2026 DETROIT TIGERS REGULAR SEASON THREAD

[chasfh]

10 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

With the right moves, this team can be good again soon.  I suspect both Skubal and Mize will be dealt this deadline and we should get some good players in return.  We also will clear a ton of salary this offseason (Skoobs (regrettably), Flaherty, Jansen, Verlander and Torres). The rotation will include Valdez, Montero, Melton, Jobe and some combination of pitcher(s) we get in trade return, Reese and a free agent or two.

McGonigle, Keith, Greene and Dingler will be back.  Hopefully the Max’s will be ready. I can see a free agent or trade upgrade at 1B and/or RF.

The pen is a mess—can really only count on Vest at this point, but Holton and Finnegan will likely be back, too.

There is a foundation, but Harris is going to have to be more aggressive than he has previously been to acquire impact players.

I think this particular team, as it came north, should have, and could have, won the Central this year, except for the unusual number of injuries which cost us dearly, not only in some expected number of wins, but also in the effect it had on the psyche of the remaining team. I do believe there might be a corollary to Newton’s law at work here: a team that’s winning stays in motion toward winning, and a team that’s losing stays in motion toward losing. I really do believe that kind of momentum is a real thing. After all, we are talking about human beings here.

That said, I also believe that this particular team, as currently constructed, was never supposed to be the team Scott Harris had in his vision as the one he would win with long-term. That team is still at least a couple of years away. This team, or more exactly the fans’ reaction to it, is the result of the dramatic overachieving of the last two years.

I know a lot of people would like to see Harris and Hinch fired (and perhaps even literally set on fire 😉), but that’s not going to happen, nor should it. A organization that would fire its management mainly because 40% of its 40 man roster went onto the injured list is an organization wallowing in chaos and confusion, and I don’t want to have to root for that team anymore.

 

[SoCalTiger]

Worst record in Baseball (tied) on June 1. Agree we do not need to burn it down to the studs but a SIGNIFICANT renovation is required. I hope Mr. Harris can get the job done. I still think he can but like everyone is saying he needs to be able to trade since drafting and free agency is not enough. Huge deadline and off season ahead. 

Best record in Baseball this time last year to the worst record this year. Let's hope the rise is as fast as the fall. 

[NorthWoods]

2 hours ago, Shelton said:

I don’t think Mize will be traded. For one thing, putting him on the market alongside Skubal gives people a backup option to trade a mid tier package for a decent SP rather than pay up for Tarik. 
 

But that’s minor. The larger aspect is that I don’t think the potential return is going to be much higher than the comp pick, and I do think Mize is right in that sweet spot where he accept a QO and we would be happy if he did. And if he didn’t, I think he’s good enough to get the FA deal needed to net the good draft pick. 
 

That said, if a team out there wants to trade a top 50 prospect for him, then he’s gone. But I don’t see it. 

I tend to think the market will be so strong for SP that someone will overpay for both.

[kdog]

Quote

If the Tigers keep Skubal, then make him a qualifying offer and lose him as a free agent, they will receive only a draft pick after the first round as compensation. A trade would yield greater projected value, though the return would be depressed by three factors: Skubal’s status as a rental, the remaining portion of his $32 million salary he is owed and his lack of eligibility for a qualifying offer as a player traded in the middle of a season.

Still, it’s Tarik Skubal. And the griping from rival executives about dealing with Scott Harris, the Tigers’ notoriously exacting president of baseball operations, would be as entertaining as the Skubal sweepstakes themselves.

blurb from Ken Rosenthal's column about the pending Skubal firesale.

[NorthWoods]

1 minute ago, kdog said:

blurb from Ken Rosenthal's column about the pending Skubal firesale.

I was about to post something from that too....He's speculating Dodgers, Padres, Brewers, Phillies, Braves, Rays and more as suitors.    IF that happens the price should be more than many here are allowing.

 

[Shelton]

I do love the idea of other execs griping that Harris wouldn’t accept their ****ty prospects and AAAA guys in exchange for Eduardo and Jack a few years ago, or his refusal to include Kevin and max and Melton in rental deals last year. 
 

