2025-2026 Tigers Off Season Thread

[chasfh]

23 hours ago, Edman85 said:

I mean this in the nicest way possible.

People who criticize minor league free agent signings are tacitly admitting their limits of baseball roster management knowledge.

You are correct. It is also correct that you habituate a forum loaded with participants who grew up during the greatest period of year-to-year roster retention in big league history, and it can be hard to think beyond the principles of the game you committed to memory when you were eleven. 

[chasfh]

22 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

I think a lot of time when people mock minor league or waiver acquisitions, they are just being humorous and not being critical.  

I think this is sometimes true and not always true. 

[Tiger337]

7 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I think this is sometimes true and not always true. 

Just like everything else in the world.  

[Tiger337]

9 minutes ago, chasfh said:

You are correct. It is also correct that you habituate a forum loaded with participants who grew up during the greatest period of year-to-year roster retention in big league history, and it can be hard to think beyond the principles of the game you committed to memory when you were eleven. 

Edman will probably learn that lesson in 20 years! Hopefully, he will see another Tigers championship by then.  And hopefully, you and are still able to understand what's happening at that time.  

[chasfh]

19 hours ago, Tigermojo said:

Only a few starters have been signed by any team. There are still several starters available.

I’m thinking the market is waiting for prices to come down, since they’ve been high so far. 

[Edman85]

31 minutes ago, chasfh said:

You are correct. It is also correct that you habituate a forum loaded with participants who grew up during the greatest period of year-to-year roster retention in big league history, and it can be hard to think beyond the principles of the game you committed to memory when you were eleven. 

I turned 11 Randy Smith's first season, so maybe that's why this doesn't include me? 😄

[Edman85]

9 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I’m thinking the market is waiting for prices to come down, since they’ve been high so far. 

Also teams trying to maximize their depth and not DFA players may be waiting until they can 60-day some guys when pitchers and catchers report in a month.

[Tiger337]

11 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I turned 11 Randy Smith's first season, so maybe that's why this doesn't include me? 😄

I turned 11 after the 1973 season, so I saw a 90 loss season at age 11 and 102 loss season at age 12.  My Tigers glory years were from age 13 (Mark Fidrych in 1976) to age 23 (1987, the best Tigers pennant race ever).  

[oblong]

I turned 11 during the break between the '84 ALCS and WS.  I literally grew up with the '84 team.  I remember going out to the airport to some parking lot to meet them after the '81 season when they had a chance to make the playoffs.  Got a bunch of autographs.  It seemed so easy to be a baseball fan.  You watch them get better then they'll win.  For '87 I had my first girlfriend and was kind of distracted so I didn't get into that team's run like I should have.  It's a big regret.  I was at game 5 but it was on a field trip with church (My school let us go since I went to a churchy school)  It was a day game.

So yeah.... piece of cake.  I'm 52 and still waiting. 

[kdog]

Tigers will appear on Peacock a bunch

[kdog]

Peacock will have the exclusive on July 5th

[kdog]

 

[Edman85]

58 minutes ago, kdog said:

Tigers will appear on Peacock a bunch

 

It tells you a bit where the Tigers stand in TV eyes that all their Sunday Night games are in the Peacock part of the season (i.e., when NBC has Sunday Night NBA) and not the NBC stretch that resembles the recent ESPN Sunday Night big market games.

 

[papalawrence]

37 minutes ago, kdog said:

 

He's going to hit the WS game 7, 12th inning, 3-run homer off of Holton.

[Sports_Freak]

6 hours ago, Edman85 said:

 

It tells you a bit where the Tigers stand in TV eyes that all their Sunday Night games are in the Peacock part of the season (i.e., when NBC has Sunday Night NBA) and not the NBC stretch that resembles the recent ESPN Sunday Night big market games.

 

Who had games on streaming last season? Wasn't it Amazon Prime? Apple TV? I hope these NBC and Peacock games are on local NBC channels in the Detroit market.

[chasfh]

17 hours ago, Edman85 said:

 

It tells you a bit where the Tigers stand in TV eyes that all their Sunday Night games are in the Peacock part of the season (i.e., when NBC has Sunday Night NBA) and not the NBC stretch that resembles the recent ESPN Sunday Night big market games.

 

Of the 21 Games running on NBC, 17 of them involved Big Six teams: Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, or Cubs. In fact, there are more games that involve two Big Six teams (five) than have no Big Six teams (four).

[Motor City Sonics]

Someone try to help me understand last year's trade deadline and this offseason please. 

 

Is anyone ****ing awake with this organization? 

 

 

[Motor City Sonics]

21 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

I turned 11 after the 1973 season, so I saw a 90 loss season at age 11 and 102 loss season at age 12.  My Tigers glory years were from age 13 (Mark Fidrych in 1976) to age 23 (1987, the best Tigers pennant race ever).  

