Tigers fans may want to steer clear of this particular offseason rabbit hole.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel polled insiders and came away with the Tigers listed with the Dodgers and Mets as “true contenders” for Tarik Skubal, a label that sounds dramatic enough to get Detroit talking - and skeptical enough to keep the fan base from getting too comfortable with it.
That skepticism makes sense. Tigers supporters already knew Skubal’s July 29 start against the Orioles was going to be his last appearance in the Old English D.
They didn’t know where he’d end up or what Detroit might get back, but they did know the curtain had come down. Comerica Park gave him a cheer and a curtain call as a thank-you and goodbye.
The chances of the Tigers bringing him back in free agency have always looked remote. Detroit has money coming off the books once the offseason begins, but the expectation is that the club would rather keep that flexibility intact. If anything, the Tigers may want that room to work out extensions with other players instead of diving into the kind of contract Skubal is likely to command.
Before ESPN’s report, the realistic landing spots seemed obvious. The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees were the three teams that fit the bill for a bidding war of that size, with maybe a couple of dark-horse possibilities mixed in. But the kind of spending required to land Skubal has usually been reserved for that tier of market.
Detroit’s inclusion in McDaniel’s group doesn’t change the bigger picture much. The Tigers and Skubal have already gone through plenty of tension on the contract front, and even a competitive offer probably wouldn’t have made much difference with Skubal and agent Scott Boras. The arbitration situation only added to the frustration, with the Tigers paying him $32 million because they had to.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, look like the early favorites for the obvious reasons. They have the money, and Skubal has already made clear how much he liked Los Angeles - and maybe new teammate Blake Snell - as soon as he was traded.
As for Detroit, the rotation is essentially in place, and Scott Harris’ preference against long-term, expensive deals won’t suddenly disappear because of nostalgia. Skubal used to be the kind of player Harris wouldn’t chase with big free-agent money. Now he’s on the other side of that equation.
So until something real happens, every Tigers-Skubal update should be handled carefully. Around here, nobody’s believing it until the contract is actually signed.
In Other News...
Tigers Offseason Hopes Just Ran Into A Tough New Reality
The Tigers entered the offseason with the kind of flexibility most teams would envy, and Scott Harris did little to disguise how he plans to use it. In a press conference, the Detroit president of baseball operations made clear the club is likely to steer away from major free-agent deals that come with long terms and hefty average annual values, a practical note that narrows the field even before the market really takes shape. It also puts a different lens on the names fans immediately start circling when a team has money to spend.
Seiya Suzuki, Adrian Morejon and Randy Arozarena all surfaced in the conversation, but each comes with some version of the same problem for Detroit: age, fit or roster need makes the match feel less likely by the time 2027 rolls around. The Tigers still figure to be active, especially with several big contracts coming off the books, but the front office seems intent on keeping the next wave of spending aligned with its longer-term plan rather than chasing the loudest names available. [Read more 🡒]
Kerry Carpenter Enters A Make Or Break Tigers Offseason
Kerry Carpenter has already shown enough pop since breaking in with the Tigers to make himself a real part of the lineup conversation, but this past season complicated things. Injuries played a role in what became his worst statistical year yet, and that matters for a player whose value has always been tied to how well the bat carries him. For Detroit, the question is no longer whether Carpenter can do damage when he is right, but how dependable he can be over the course of a season.
That uncertainty lands at a time when the Tigers have other young names pushing into the picture, including Eduardo Valencia, Zach McKinstry and Ben Malgeri. Carpenters offseason, then, feels like more than a routine reset. It is a chance to get healthy, sharpen his game and make sure he is still viewed as part of the plan heading toward 2027, with the roster around him starting to give the club more options than it once had. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Suddenly Have A Kevin McGonigle Decision That Could Shape The Infield
Kevin McGonigle gave the Tigers exactly the kind of rookie season that can change a teams thinking overnight. Playing mostly at shortstop and third base, he held his own on defense while also providing the kind of offense that makes a young infielder hard to take out of the lineup, and his overall profile only added to the sense that Detroit has some real options here.
McGonigle is viewed as an average defender at both spots, with room to improve, which leaves the Tigers with some flexibility as they map out his future role. The larger question now is how they balance his best position against the shape of the rest of the infield, especially with McGonigle already looking like a leading candidate for the 2026 AL Rookie of the Year award. [Read more 🡒]