The Tigers’ latest makeover isn’t happening on the field. It’s happening in the training room.
After a season defined by injuries, Detroit has moved to overhaul its medical operation with the hires of Scott Peters and Jeremiah Randall, a shift that goes beyond simply replacing staff. The organization is rebuilding how it handles recovery, conditioning, and day-to-day player health across the roster.
That urgency makes sense given what the Tigers have dealt with. In 2026 alone, 21 unique players landed on the injured list, and 15 of those absences were 60-day IL stints. The club was also hit hard by pitcher injuries in 2025, turning health into one of the most pressing issues facing the team heading into next season and beyond.
Peters arrives as Medical Director after 11 seasons with the Blue Jays, where he served as Director of Health and Performance Science. Detroit brought him in to work with vice-president Jay Sartori on both managing current injuries and trying to prevent future ones.
Randall’s role may be even more significant. As Head Athletic Trainer and Personal Therapist, he reunites with A.J.
Hinch after their time together in Houston in 2019. Randall is known for his work with soft-tissue rehab, including ligaments such as the UCL, hernias like the one that slowed Gleyber Torres, and muscle injuries.
The change is also philosophical. Peters and Randall are expected to be more active in players’ individual regimens than the previous core of Ryne Eubanks and Chris McDonald.
That doesn’t mean the Tigers are saying the old setup failed. It does mean the club believes the next step is tighter coordination between analytics and health.
Sartori will be a key part of that bridge. After helping reshape the Tigers’ scouting process in a previous role, he’ll now work with Peters and Randall on everyday and long-term decisions tied to conditioning and on-field communication with the hitting and pitching staffs. The hope is not necessarily fewer injuries overall, but better recovery and less wear and tear, the kind of strain that showed up with Dillon Dingler late in the season.
Taken together, the hires signal a broader shift in Detroit. The Tigers are moving away from a model built around letting young players grow into their own path and toward one that is more hands-on with the current core, aiming to get established players into the best possible shape regardless of circumstance. That same forward-thinking approach is visible in the additions of Martín Maldonado as quality control coach and Kyle Hudson as first base coach.
Coaching doesn’t always change how a team plays, but the Tigers clearly believe this is the right direction. Harris and Hinch appear to agree that a more progressive staff was the next move for the organization.
In Other News...
Tigers May Have Found A Coach Who Changes Their Outfield Identity
The Tigers have added Kyle Hudson as their first base coach for the 2027 season, bringing in a staffer whose work in Boston drew attention for the way it sharpened the outfield. With the Red Sox, Hudson was credited with helping their outfielders play more aggressively and defend more cleanly, which is exactly the kind of influence Detroit could use as it looks to maximize a group that has plenty of athletic upside.
For the Tigers, this is about more than a coaching shuffle on the basepaths. Hudsons arrival gives the club a chance to reshape how its outfield plays, from decision-making to overall confidence, and that matters for a team trying to turn tools into consistent production. The question now is how much of that Boston effect can carry over to Detroit, and how quickly it might show up once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Enter Free Agency With One Rotation Risk They Can't Ignore
Detroits rotation was one of the reasons the club stayed afloat in 2026, finishing with a 3.55 ERA even after injuries and trades thinned the group. The projected 2027 mix still looks promising on paper, with Framber Valdez joined by Troy Melton, River Ryan, Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson, but the appeal comes with plenty of risk. Several of those arms are either coming off injury issues or still short on big league mileage, which makes the depth chart look a lot less secure than the names suggest.
The Tigers have made it clear they want to keep leaning on player development rather than dive headfirst into free agency, and that approach fits their broader roster-building plan. Even so, the uncertainty in the rotation could push them to at least consider an experienced starter if the market and their finances line up. For a team trying to turn a strong pitching foundation into something more durable, the next move may come down to whether they trust upside enough to leave the group as is. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin McGonigle Just Gave Tigers Fans Even More To Celebrate
Kevin McGonigles breakout season has already given Tigers fans plenty to savor, and now it has brought another layer of reward for the organization. The young infielder was named the 2026 Jackie Robinson American League Rookie of the Year, a recognition that reflected just how quickly he established himself after getting promoted to the major league roster early in the season.
The vote was nearly unanimous, with McGonigle collecting 28 of 30 first-place votes, and the honor carries more than bragging rights for Detroit. Along with the hardware, the Tigers also pick up an extra draft pick and bonus pool money for the 2027 amateur draft, a useful boost for a club that has already seen one of its rising talents turn a strong first impression into a franchise-wide benefit. [Read more 🡒]