The Detroit Tigers’ rotation has turned into the kind of problem that won’t stay quiet. Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize are gone, Framber Valdez is trying to reset after the worst season of his career, and the rest of the group never quite settled in behind them.
Detroit used 16 different starters in 2026, and the losses up top left a real crater. Skubal and Mize still combined for 5.9 fWAR, which accounted for 43% of the team’s 13.7 fWAR from starters.
They also piled up 17 quality starts, a little more than 30% of Detroit’s 46. Once they were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, respectively, the rotation’s margin for error disappeared.
There were a few bright spots, but not enough to solve the whole picture. Troy Melton was the clearest revelation, while Keider Montero had to fight his way through a rough opening and ended up finishing in the rotation after initially preparing to be a bullpen piece.
Over his last 10 outings, Montero posted a 4.88 FIP. Jack Flaherty finished on the injured list, and Jackson Jobe again came up short of expectations.
That leaves the Tigers staring at the same question heading into 2027: do they trust an internal plan, or do they go get help?
They can hope for more from younger arms, and there’s still optimism around Andrew Sears and River Ryan. Melton has at least shown he can be part of the answer, and Jobe’s final outings were better. But Detroit also has to figure out Montero’s best role and decide whether Flaherty can still help before he reaches free agency at the end of this season.
The issue is bigger than just one or two names. In 2026, the Tigers were forced to use an opener in nearly 10% of their games. That kind of usage points to a staff that was constantly patching holes instead of building any rhythm.
If Detroit wants a more stable route, free agency could make sense. One name that stands out is Dustin May, the right-hander now with the Milwaukee Brewers.
May checks a lot of boxes for a team that needs innings and durability. He’s set to be a free agent at season’s end, and he just turned in the best fWAR of his career at 2.8, along with a career-best xFIP of 3.96.
He also reached a personal high with 145⅔ innings. On top of that, his home run rate dropped sharply from 1.43 to 0.86.
The stuff is still there, too. May is throwing his fastball at an average of 96.9 mph this year, which is a strong bounce-back from the velocity dip that had raised concerns after Tommy John surgery in 2021 and a second procedure on his right elbow in 2023. His fastball averaged 97.6 mph in 2023, then fell to 95.5 mph in 2025 before climbing back up.
There’s also a practical fit here. May has already pitched in meaningful environments with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he joined the Brewers on August 3 at this year’s trade deadline. For a Tigers club that has struggled to get reliable innings from its starters - and to keep them on the mound all season - he looks like a reasonable, intriguing gamble.
In Other News...
Tigers Fans Have One Big Reason To Watch Cleveland This Winter
With Clevelands season ending in the ALCS, one name immediately surfaced as a possible winter domino: Steven Kwan. MLB insider Robert Murray floated the idea that the Guardians could explore moving the left fielder, a development that would naturally catch the Tigers attention after seeing how much Kwan helped tilt the postseason picture in Clevelands favor against them.
For Detroit, the intrigue is obvious. Kwan has been a problem in October and a steady presence for the Guardians, even if his career numbers against the Tigers are lower than his overall track record suggests. Nothing has been confirmed, and Kwan recently sounded upbeat about Clevelands direction, but his name alone gives Tigers fans a reason to keep one eye on the Guardians offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Fans May Need To Start Watching A Different Prospect Tier
If the Tigers are going to keep building toward the next wave of help, the attention may need to drift beyond the headliners and toward a younger layer of the system that is starting to look more intriguing by the month. Brett Callahan, Andrew Sears, Max Anderson, Thayron Liranzo and Izaac Pacheco all fit that under-the-radar tier, the kind of prospects who can slip past the louder buzz but still matter when a club starts mapping out its future.
The common thread is less about immediate pressure and more about possibility, with each player carrying a different path and a different reason to keep watching. Detroit has plenty of established names drawing the bulk of the conversation, but clubs often find real value when a lesser-known group starts pushing its way into the picture, and this one could be worth tracking closely as the 2027 horizon gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Former Tigers Catching Prospect Is Fueling A Painful Rays Debate
The Tigers have already watched one former prospect swing a big bat for Tampa Bay in October, and another has quietly become part of the Rays postseason mix. Ryan Vilade supplied a go-ahead home run in the ALDS, while Liam Hicks has chipped in on both sides of the ball as Tampa Bay keeps moving through the bracket. For Detroit, it is the sort of familiar reminder that player development does not always end with the organization that first identified the talent.
Hicks path has been especially notable for Tigers fans to revisit. Detroit acquired him in a trade, then lost him in the Rule 5 draft before he eventually landed with the Rays and worked his way into a meaningful role in their playoff run. Even without a headline-grabbing bat every night, his steady presence has made him one of the more interesting ex-Tigers in this October story, and it leaves a little more room for debate over what might have been. [Read more 🡒]