2026 DETROIT TIGERS REGULAR SEASON THREAD

[Sports_Freak]

19 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

That’s this year though—we probably won’t add anyone expensive at the deadline for that reason unless we are shipping expensive players out also.   If we did extend him it would start on next years payroll.  Plus we don’t know how the CBA will affect anything like that.

I love Skubal and would prefer to extend him and keep him here. But $40 million per year fot a starting pitcher is kinda crazy. Maybe spend that kinda money for an impact bat, one who plays every day? Sign him or trade him, letting him walk and only getting a draft pick would be negligence.

[Tiger337]

6 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

I love Skubal and would prefer to extend him and keep him here. But $40 million per year fot a starting pitcher is kinda crazy. Maybe spend that kinda money for an impact bat, one who plays every day? Sign him or trade him, letting him walk and only getting a draft pick would be negligence.

40 million is not a lot for a pitcher of his caliber.  The problem is the years.  Pitchers always get hurt including Skubal three times already.  

[gehringer_2]

Just now, Tiger337 said:

40 million is not a lot for a pitcher of his caliber.  The problem is the years.  Pitchers always get hurt including Skubal three times already.  

notable that in Manfred's comment to ESPN he did not say anything about capping contract terms. I suppose if they really get full TV revenue share and a hard cap Manfred will have done enough to earn his statue.

[chasfh]

4 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

So when a GM drafts a player and said player does not have success at the major League level until a new GM arrives with new coaching etc then which GM gets credit for the players success ? Is it the GM who drafted the player or the GM that  leading to the development  of the player in reaching the big leagues ? Maybe both ?

My belief is that the one who bakes the cake gets credit over the one who bought the ingredients.

[chasfh]

Just a reminder that at last year's trade deadline, the Tigers had the best record in the American League and a nine game lead on the second-place Guardians. So I don't fault Harris for not selling off the top of the farm system in exchange for a couple established veterans in a desperate attempt to get us over the line and into the playoffs. We looked very much in control of our destiny at the time. Liquidating the best of our farm system to go for broke simply did not strike anyone as being necessary because it looked like the help we need was on the margins.

[IdahoBert]

People talk about getting bats as if it’s as easy as just writing a check. If I were one of these guys and I had the choice of playing someplace where it was easier to hit home runs - for example - I would go somewhere other than Comerica. Maybe Tony Gwynn would like it here. If that’s an impact bat then sure.

But when it comes to a guy like Bregman, for example, he didn’t want to play here for a variety of reasons, among which writing a check was apparently not one of them. Nick Castellanos, for all his deficits, ‘blossomed’ as a hitter when he played in ballparks better suited to his abilities. Yes, a guy like JD Martinez could hit here, but he can hit just about anywhere so he’s an outlier. Torres could hit 40 hr in the Bronx but not here.

Anyway I think purchasing bats is a lot more problematic than we might think regardless of how well old man Ilitch and DD were able to do it. 

[Sports_Freak]

12 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

People talk about getting bats as if it’s as easy as just writing a check. If I were one of these guys and I had the choice of playing someplace where it was easier to hit home runs - for example - I would go somewhere other than Comerica. Maybe Tony Gwynn would like it here. If that’s an impact bat then sure.

But when it comes to a guy like Bregman, for example, he didn’t want to play here for a variety of reasons, among which writing a check was apparently not one of them. Nick Castellanos, for all his deficits, ‘blossomed’ as a hitter when he played in ballparks better suited to his abilities. Yes, a guy like JD Martinez could hit here, but he can hit just about anywhere so he’s an outlier. Torres could hit 40 hr in the Bronx but not here.

Anyway I think purchasing bats is a lot more problematic than we might think regardless of how well old man Ilitch and DD were able to do it. 

Thats where trades come into play. A young bat who doesn't have a choice of where he plays. But yeah, thats easier said than done. But not even trying? Players are traded every off-season, it seems like some decent bats may have been available.

[chasfh]

I for one am glad we are not overpaying for established major leaguers with the top of our system. I'm on board with building the system into a contender until it is demonstrated—not claimed, but demonstrated—that it has failed.

[Sports_Freak]

21 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I for one am glad we are not overpaying for established major leaguers with the top of our system. I'm on board with building the system into a contender until it is demonstrated—not claimed, but demonstrated—that it has failed.

Building from within has been done by teams before but once close, bringing in the final pieces is sometimes necessary. The Tiger team was really close last season, a rental bat or two may have taken us over the top, we'll never know. 

[chasfh]

17 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Building from within has been done by teams before but once close, bringing in the final pieces is sometimes necessary. The Tiger team was really close last season, a rental bat or two may have taken us over the top, we'll never know. 

Speaking about the organizational arc, I don't think we are as close to peak Tigers as you might think we are, where the right guy makes all the difference.

As for last season, we already had the best record in the league at the deadline, with a 106 team wRC+ and the fifth most runs in all of baseball, so pushing all our chips into the middle of the table to acquire a hitter just didn't make sense.

[Sports_Freak]

Just now, chasfh said:

Speaking about the organizational arc, I don't think we are as close to peak Tigers as you might think we are, where the right guy makes all the difference.

As for last season, we already had the best record in the league at the deadline, with a 106 team wRC+ and the fifth most runs in all of baseball, so pushing all our chips into the middle of the table to acquire a hitter just didn't make sense.

Ugh ...yeah. True. Then the entire lineup went into a horrible slump. Something to address in the off-season? No, we spent millions of dollars on.....pitching. And surprise, surprise, our slump from last fall reared it's ugly head in May. But at least we have several prospects in the minors. 😆😄

A strong minor league system isnt just for feeding talent to the big league club. Many teams also use extra prospects in trades to bring in needed talent. 

