2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[RatkoVarda]

this offseason has literally gone just as many on this board predicted: Flaherty back (maybe in a surprising way), Torres and Finnegan back, and then a few million pissed away again on a rehab starting pitcher project.

 

Harris is just trolling us with his GM 101 box checking.

[TJ Rollercoaster]

3 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

3/45 for Saurez is painfully reasonable in both years and dollars

Definitely seems reasonable for years and dollars - warning sign might be that Suarez will turn 35 in March

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

this offseason has literally gone just as many on this board predicted: Flaherty back (maybe in a surprising way), Torres and Finnegan back, and then a few million pissed away again on a rehab starting pitcher project.

 

Harris is just trolling us with his GM 101 box checking.

Still need to sign an injured pitcher.  

[chasfh]

3 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

3/45 for Saurez is painfully reasonable in both years and dollars

Eastern team, superstar hitters in the clubhouse, recent ring.

[chasfh]

4 hours ago, KL2 said:

Yes the stats say it is.

Look, rebuilding for a couple years is one thing, but I could not possibly disagree more with the idea that tanking a team and losing 100-ish games each season for years on end in order to get a shot at a fifth overall pick is the way to become a winner eventually. There are numerous franchises that are winning right now that have never had to do that, and in fact, that is not how we ourselves have gone to the playoffs in the past couple of years.

We'll have to just leave it there and just disagree on it.

[Longgone]

On 12/10/2025 at 3:26 PM, RatkoVarda said:

Petit could just be the designated punching bag for all those Coors Field blowouts: "It's 12-3, that means it's Petit time!"

Le petit mort

[Tenacious D]

I wonder if Torres has any trade value?  Reasonable contract. 

[IdahoBert]

So far it looks like the team is going to pretty much be what it was last year, maybe with the addition of one of the kids or two, I don’t know. 

[Arlington]

							I was messing  around with ChatGPT trying to compile an acquisition breakdown for each of the 12 2025 playoff teams and I noticed the supporting links Chat provided all point to this https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-all-12-mlb-playoff-team-rosters-were-built-for-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com .   A lot of interesting stuff in there.  For example, the Brewers had only 4 draftees and 2 international signings on the team.   14 players were obtained via trade.  The Mariners, also built through trades,  has a similar but somewhat less extreme composition.   Cleveland was by far the best at homegrown talent.  Cleveland has 18 players who originally signed with them still on their roster—no other team has more than 13.  In addition, 27 players from all playoff teams had started with the Guardians.   The Tigers and the Reds were recognized as draft built teams with 9 drafted players each.   Both the Tigers and the Reds have had a lot of high draft picks from 2017 - 2022.   As the Tigers make the playoffs, they will no longer have high picks.  The question would be whether they will be like the Guardians or Milwaukee.  The Guardians have been making the playoffs more often than not since at least 2017.  They have managed to bring in a lot of players despite low picks in the draft.  They are exceptionally skilled at drafting and garnering international players.  Since 2018 Milwaukee has been a playoff team 7 times.  Not many early round picks.  They have replenished their team through trades.

[IdahoBert]

Per Jason Beck: “…they were in a happy place for at least holding on to some key pieces.” The French felt good about the Maginot Line too…

I know not everything has to be done right now. I was, though, hoping for more than just socks for Christmas. 

[Tiger337]

20 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

Per Jason Beck: “…they were in a happy place for at least holding on to some key pieces.” The French felt good about the Maginot Line too…

I know not everything has to be done right now. I was, though, hoping for more than just socks for Christmas. 

We didn't even get socks.  They took away our tramsistor radio as a punishment and then gave it back as a gift for Christmas.  

[Tiger337]

The Tigers are all set.  They just got their injured pitcher:

 

Quote

 

Tigers signed RHP Cole Waites to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Waites represents a low-risk dart throw for Detroit’s relief mix after spending most of the past two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. The hard-throwing 27-year-old made a handful of rehab appearances last season in San Francisco’s system and should be ready to compete for a spot in the Tigers’ bullpen in spring training.

 

 

[IdahoBert]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

The Tigers are all set.  They just got their injured pitcher:

 

 

JFC. It’s almost as if a troll is writing the script for this off-season.

[Tigermojo]

I wonder if Imai and Murakami are throwing a wrench in the works. Will they wait until the last minute to sign to maximize their contracts?

[RatkoVarda]

37 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

I wonder if Imai and Murakami are throwing a wrench in the works. Will they wait until the last minute to sign to maximize their contracts?

i don't either one are guys that shape the market very much; but they do have a deadline unlike MLB FAs so we shall see

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

The Tigers are all set.  They just got their injured pitcher:

Cole Waites

 

Was a nasty guy in the minors at 14 K's/9 but never mastered the strike zone (6 BB's/9 and a 1.34 WHIP...) and was worse than that as he broke into MLB.

Worth a lottery ticket I guess. If he's over his TJ by now... let's see if he can find the strike zone.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, Tigermojo said:

I wonder if Imai and Murakami are throwing a wrench in the works. Will they wait until the last minute to sign to maximize their contracts?

I would really like to establish a "Japanese Midwest" connection for the Tigers.

Where they could actually be considered a possible destination. I don't like getting shut out of this pipeline.

We have a selling point in that Michigan has far superior weather than the west coast.

.

.

.

.

No earthquakes.

And a winter wonderland (Offer FREE Snowmobile rides!!!)

[Tiger337]

20 hours ago, chasfh said:

Look, rebuilding for a couple years is one thing, but I could not possibly disagree more with the idea that tanking a team and losing 100-ish games each season for years on end in order to get a shot at a fifth overall pick is the way to become a winner eventually. There are numerous franchises that are winning right now that have never had to do that, and in fact, that is not how we ourselves have gone to the playoffs in the past couple of years.

We'll have to just leave it there and just disagree on it.

Chas, last time this argument came up, you provided a chart that showed that attendance or television viewership went up with more victories. Do you still have that? KL seems to be suggesting that you either have a championship caliber team or not and nothing below that will affect fan interest.  I don't believe that is true.  

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

Chas, last time this argument came up, you provided a chart that showed that attendance or television viewership went up with more victories. Do you still have that? KL seems to be suggesting that you either have a championship caliber team or not and nothing below that will affect fan interest.  I don't believe that is true.  

It my mind, attendance in 2025 did not come. close to the kind of level you might have expected in what is supposedly a great baseball town with a team that had the best record in baseball for something like half the season. 

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

Chas, last time this argument came up, you provided a chart that showed that attendance or television viewership went up with more victories. Do you still have that? KL seems to be suggesting that you either have a championship caliber team or not and nothing below that will affect fan interest.  I don't believe that is true.  

I don't exactly remember what that was you're referring to, sorry.

[Tiger337]

4 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

Was a nasty guy in the minors at 14 K's/9 but never mastered the strike zone (6 BB's/9 and a 1.34 WHIP...) and was worse than that as he broke into MLB.

Worth a lottery ticket I guess. If he's over his TJ by now... let's see if he can find the strike zone.

These kinds of "free" players are always worth a shot.  I'm mostly just joking about the injured pitcher thing.  

[Tigermojo]

Chase Lee traded to Jays for a minor leaguer.

Please try to contain your excitement. 

Makes room for Finnegan.

Edited 15 hours ago by Tigermojo

[SoCalTiger]

So why not cut Lee and protect Petit ?

[Tiger337]

13 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

So why not cut Lee and protect Petit ?

Because then they wouldn't get the minor leaguer from the Blue Jays who is going to be a star.  

[Tigermojo]

Lefty Johan Simon coming from Toronto.