National insiders are already sketching out the Tigers’ offseason, and the list is long enough to make it look like Detroit could chase just about anybody.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com rattled off a batch of possible free-agent fits for Scott Harris and the front office, including Brandon Lowe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Luis Arraez for second base; Seiya Suzuki and Randy Arozarena for the outfield; Sonny Gray, Michael King, Nick Martinez and Clay Holmes for the rotation; and David Bednar and Pete Fairbanks for the bullpen.
That kind of list doesn’t really tell us much beyond the obvious. The Tigers have needs, and free agency has players. The real question is which of those names actually make sense when you factor in how Detroit has spent and what the roster might look like next season.
The strongest case can be made in the bullpen, where the Tigers’ issues have been the clearest all year. Bednar and Fairbanks belong on the radar, and so do Raisel Iglesias and Adrian Morejon.
If Detroit is going to open the checkbook anywhere, that’s the area. Kenley Jansen is leaving in free agency, but that shouldn’t be treated like the end of the bullpen shopping.
Two relievers should be the minimum.
The rotation is a little murkier, and maybe not as urgent as it looks from the outside. Framber Valdez, Troy Melton, Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero and Reese Olson could give the Tigers a workable group for 2027, as long as Olson is healthy to open that season. If he isn’t, Drew Anderson has been pushing his way into the conversation as a big-league starter.
The offense is where the idea of a major splash starts to feel far less likely. Tigers fans have been around this block before, and they know better than to expect the front office to suddenly spend big on a bat. Gleyber Torres is on the way out, but there are already enough infield possibilities on the roster and in the pipeline to keep that area from becoming a priority.
The outfield is the one spot where a real upgrade could make sense. Suzuki and Arozarena are both appealing names, though the safer bet is that Harris would look for a cheaper repair job rather than a headline-grabbing fix.
So for now, the likeliest answer is more of the same, with just enough room for a surprise to keep things interesting. Harris did acknowledge mistakes after trading Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the deadline, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to throw out his usual approach overnight.
In Other News...
River Ryan Just Gave Tigers Fans A New 2027 Rotation Debate
River Ryans latest step back onto the mound offered a reminder of why so many around the Tigers are keeping an eye on his recovery. In a rehab start for the Mud Hens, he worked two scoreless innings, struck out two and allowed two hits, while his fastball sat in the upper 90s and touched 98.2 MPH. For a club always thinking ahead on pitching depth, that is the kind of update that naturally gets attention.
Detroit still views Ryan as a candidate to return to the major league rotation, with 2027 the broad target in mind, even if the exact role is far from settled. The bigger question is how he fits into a rotation that is still taking shape, and whether this rehab path is the beginning of a straightforward climb back or just the first clue in a longer roster puzzle. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Fans Just Got An Early Look At A Crucial Pitching Piece
River Ryans first start for Triple-A Toledo on Sept. 9 gave Tigers fans an early glimpse of one of the more intriguing pieces to come back in the Tarik Skubal trade. The right-hander worked two scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out the first two batters he faced, a tidy introduction for a pitcher Detroit views as a significant arm for the future.
Ryan arrives with plenty of promise and plenty of baggage, too, given his injury history and past surgery. Even so, he is now the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Tigers system, which makes every outing at Toledo worth watching closely as Detroit evaluates what it has in a trade return that could matter for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Suddenly Have A Rotation Balancing Act Before October
Keider Monteros next turn in the Tigers rotation has become part of a larger late-season balancing act, with the club preparing for the possibility that he will soon step away on paternity leave. His fiance is pregnant and currently in Venezuela without a visa, and Detroit has already started to think through how it will cover his innings while trying to keep the rest of the staff in rhythm.
AJ Hinch has been open about the need to manage workloads carefully as October approaches, and Monteros situation adds another layer to that planning. The Tigers are weighing rotation tweaks and health concerns at the same time, looking to keep pitchers fresh and conditioned without overextending anyone in the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]