Welcome to “Five Things We Liked From the Past Week”, a weekly hodgepodge of… five things we liked from the past week (or in this case, from the offseason to date):
1. Hot Stove Season
Stephen Hawking once said that “the past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.” After thinking this over for several minutes, I still don’t understand it, but I do know that in baseball, just as in life, “possibilities” is an exciting word.
The offseason is a time when fans get to dream (and refresh MLB Trade Rumors) about their favorite team adding a star via free agency or trade. This offseason, Tigers fans got to dream about Roki Sasaki donning the Olde English D, Teoscar Hernández hitting in the middle of the lineup, and Tanner Scott closing out a playoff game. Of course, only Dodgers fans get to actually experience those dreams play out, but it’s still fun to think about the possibilities.
This hot stove season has been more of a gentle boil for the Detroit Tigers, outside of the Alex Bregman rumors, and a few under the radar signings (please see below). While a Bregman signing appears more and more unlikely by the day, there are still a few weeks left before spring training, and one gets the feeling that there may still be a move or two left up Scott Harris’ well-fitting sleeve. Harris himself said as much on Wednesday after the Tigers made another addition to the roster:
2. Tommy Kahnle
As the offseason progressed, many Tigers fans were hopeful that Detroit would acquire a back-end reliever with some upside, and ideally some swing and miss. That hope turned to reality Wednesday when Jon Heyman reported that Tommy Kahnle was signing a one-year deal with the Tigers.
There were 212 relievers who pitched more than 70 innings combined between the 2023–2024 seasons. Here is how Kahnle stacked up among those 212 in several categories:
ERA: 14th
Hard Hit%: 5th
GB%: 29th
Barrel%: 38th
K%: 60th
Our own Jerry Mackinem noted on Twi X that Kahnle features one of the best changeups in the game; it’s so good in fact that he threw 61 straight changeups this past postseason, and no that’s not a typo. (You can see why: in 2024, Kahnle’s changeup held hitters to an obscene .157/.173/.264 slash, and generated a 38.9% whiff rate and 25.3% hard hit rate.) Our own Chris Brown also wrote about Kahnle’s potential impact on the Tigers here. A healthy Tommy Kahnle should provide a solid boost to the back of the Detroit bullpen.
3. Gleyber Torres
My son and I moved into a new apartment recently, and for the first time in life, have high ceilings. While it’s not great for the electric bill, there is a noticeable, positive impact it has mentally. Gleyber Torres should have the same impact on the 2025 Detroit Tigers.
Not to copy off the preceding entry on this list, but from the 2022–2024 seasons, there were 230 players with at least 1,000 plate appearances. Here are Gleyber Torres’ ranks among those 230 in several categories:
BA: 75th
OBP: 84th
SLG: 103rd
HR: 53rd
BB%: 100th
K%: 75th
(If you’re wondering how many other current Tigers have 1,000 plate appearances over the past 3 seasons, there are only four: Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Javier Báez and Matt Vierling. Greene has been the Tigers’ best hitter over the past 3 seasons, with a triple slash of .267/.340/.434. Torres’ triple slash during the same time is .263/.330/.427.)
Has Gleyber Torres matched the hype he once held after monster rookie and sophomore seasons? No. But his arrival does raise the Tigers’ ceiling, as well as their floor. And as the great Michael Jordan once said, “the ceiling is the roof.”
4. Alex Cobb
It was admittedly a little surprising when news broke that Alex Cobb signed a one year, $15 million contract with the Tigers during the winter meetings, after an injury-riddled 2024 season. Upon further inspection, it’s not hard to see why Detroit targeted the veteran starter.
Starting pitching is a precious commodity, and good starting pitching is hard to come by. Alex Cobb is a good starting pitcher.
Not to copy off the preceding entry on this list (again), but during the 2022-2023 seasons, 44 pitchers threw at least 300 innings. Here are Alex Cobb’s ranks among those 44 in several categories:
xFIP: 7th
Barrel%: 1st
BB%: 16th
HR/9: 8th
GB%: 3rd
In summary, when healthy, Cobb excels at keeping hitters off the barrel, keeping walks down, keeping home runs down, and keeping the ball on the ground. That’s a lot of keeping.
Projection systems like Steamer (127 IP, 3.65 FIP) and ZiPS (106 IP, 3.73 FIP) forecast Cobb to be the Tigers’ 3rd best starter in ‘25; and he is also known as a strong clubhouse presence, which can have a multiplying effect on the performance of the rest of the team.
Look no further than former starter Eddie Harris of the 1989 Cleveland ball club. His veteran mentorship was the stuff of legend, and had a major impact on not only the club as a whole, but on young closer Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn specifically.
5. Prospect Season
As hot stove season continues, prospect season has joined the party, providing minor league fans solid content to complain about.
Top prospect lists from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic (Keith Law) and ESPN (Kiley McDaniel) have trickled in over the past few weeks, and the Tigers have been well represented, with Jackson Jobe, Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, Bryce Rainer, Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño getting a lot of love especially.
Outside of Roki Sasaki, Jobe rates as the top pitching prospect in baseball, and also ranks among the very top prospects in the game regardless of position, with an average placement of 6th overall between the five respected outlets.
Opinions on Clark and McGonigle were a little more varied, with MLB Pipeline and The Athletic slotting Clark as high as 6th overall and Baseball Prospectus placing McGonigle as high as 6th as well, but overall, their average rankings were in the 15-18 range. 2024 1st rounder Bryce Rainer appeared on all five lists as well, with an average placement of 64.
Thayron Liranzo made the top 100 for four of the five outlets (also with an average rank of 64 among the four), and came in at #108 for ESPN; and after toying with the Arizona Fall League, Josue Briceño got some recognition on multiple lists as well, placing in the top 100 for Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline and The Athletic, while slotting in at #127 on ESPN’s top 200 list.
Having a solid farm system is certainly no guarantee of future success for an organization, but it doesn’t hurt to see so many outlets feeling the Tigers’ future. Check out our Patreon for our own top prospect list for the Tigers specifically.
Rogelio Castillo