2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[SoCalTiger]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

Would you be willing to substantially overpay in prospect capital in trades, and in years for free agents? There's no right answer here, just asking what your tolerance level is.

Can we agree that it would take a substantial overpay to get certain players to come to Detroit, versus what the Yankees and Mets and Dodgers and Giants and Red Sox and Cubs could sign the same player for?

Overpaying sets a bad precedent so I doubt a new GM like Harris would do that. 
 

As for the Big 5 spenders we can’t compete with their budgets so we have to choose players they are not bidding on or make trades. Just a mid market reality. 

[Tigermojo]

If they want to spend,  I would spend on Skubal first. If he doesn't take it, maybe split it between two free agent starters.

[Tiger337]

4 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

Personally I am not interested in any of the Japanese players this year. Imani is too small 

And short people got no reason to live.  

[chasfh]

6 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Overpaying for free agents might be OK depending on who it is.  Players seem to want to stay once they get to Detroit, so things may be changing as the team improves.  There is no reason why they should have to overpay in a trade.  I believe teams trading prospects win trades more often than not.  I am not really interested in seeing them trade top prospects, but as always it depends on the return.     

We shouldn’t have to overpay in trade, yet that’s what the prior two regimes routinely did, the Miggy pickup notwithstanding.

As for overpaying free agents, I agree with you that it depends who it is, but it also depends on how much more it is. For Detroit to win against any of the Big Six teams, or against Philly or Toronto or Atlanta as well, I think they would have to add at least a year plus higher AAV than those teams would, and who knows, maybe even that’s not enough—at least not until we get Skubal signed. I think the possibility of losing him after next year is what will keep the Bregmans and Bichettes away from Detroit. I can’t see how anyone would want to commit to a team that has a recent history of trading their top pitcher and tearing it all down.

People here like to say how it’s all about the Benjamins, as if the winning is secondary. It’s not. By the time a guy becomes a top free agent, he already has more money than he’ll ever actually need. At that point it’s about the rings. Cash doesn’t wipe away the tears from losing. You can ask Mike Trout or Albert Pujols about that.

Edited Friday at 03:30 AM by chasfh

[Tiger337]

1 minute ago, chasfh said:

People here like to say how it’s all about the Benjamins, as if the winning is secondary. It’s not. By the time a guy becomes a top free agent, he already has more money than he’ll ever actually need. At that point it’s about the rings. Cash doesn’t wipe away the tears from losing. You can ask Mike Trout or Albert Pujols about that.

If they want a chance at rings over the next 5-7 years, then Detroit should be a good destination for them.  If not, then Harris isn't what we hope he is.  

[gehringer_2]

12 minutes ago, chasfh said:

People here like to say how it’s all about the Benjamins, as if the winning is secondary. It’s not. By the time a guy becomes a top free agent, he already has more money than he’ll ever actually need. At that point it’s about the rings. Cash doesn’t wipe away the tears from losing. You can ask Mike Trout or Albert Pujols about that.

This is one side of the coin, but the other, which is also in play, is that these guys are intensely competitive and they see the size of the contract they pull down standing as a big marker among their peers. For some guys it's going to be the one, for others the other

Edited Friday at 03:22 AM by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

13 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

If they want a chance at rings over the next 5-7 years, then Detroit should be a good destination for them.  If not, then Harris isn't what we hope he is.  

Not so much if Skubal skedaddles. I don’t think anyone signs here long-term as long as there’s a chance he’s leaving, and it appears vast majority of people assume he’s leaving.

[chasfh]

13 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

This is one side of the coin, but the other, which is also in play, is that these guys are intensely competitive and they see the size of the contract they pull down standing as a big marker among their peers. For some guys it's going to be the one, for others the other

That’s fair. I can grant that a handful of top talents would rather have the money than anything else, and that’s where their strongest competitive drives lie. But from our standpoint, just look at the money Artie Moreno has had to throw at guys to get them to come to Anaheim. That’s the position the Tigers are in, and we don’t have the advantage of year-round summer and Disneyland in our backyard.