The same execs mad that he wouldn’t accept the ****ty prospects are the same ones not accepting Jace Jung and Hao Yu Lee last offseason. 

[monkeytargets39]

41 minutes ago, chasfh said:

That said, I also believe that this particular team, as currently constructed, was never supposed to be the team Scott Harris had in his vision as the one he would win with long-term. That team is still at least a couple of years away. This team, or more exactly the fans’ reaction to it, is the result of the dramatic overachieving of the last two years.

 

I agree with this, but the problem I have with it is that he isn’t adding anything to the future core aside from the draft.  If we only ever have one guy a year that’s looked at as a big part of the future, and we don’t sign/trade to get more—we will never have a complete roster.  It’ll always just be 4-6 guys plus waiver claims.

 

There’s a good chance they don’t call Clark up at all this year due to a possible lockout.  Anderson hits but he isn’t a Harris prototype.  Briceno has been hurt all year.  Liranzo hasn’t developed as hoped yet.  Rainer and Yost are probably 2.5-3 years away at best.  Then there’s no pitching.

 

He HAS to trade Skubal, Mize and maybe even look at dealing Riley, Valdez and Carpenter to get the influx of players that can all fit into the competitive window with McGonigle/Clark/Melton/Jobe.  We have a late first round draft pick this year and no big name expiring deals to trade next year.

 

I’m worried that if he doesn’t max out this deadline/off-season that we will be in a long stretch with limited results again.

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, kdog said:

blurb from Ken Rosenthal's column about the pending Skubal firesale.

lol “ notoriously exacting.” Sounds like sour grapes from the guys who used to roll Al Avila in trades on the regular.

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I’m worried that if he doesn’t max out this deadline/off-season that we will be in a long stretch with limited results again.

I am think maxing out at the deadline pretty much guarantees that.  I am not saying this isn't an option.  Maybe that's what they need to do, but trading away everybody that's good except for a few players would seem to lead to a long period of limited results unless they get a load of high level prospects in return and they develop quickly.  Realistically, the prospects that they get will be at different levels of development and some of them won't pan out.  

[kdog]

22 minutes ago, chasfh said:

lol “ notoriously exacting.” Sounds like sour grapes from the guys who used to roll Al Avila in trades on the regular.

Did we reach a consensus that he bungled the E-Rod Dodgers deal or not? I know there was some mixed reporting on that.

They did a soft buy last year; Now they have to do a pretty hard sell. Can he create a market and get value for a bunch of these guys once they are ready to concede?

Edited 2 hours ago by kdog

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I agree with this, but the problem I have with it is that he isn’t adding anything to the future core aside from the draft.  If we only ever have one guy a year that’s looked at as a big part of the future, and we don’t sign/trade to get more—we will never have a complete roster.  It’ll always just be 4-6 guys plus waiver claims.

 

There’s a good chance they don’t call Clark up at all this year due to a possible lockout.  Anderson hits but he isn’t a Harris prototype.  Briceno has been hurt all year.  Liranzo hasn’t developed as hoped yet.  Rainer and Yost are probably 2.5-3 years away at best.  Then there’s no pitching.

 

He HAS to trade Skubal, Mize and maybe even look at dealing Riley, Valdez and Carpenter to get the influx of players that can all fit into the competitive window with McGonigle/Clark/Melton/Jobe.  We have a late first round draft pick this year and no big name expiring deals to trade next year.

 

I’m worried that if he doesn’t max out this deadline/off-season that we will be in a long stretch with limited results again.

Trading Skubal without picking up some of his remaining salary might be difficult. Trading Valdez without picking up the majority of his remaining salary may well be impossible. And that’s even if anyone wants Valdez and his head in their clubhouse at all. 

[Tigermojo]

The deadline is usually pending free agents for prospects. Values for the whole roster are down. Other teams can see Riley's BABIP as easily as we can. Probably trade Skubal, Mize and maybe Rogers. The rest can build value until the offseason. 

[monkeytargets39]

12 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Trading Skubal without picking up some of his remaining salary might be difficult. Trading Valdez without picking up the majority of his remaining salary may well be impossible. And that’s even if anyone wants Valdez and his head in their clubhouse at all. 

