado has not yet confirmed the hire.
In Other News...
Tigers Free Agency Debate Keeps Coming Back To One Roster Problem
The Tigers keep getting mentioned in the same free-agent conversations, but the roster picture in Detroit keeps steering the discussion back to the same place. With a crowded left side of the infield already packed with prospects and other options, the idea of adding a second baseman looks more like a luxury than a necessity, even with names like Jazz Chisholm and Luis Arraez floating around in speculation.
What Detroit needs more clearly is help in the bullpen, where the fit is easier to see and the spending expectations make more sense. Raisel Iglesias has been pointed to as the kind of arm that matches both the clubs needs and the market, which is why the smarter bet for the Tigers appears to be relief reinforcements rather than a run at another middle infielder. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers May Have Created A Bench Problem They Still Need To Solve
The Tigers roster shuffle around the deadline did more than just change the back end of the bullpen pipeline. By sending Jahmai Jones to Boston on July 14 and officially bringing in pitching prospect Jojo Ingrassia on Aug. 1, Detroit opened a spot that helped pave the way for catcher Eduardo Valencia to come back up, and Valencia has done enough to look like part of the answer. But the move also left the club with a familiar kind of hole to manage, one tied to how it wants to balance its bench on a day-to-day basis.
Jones, meanwhile, has already shown Boston something useful by hitting left-handed pitching better there, which only sharpens the question of what Detroit wants in that right-handed hitting role. Ingrassias early work in High-A has been uneven, so the trade return is still a developing piece rather than an immediate fix. For a Tigers team trying to keep its lineup flexible, the bench now looks like one more area where the front office may still need to solve a problem it created. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face A Familiar Tarik Skubal Question Again
Tarik Skubal is headed toward the kind of free-agent market that can quickly turn into a bidding war, with several clubs expected to line up for his services. The Dodgers, Mets, Angels, Padres and White Sox are all mentioned as potential suitors, while the Tigers remain in the mix as a familiar possibility for the left-hander who has become one of the more prominent names on the board.
For Detroit, the question is less about interest than about price. The club is reportedly not expected to match Skubals asking level, and there is a sense it may be holding out for a discount that never really arrives. At some point, the Tigers may have to decide whether to keep waiting on a reunion that feels increasingly unlikely or redirect those resources toward other needs. [Read more 🡒]