[NorthWoods]

 

[gehringer_2]

3 hours ago, chasfh said:

My belief is that the one who bakes the cake gets credit over the one who bought the ingredients.

works for some things  - but certainly not all. If you want a good fish dinner the buyer is way more important than the cook! 😉

Edited 5 hours ago by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, NorthWoods said:

 

Sneaky good. I knew he’s been improving but I didn’t know he was this. 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Speaking about the organizational arc, I don't think we are as close to peak Tigers as you might think we are, where the right guy makes all the difference.

 

yeah, I hear that, but all of that margin over 500 was games started by Mize and Skubal. Take those two guys out at the end of this year and you have a huge void to fill. Maybe Melton/Jobe/Olsen can be their equal, but it's not accurate to say we can just add *from* the point we were at in July of 25 because there are major losses almost certainly coming from where that team was.

Edited 5 hours ago by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said:

Ugh ...yeah. True. Then the entire lineup went into a horrible slump. Something to address in the off-season? No, we spent millions of dollars on.....pitching. And surprise, surprise, our slump from last fall reared it's ugly head in May. But at least we have several prospects in the minors. 😆😄

A strong minor league system isnt just for feeding talent to the big league club. Many teams also use extra prospects in trades to bring in needed talent. 

We are simply not in a position where emptying out the top of our system for a couple of guys will get us a ring. If things go as planned we will be at some point. Just not right now. 

[chasfh]

1 minute ago, gehringer_2 said:

yeah, I hear that, but all of that margin over 500 was Mize and Skubal. Take those two guys out at the end of this year and you have a huge void to fill. Maybe Melton/Jobe/Olsen can be their equal, but it's not accurate to say we can build *from* the point we were at in July of 25 because there are major losses almost certainly coming from where that team was.

Are you actually concluding that the entirety of our positive record at the time was due to two guys and their win-loss record? Yeah, no sale. 

[gehringer_2]

Just now, chasfh said:

Are you actually concluding that the entirety of our positive record at the time was due to two guys and their win-loss record? Yeah, no sale. 

You are the empiricist here. Going into the same on Sept 1, 2025, they were 22 over, and 18 of that was games started by Mize and Skubal, the rest of staff combined was 4 over. The numbers are what they are. When those guys pitched they won, when they didn't, they were barely 500. That's data, i'm just the messenger.  😉

[Sports_Freak]

22 minutes ago, chasfh said:

We are simply not in a position where emptying out the top of our system for a couple of guys will get us a ring. If things go as planned we will be at some point. Just not right now. 

Top prospects? No, I agree. The Meltons and McGonigles? No way. But there are lower prospects that could be moved. How many 2nd base prospects do you need in the minors? And dont forget, most prospects never make it. But our top 10 prospects? Mostly untouchable, i agree.

[casimir]

I wonder what Manuel Margot is up to these days.

[Tenacious D]

4 hours ago, IdahoBert said:

People talk about getting bats as if it’s as easy as just writing a check. If I were one of these guys and I had the choice of playing someplace where it was easier to hit home runs - for example - I would go somewhere other than Comerica. Maybe Tony Gwynn would like it here. If that’s an impact bat then sure.

But when it comes to a guy like Bregman, for example, he didn’t want to play here for a variety of reasons, among which writing a check was apparently not one of them. Nick Castellanos, for all his deficits, ‘blossomed’ as a hitter when he played in ballparks better suited to his abilities. Yes, a guy like JD Martinez could hit here, but he can hit just about anywhere so he’s an outlier. Torres could hit 40 hr in the Bronx but not here.

Anyway I think purchasing bats is a lot more problematic than we might think regardless of how well old man Ilitch and DD were able to do it. 

The gentleman from the Gem state is dropping truth bombs.

[4hzglory]

1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said:

Top prospects? No, I agree. The Meltons and McGonigles? No way. But there are lower prospects that could be moved. How many 2nd base prospects do you need in the minors? And dont forget, most prospects never make it. But our top 10 prospects? Mostly untouchable, i agree.

But we know teams were asking for Melton specifically.  And others of the top 4-5 which included McGonigle, Clark, Briceno, and Rainer.  For the available bats, definitely not worth it-the only bat that really made an impact was Naylor.

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

You are the empiricist here. Going into the same on Sept 1, 2025, they were 22 over, and 18 of that was games started by Mize and Skubal, the rest of staff combined was 4 over. The numbers are what they are. When those guys pitched they won, when they didn't, they were barely 500. That's data, i'm just the messenger.  😉

Team record in their starts tells us how the team performed when they pitched. What it doesn’t tell us is how much of that is attributable to them versus the run support and bullpen behind them. But sure, that’s data. 😉 

Edited 3 hours ago by chasfh

[gehringer_2]

30 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Team record in their starts tells us how the team performed when they pitched. What it doesn’t tell us is how much of that is attributable to them versus the run support and bullpen behind them. But sure, that’s data. 😉 

If we take the least biased esitmate and say that some other pitcher gives you half the advantage those two did (i.e. split the diff) , that would be 9 of those 18 extra wins, which  would have  left them in 1st by 1/2 game going into the crash rather than 9.5 up

but whatever, no team can lose it's number one and two starters and not need help just to stay even, esp when one of them is the best pitcher in the league. Now if the totally strange and bizarre happens and they retain Skubal.....

Edited 3 hours ago by gehringer_2