Edited Friday at 03:34 AM by chasfh

[Tiger337]

2 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Not so much if Skubal skedaddles. I don’t think anyone signs here long-term as long as there’s a chance he’s leaving, and it appears vast majority of people assume he’s leaving.

Skubal is one of the main reasons I have wanted the Tigers to be more aggressive the last two years.   If every good player is going to leave or be traded, then they will be like Tampa which is not very exciting, although better than being like Pittsburgh.  If they were somehow able to sign Skubal this winter, I'd be more patient.  

[Tiger337]

1 minute ago, chasfh said:

That’s fair. I can grant that a handful of top talents would rather have the money than anything else, and that’s where their strongest competitive drives lie. But from our standpoint, just look at the money Artie Moreno has had to throw at guys to get them to come to Anaheim. That’s the position the Tigers are in, and we don’t have the advantage of year-round summer and Disneyland in our backyard.

They do have advantage of Skubal and two consecutive playoff appearances which the Angels certainly do not have.  

[chasfh]

Just now, Tiger337 said:

They do have advantage of Skubal and two consecutive playoff appearances which the Angels certainly do not have.  

We don’t have the advantage of Skubal such that a guy would sign here for seven or eight years just to play one year with him, and then six or seven of who knows what. 

[Tiger337]

Just now, chasfh said:

We don’t have the advantage of Skubal such that a guy would sign here for seven or eight years just to play one year with him, and then six or seven of who knows what. 

Then nobody will ever want to sign here or want to stay here, so they need to win now with Skubal!

[gehringer_2]

5 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

They do have advantage of Skubal and two consecutive playoff appearances which the Angels certainly do not have.  

For a Skubal deal to happen I think they need something sort of 'from the outside' to break their way - there has been speculation that the owners think they are going to be get a better deal in the new CBA (they are probably wrong but that's beside the point) and that will hold big offers down and maybe that gives Detroit a path to a deal with Skubal. I think it will have to be some non-status quo situation like that for the door to open.

Edited Friday at 03:42 AM by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

14 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Then nobody will ever want to sign here or want to stay here, so they need to win now with Skubal!

You’re being funny, but there’s an element of serious truth in this.

I’ve been coming around to the idea that the Tigers are in a bit of a quandary when it comes to top free agents. We have a team of cheap players outside of Javy, a 1- to 2-win player (if we’re lucky) who’s gone in two years; and an all-world generational pitcher who’s presumed to be gone in a year. Who’s gonna want to sign up for the last six or eight or so years of his career to leap into that situation? That’s why I think the best move for the Tigers would be to sign Skubal to a long-term deal this winter to signal to the market that we are definitely committed to winning for years. That’ll get some positive attention.

Problem is, the chances of Skubal extending before next winter is practically zero, for reasons well-known to everyone here. So now that puts us in the position of either waiting until next winter to positively outbid everyone for him and then sign a few key players around him; or way way way overpaying someone like a Bregman with something like 8/300 to get him to spurn all others to come here this year. And once he signs with us, we definitely have to put some proven talents around him. We can’t overpay him, watch Skubal walk, and then have no one but internal guys to support Bregman. That’s exactly what he doesn’t want. He’s not signing up for that possibility. 

I don’t know what the right answer is, exactly, but I don’t envy where Scott Harris is at this exact moment.

Edited Friday at 03:55 AM by chasfh

[Tiger337]

5 minutes ago, chasfh said:

You’re being funny, but there’s an element of serious truth in this.

 

Half funny and half serious for the reasons you mentioned.  

[SoCalTiger]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

And short people got no reason to live.  

Well that's a broad extrapolation 🤔

[Tenacious D]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

We don’t have the advantage of Skubal such that a guy would sign here for seven or eight years just to play one year with him, and then six or seven of who knows what. 

