The Tigers’ offseason bullpen work starts with an easy call: keep Jacob Waguespack in the fold.
Thursday brought the full MLBPA list of the 144 players who officially hit free agency after the World Series, and Detroit had six names on it: Jack Flaherty, Tyler Kinley, Burch Smith, Gleyber Torres, Justin Verlander, and Waguespack. Verlander has already retired and begun his broadcasting career, while Flaherty, Kinley, Smith, and Torres are all better suited to move on and open space for younger or newer options.
Waguespack is the one worth circling. The Tigers acquired him on a minor league deal through their trade with the Brewers, then wasted little time getting him to the big leagues after he arrived in Detroit on June 10. He ended up throwing 47 innings with a 2.49 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, and in a bullpen that never really offered much stability, he quickly emerged as one of the few arms the Tigers could trust.
He’s now free to test the market again after signing that one-year minor league deal with Milwaukee ahead of the 2026 season, but Detroit should be working toward a major league contract. This is the kind of pitcher the organization should want to keep: a reclamation project that actually paid off.
The Tigers don’t have a long track record of turning these sorts of bets into real success, even though they keep trying. Pulling Waguespack out of relative obscurity inside the Brewers’ system - after his major league work had also been interrupted by a stint in NPB with the Orix Buffaloes, where he was a former teammate of the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto - reflects well on Scott Harris and pitching coach Chris Fetter.
And Waguespack’s appeal goes beyond the bargain price tag. His unusual extension gives hitters a different look, and while his fastball isn’t overpowering, it still held up well for him this year with a .171 batting average against. His changeup was even sharper, producing a .098 batting average against and accounting for just under half of his strikeouts.
The Tigers found a useful arm, shaped him into something more, and now have a chance to keep the work going. He should be affordable, Detroit gets first dibs on negotiating, and there doesn’t seem to be much mystery here.
In Other News...
Tigers Just Sent An Early Infield Message For 2026
The Tigers added another option to their infield mix by acquiring Tsung-Che Cheng from the Red Sox for cash considerations, a move that gives Detroit a little more coverage at shortstop as the roster picture starts to take shape for 2026. Cheng, a 25-year-old left-handed hitter with some major league experience, fits the kind of low-cost depth piece clubs tend to value when they are trying to protect themselves against injuries and keep the middle infield flexible.
For Detroit, it is the sort of early transaction that rarely grabs headlines but can matter once spring training turns into a numbers game. The deal also gives Boston some breathing room on its 40-man roster, while the Tigers get a player who can factor into the conversation if they need another shortstop option down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face One Rotation Question That Could Define Their Next Step
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The next step may come from outside the organization, with free agent pitcher King emerging as a name worth watching after a strong 2026 season with the Padres. Detroit could use another reliable arm to ease the load in the short term, and how aggressively it pursues that kind of addition may end up telling the story of the winter for a club that knows pitching depth cant be an afterthought. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face A Defining Kenley Jansen Decision This Offseason
The early wave of free-agent decisions around baseball has already started to reshape a busy offseason, with several players choosing to test the market rather than stay put. For the Tigers, the immediate question is more localized: whether to exercise options on Drew Anderson and Kenley Jansen, with Anderson widely expected to remain in place while Jansens status is far less settled.
What makes the Jansen call especially important is how much it could affect the rest of Detroits winter. If the Tigers bring him back, it changes the way they can map out the bullpen and could influence how aggressively they pursue relief help elsewhere. If they go another direction, the front office will have a different kind of work to do, and the ripple effect could shape the clubs offseason approach from there. [Read more 🡒]