I was not into baseball.   My dad MADE me come sit in the bedroom with him to watch the little black & white TV on April 8, 1974 to watch Hank hit #715.  I didn't know what any of it meant.   Then, my Dad, a native of Ireland who grew up in Boston from the age of 3 had me watch the 1975 World Series wit him and well, I became a Red Sox fan because of the Carlton Fisk home run................UNTIL............ 

One gloomy Saturday in May 1976 when my dad took me to some pool supply store and while he and the guy at the store chatted away, I watched this skinny weird, wired kid pitch a game vs. Cleveland on the little TV in the store.  He'd throw a pitch, get the ball back and barely wait for the catch to get back down before throwing again.  He dispatched the Tribe in less than 2 hours with a 2-hitter.  And The Bird was Born and my love of the Tigers and baseball with him.   

What a Summer that was.   And the team had a massive turnaround form a 109 loss season in 1975 too.  

Edited 19 hours ago by Motor City Sonics

[tiger2022]

I think Harris's priority is different than a fan's priority.

I want the Tigers to win the World Series.  

Harris wants the Tigers to be competitive while pinching pennies and hoping in yhe future the guys in the minors can come up and keep the team above .500.  He wants to not get fired so he doesn't spend money or trade any magic beans for guys that can help the team.  If everything works out like they have the last 2 seasons, that is all he cares about.

[Tigermojo]

Signs of life. Not quite what I was hoping for.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/tigers-showing-interest-in-chris-bassitt-lucas-giolito.html

[ICroupier]

35 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

Signs of life. Not quite what I was hoping for.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/tigers-showing-interest-in-chris-bassitt-lucas-giolito.html

Just awful. If Harris goes this route, then I'm out on him.

We need a #2 starter, not backend guys. Why would you spend precious FA dollars on the aging or injured, when you already have Anderson, Melton, Montero, and SGL?

We also need a bat, so let's not throw away more money on Cobb 2.0.

[gehringer_2]

52 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

Signs of life. Not quite what I was hoping for.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/tigers-showing-interest-in-chris-bassitt-lucas-giolito.html

they'll give Bassett two years and he'll be out of baseball at the end of '26.

[tiger2022]

Why is anyone surprised he is going after Bassett?  

This is what Harris does.  He signs guys for short term contracts hoping they can play above their skill level and those guys are people like Bassett who can never get a long term contract.  If it works out, great.  If not, he goes the way of Charlie Morten.  It might be how he wants to run the team or Ilitch might have given him orders not to spend money.  

I would prefer Harris finds a solid major league pitcher and minor league FA's so he can have starting pitchers at AAA who can come up and make 4 or 5 starts after Olson, Mize, and the others have their annual trip to the IL.  

 

Edited 17 hours ago by tiger2022

[Motor City Sonics]

1 hour ago, ICroupier said:

Just awful. If Harris goes this route, then I'm out on him.

We need a #2 starter, not backend guys. Why would you spend precious FA dollars on the aging or injured, when you already have Anderson, Melton, Montero, and SGL?

We also need a bat, so let's not throw away more money on Cobb 2.0.

This is so annoying.   Are they even considering Ranger Suarez?   Isn't he a solid #2 / #3 ?   He doesn't seem like a bank-breaking type of pitcher.    161 over 6 seems to be what I am reading.    Seeing as Flaherty, Mize and Skubal could all be gone after this year, and cheaper options like Jobe, Melton and Olson, plus whatever they get for Skubal could be their future, there seems to be the financial space for that to work.   He's a pretty solid pitcher.   Not an ace, but he'll eat innings. 

Chris Bassitt wouldn't be the worst for a year.    He'd be a lot better than Cobb.       Giolito had a good year in 2025, so maybe that's not the worst idea.    But I'd like to aim higher, a least a little bit.    I was the guy clamoring for Jose Quintana last year and he was solid for Milwaukee.  He'd have had a better year in our park.  

Oh, it's just a gloomy Saturday and I don't feel good and my ear is broken and I'm just in a pissy mood today.   Can I hibernate until about March 20th, please?    I have enough fat stores to get through it.   

[casimir]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

they'll give Bassett two years and he'll be out of baseball at the end of '26.

I don’t know.  Personally I like the chances of Bassitt going a full season over Mize or Olson.  I’ll be proven otherwise when I get proven otherwise.

Additionally, I think I probably like the odds of Bassitt pitching deeper into a game than 5 innings Flaherty.  Those innings off of the bullpen can add up over the course of a season.

Acquiring Bassitt or Giolito solidifies the rotation in 2026 and takes pressure off of expecting a guy like Melton to go the full length of the season as a SP.  He’s probably ready to push to 150 IP himself.  They’ll use up as many IP from Flaherty and Mize as they can before the next offseason.  But what about Olson or Anderson?  What is reasonably expected out of Gipson-Long or Montero?