You know this is ridiculous, right?  That an agent would steer a player away from an up and coming team because Skubal chose to play elsewhere?  How did we ever sign a free agent prior to drafting Tarik?  

[alex]

8 hours ago, chasfh said:

...Problem is, the chances of Skubal extending before next winter is practically zero, for reasons well-known to everyone here. So now that puts us in the position of either waiting until next winter to positively outbid everyone for him and then sign a few key players around him; or way way way overpaying someone like a Bregman with something like 8/300 to get him to spurn all others to come here this year. And once he signs with us, we definitely have to put some proven talents around him. We can’t overpay him, watch Skubal walk, and then have no one but internal guys to support Bregman. That’s exactly what he doesn’t want. He’s not signing up for that possibility. 

I don’t know what the right answer is, exactly, but I don’t envy where Scott Harris is at this exact moment.

I can see 'some' of this for sure. However, I think each situation is different with each player. One good example is the Tigers signing of 'Pudge' Rodriguez in 2004. At that time Pudge just won the WS with Florida (2003). Nobody was offering him a long term deal (age, injury potential of his back, etc.) and he was seeking a longer term deal at 'that' point of his career.

As I said before, I do think Bregman would actually come here. He himself said, while wearing a Boston uniform, in an interview at the beginning of last season that 'They (he and family) thought they may be going to Detroit'. We offered what he wanted, but did not give him an 'opt' out after one year.

I still feel at best it is a 40% chance we sign Bregman. Yet the difference is 'he might actually come here.' However, it would not take the 8/300 you mentioned or even near that (maybe you exaggerated?). Offer him something like 5/160. With higher AAV earlier in the deal and an 'opt' out after each of the first two years. Make the first two years high at 40 mil and same 2nd year (then would owe 80 at 3 remaining years).

Then he gets what he left on the table in Boston. He gets higher AAV the first two years. He can also get the security of longer term that he was 'said' to sought last year. If he does not wish to play in Detroit potentially without Skubal he can opt out (again, try to sign Skubal). 

As with last year, I do not think anyone is going to offer him more than 3 or 4 years (after all he is a year older and coming off another injury). With said he has to see that Detroit has a decent pipeline of younger players.

He still may be the best fit for Detroit. A good veteran mentor and leader. RH contact bat for the middle of the order. Can play 3B well (later even 2B if needed). It could still work. Everyone has to see this. I say Bregman again with regards to FAs, because as said earlier I feel he really just might choose here IF the offer is enticing, which is unlike most other top FAs.

With said, I would still go after P and make a run at Bichette (and maybe even Kim for INF help. Decent RH bat, speed, good glove).

[chasfh]

8 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

You know this is ridiculous, right?  That an agent would steer a player away from an up and coming team because Skubal chose to play elsewhere?  How did we ever sign a free agent prior to drafting Tarik?  

Would we be considered such an up and coming team after letting Skubal go? I would bet other guys playing in the league would conclude we would not be. They also probably remember how this team purposely tanked just a few years ago. And I could also see where a player, a human being with opinions who has agency outside of his agent’s whims, would be willing to steer himself clear of a team that refused to commit to Skubal.

[Tigermojo]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6862833/2025/12/05/tigers-storylines-to-watch-winter-meetings/

[Tiger337]

9 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

Well that's a broad extrapolation 🤔

It was a joke.  There was a song back in the 70s.  

[gehringer_2]

16 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

It was a joke.  There was a song back in the 70s.  

Yeah - but do those asians Love LA?

[1984Echoes]

12 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Yeah - but do those asians Love LA?

You know...

There ARE roster limits in MLB...

Even in L.A.

[Shinzaki]

9 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

Well that's a broad extrapolation 🤔

I've always been partial to short broads

[Tiger337]

4 minutes ago, Shinzaki said:

I've always been partial to short broads

So, maybe I was the one who missed the joke?