The Tigers have a fairly clean answer at second base. The tougher part is everything that comes after that.
With Gleyber Torres on an expiring contract, Detroit has a believable internal path to replace him without going shopping for a pricey veteran. Hao-Yu Lee is the name that makes that possible.
His rookie season produced a .264/.322/.424 slash line and 10 home runs in 114 games, while Torres is sitting at .260/.364/.363 in 96 games in 2026. Lee brings the better slugging punch; Torres has been the stronger on-base presence.
That’s the tradeoff Detroit has to weigh.
The case for Lee is straightforward: give him the job and let him run with it. He’s already got major league experience, and regular reps at second base would help Detroit figure out whether he’s part of the next competitive group.
Colt Keith and Jace Jung are also in the mix, but their situations ripple through the rest of the lineup. Lee is the cleanest fit for the opening right now.
That’s why a trade for another everyday second baseman feels hard to justify. If the Tigers need extra coverage, a free-agent infielder makes more sense as a bench piece and a defensive utility option.
Replacing Torres’ production is still about more than one player, though. His on-base ability has to be absorbed somewhere across the lineup, not necessarily replicated by one person.
The rotation is where the real offseason pressure starts.
Justin Verlander’s retirement opens another spot, and Detroit has to sort through Jack Flaherty, Tyler Kinley and Burch Smith, all of whom have expiring contracts. Drew Anderson and Kenley Jansen each have club options for 2027, which adds another layer to the decision-making.
Anderson’s $10 million club option looks like the easiest call. His 2.61 ERA in 11 starts gives the Tigers a solid reason to bring him back, and keeping him would reduce the number of innings they need to find elsewhere.
Even with Anderson, Detroit can’t count on the internal depth chart to solve everything. Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero, River Ryan and Troy Melton are all in the picture, with Reese Olson another possibility.
But health complicates the plan. Olson had shoulder surgery, and Melton has dealt with arm fatigue, which makes it risky to build a rotation assuming everyone is ready.
That’s why the Tigers still need outside help.
Cleveland Guardians left-hander Foster Griffin fits as a free-agent option. He posted a 3.60 ERA over 172.2 innings in 2026, and his contract is expiring.
That kind of workload gives Detroit some insurance against injuries and inconsistency among its younger arms. Still, his season wasn’t spotless.
His Cleveland numbers included a 5.19 ERA in nine appearances, so the Tigers would need to dig into that late-season stretch before making a real commitment.
There’s also a trade lane, though it comes with a heavier price tag. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller has about $18.4 million and $20.4 million left on his contract for 2027 and 2028, and he finished 2026 with a 5.29 ERA.
That makes him more of a rebound bet than a sure thing, and any deal would depend on both the asking price and Pittsburgh’s willingness to move him. Detroit should be looking to buy rotation stability, not empty out the farm for uncertainty.
The bullpen could also turn over in a meaningful way. If Kinley and Smith leave, Ty Madden, Beau Brieske and Drew Sommers could compete for openings. If Detroit passes on Jansen’s option, Kyle Finnegan’s existing 2027 contract gives the Tigers another experienced late-inning possibility, health permitting.
For Detroit, the best path is the one that keeps Lee at second, brings Anderson back, adds another starter from outside the organization, and lets the bullpen spots sort themselves out in competition. The cheaper the second-base solution, the more money and attention the Tigers can pour into the pitching they clearly need.
In Other News...
Tigers Offseason Reset Starts With A Staff Shakeup Fans Will Notice
After a 2026 season that left the Tigers 10 games under .500 and fourth in the AL Central, the first signs of the offseason reset are already showing up on the staff side. Detroit moved on from assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves and first base coach Anthony Sanders as its initial changes of the winter, even though the club has not formally announced the decisions.
It is the kind of early housekeeping that usually signals more than just a pair of departures. The Tigers spent part of the season reshaping the roster by trading Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers at the deadline and also dealing Casey Mize, so the next phase now looks aimed at the dugout and the coaching room as much as the clubhouse. With Skubal's future in Detroit already a topic of speculation, the organization appears to be entering a winter where familiar names may not be done with the franchise, even if the staff around them keeps changing. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face One Pitching Decision That Could Reshape Their 2027 Staff
The Tigers already have one eye on how their pitching picture could look beyond the next season, and two club options after 2026 will force an early look at what they value most. Drew Anderson, who settled in as a starter after the trade deadline and gave the staff a real boost, carries a $10 million option for 2027, while Kenley Jansens $12 million option sits on the other end of the spectrum as the club weighs a veteran closer with declining production.
Anderson is the easier decision to map out, because his late-season work gave Detroit a legitimate reason to think of him as part of the future rotation. Jansen presents the more complicated call, even if the direction seems obvious on paper: the Tigers are likely to favor continuity where it has helped and move on where age and performance are working against the return. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Face A Tough Roster Call As Young Talent Pushes Through
The Tigers are in that familiar offseason spot where upside and practicality are colliding, with the front office sorting through a roster that still needs help in the bullpen and among the position players as it looks ahead to 2027. At the same time, several arbitration-eligible pieces are under the microscope, including Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry and Wenceel Prez, as Detroit weighs performance against roster space in what shapes up as a tricky set of decisions.
Elsewhere in the system, the organization has begun lining up the next wave of options, with Brett Callahan, Ben Malgeri, Max Anderson and John Peck all mentioned as possible future contributors. For a club trying to build a deeper, more flexible roster, the question is no longer just which veterans to keep in place, but how much room to preserve for younger players forcing their way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]