If I’m the Tigers I’m absolutely looking at sending cash with Skubal for the right return.  Valdez is a guy I’d try to move if there’s a team or two that missed out on a big name arm and may get desperate.  Gotta take some swings here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tenacious D]

I wouldn’t trade Greene.  Still young and is a generally productive hitter. That just creates another hole. If Tork and Carpenter can salvage their seasons, I can see them dealt, but we shouldn’t expect much of a return.

The truth is that many guys we were counting on have regressed offensively.  They should be embarrassed that a 21 year old rookie with 200 AB’s has outperformed.  Player development was supposed to be a hallmark of this organization.

[chasfh]

14 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

I wouldn’t trade Greene.  Still young and is a generally productive hitter. That just creates another hole. If Tork and Carpenter can salvage their seasons, I can see them dealt, but we shouldn’t expect much of a return.

The truth is that many guys we were counting on have regressed offensively.  They should be embarrassed that a 21 year old rookie with 200 AB’s has outperformed.  Player development was supposed to be a hallmark of this organization.

It is well within the realm of possibility that the widespread underperformance is more bad luck than poor development. If it were to keep up like that for a couple more years, then I’ll start asking more questions about development.

[Tenacious D]

7 minutes ago, chasfh said:

It is well within the realm of possibility that the widespread underperformance is more bad luck than poor development. If it were to keep up like that for a couple more years, then I’ll start asking more questions about development.

How do you define bad luck?  It’s mostly the entire lineup and bench, over 100 games. This isn’t a few bloop hits that should have dropped. There have been some weird things going on besides the Tigers (Fernando Tatis just hit his first HR of the season), but it’s widespread here. And the pen is a wreck—we don’t have a single pitcher that you can mostly count on.  It used to be that Fetter could coach up anyone.

I don’t think the injuries are that impactful—Torres and Carpenter in the lineup worsen our defense and neither has hit particularly well when healthy.  With our offense, I’m not sure we win that many more games if both Skubal and Mize are healthy the entire time.

Ironic that Baez, who was left for dead before last season, might be the player we miss the most.

[4hzglory]

1 hour ago, monkeytargets39 said:

If I’m the Tigers I’m absolutely looking at sending cash with Skubal for the right return.  Valdez is a guy I’d try to move if there’s a team or two that missed out on a big name arm and may get desperate.  Gotta take some swings here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think they're counting on Valdez for next year.  That, and his contract makes me think there is close to zero chance he's moved.  If they move him, they are punting on next year, and there is no reason to do that IMO.  

[SoCalTiger]

If anything the injuries this year proves that organizational depth is very important. If we "clear the barn" we might be ensuring the same result next season on a smaller scale. Trade Skubal - Mize- -Janssen - Torres for the best you can get and re tool in the off season. Hope Carpenter - Keith and Torkelson can rebuild their value the remainder of this off season and then trade them if they do.

 

[SoCalTiger]

Just now, 4hzglory said:

I think they're counting on Valdez for next year.  That, and his contract makes me think there is close to zero chance he's moved.  If they move him, they are punting on next year, and there is no reason to do that IMO.  

Agree. He has value even at a low 4.00 era since he seems to take the bump every five days and pitch 6 plus innings. Not an Ace but solid if overpaid.

[4hzglory]

40 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

How do you define bad luck?  It’s mostly the entire lineup and bench, over 100 games. This isn’t a few bloop hits that should have dropped. There have been some weird things going on besides the Tigers (Fernando Tatis just hit his first HR of the season), but it’s widespread here. And the pen is a wreck—we don’t have a single pitcher that you can mostly count on.  It used to be that Fetter could coach up anyone.

I don’t think the injuries are that impactful—Torres and Carpenter in the lineup worsen our defense and neither has hit particularly well when healthy.  With our offense, I’m not sure we win that many more games if both Skubal and Mize are healthy the entire time.

Ironic that Baez, who was left for dead before last season, might be the player we miss the most.

The bullpen has been crazy and I think is currently a lot of a team-wide mental funk.  A number of guys are generally doing ok, but no one, no matter who they've rotated, can currently hold a 9th inning (or 10th) lead.