In order to take the next step, the Tigers are going to need some upgrades this offseason.
2025 was a rollercoaster year for the Detroit Tigers.
For the first three months of the season, the Tigers were one of the best teams in baseball. Fueled by breakout performances up and down the roster, as of July 8th, Detroit was a whopping 25 games over .500; and clinching an AL Central division title was a matter of when, not if.
But on July 9th, the Tigers lost 7-3 to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Seattle Mariners came to town next, and Detroit lost the first game of that series as well. And the next one. And the one after that.
The Seattle series was the last one before the All-Star break, and despite a four game losing streak to end the first half of the year, the vibes were still high around the Tigers.
But then Detroit lost their first game back from the break to the Texas Rangers. And the one after that. A 2-1 win in the series finale stopped a six game losing streak, but unfortunately for Detroit, they’d follow that victory up with another six game losing streak.
All of the sudden, that division title didn’t look so certain. But the Tigers would go on to win their next four games, and after an August that saw Detroit go 16-12, the division title was back in the bag.
Until it wasn’t.
The Tigers dropped their first two games in September, which set the tone for what can only be described as a brutal month for Detroit. A 7-17 record in September cracked the door open for a division foe to pry the AL Central title from the Tigers paws, and the surging Cleveland Guardians took advantage, ultimately winning the division.
Despite the second half collapse, Detroit eked its way into the playoffs as a wild card team, and got their revenge by beating the Guardians in the first round of the postseason. But after splitting the first four games of the American League Division Series with the Seattle Mariners, the Tigers would lose a heartbreaker in an epic 15 inning affair in game five, ending what was once a very promising season for Detroit.
Zooming out, it’s hard to argue that the 2025 season wasn’t a success for the Tigers. But it’s also hard to argue that it wasn’t a disappointing season as well.
So where does Detroit go from here?
There’s a Tarik Skubal-sized elephant in the room hanging over the Tigers, with the best pitcher in baseball now down to one year of team control. How Detroit moves forward with Skubal will shape the offseason, but for now, let’s assume that the big lefty is back in the Old English D for 2026.
The second half of the 2025 season showed that the Tigers have a ways to go if they want to truly contend for a World Series title. But luckily for Detroit, the offseason provides a perfect opportunity for them to make up that ground.
There are many ways to improve a roster during the winter, including trades, waiver pickups and free agency. We are going to focus on free agency for now, with the caveat that Detroit could and should improve their roster in other ways as well.
The 2025-2026 free agent class is full of players that could make the Tigers better for the 2026 season. Let’s dive into some specifics on who could help Detroit make the leap from good to great.
Alex Bregman
Speaking of elephants in the room, wouldn’t it have been nice for the Tigers to have Alex Bregman on their roster for the 2025 season?
As you may have heard, Bregman was a free agent last offseason, and as you also may have heard, Detroit put in a fair offer to try to secure his services for the 2025 season.
That offer didn’t come to fruition of course, but luckily for the Tigers, they’ll have a chance to enter the bidding for Bregman once again, as the soon-to-be 32 year old has reportedly opted out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox.
Bregman checks all the boxes for what Detroit needs this offseason. He’s a proven middle of the order hitter, his plate discipline is elite, and he just so happens to play a position of need defensively.
We’ll see if Scott Harris and the Tigers are willing to engage with Bregman and his super-agent Scott Boras again this offseason, but in this view, he’d be an ideal fit.
Bo Bichette
There are several questions the Tigers will have to answer this winter as they construct their roster, and one of them has two parts: when will Kevin McGonigle be ready, and what position will he play?
The second part of the McGonigle question will play a major factor in whether or not they want to get involved in the Bo Bichette business. Like Alex Bregman, Bichette checks a lot of boxes for Detroit. He can hit, he doesn’t strike out much, and he plays on the infield, where the Tigers appear to be at least one player short.
If Scott Harris and company believe that McGonigle is ultimately a shortstop, it wouldn’t make much sense to pay full price for the best free agent shortstop on the market. But if they believe McGonigle is best suited for second (or third) base, Bichette would be a very compelling option.
Cody Bellinger
In some ways, Bellinger would be an awkward fit for Detroit. As things stand today, they not only have three outfielders (Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter) that are penciled into the starting lineup, but they also have Spencer Torkelson to cover first base; and outfield and first base are the positions that Bellinger can play (and play well).
But in other ways, Bellinger would be a great fit. The Tigers need to add some thump to the lineup, and ideally that thump would come with strong plate discipline. Bellinger just so happened to pop 29 home runs in 2025, which came with an 8.7% walk rate and 13.7% strikeout rate.
With the way that Tigers manager A.J. Hinch maneuvers the lineup from day to day, there would certainly be room for a player like Cody Bellinger, and he’d provide Detroit’s batting order with just the type of hitter they need.
Kyle Tucker
The longest shot on this list, Tucker would instantly become the Tigers best hitter since prime Miguel Cabrera.
Tucker has been one of the best players in baseball going on six straight years. His 141 wRC+ since 2020 ranks 11th in baseball, as does his 25.3 fWAR.
He’s a career .273/.358/.507 hitter, with career walk and strikeout rates of 11.5% and 15.8%. And he’s not just a one tricky pony, as he also provides value on the bases and in the field as well.
Players like Kyle Tucker don’t come around too often, and that will be reflected in his contract this offseason. Chances are the Tigers won’t be swimming that deep in the free agency waters, but if they are willing to put on their floaties, there’s no better player to spend the money on than Kyle Tucker.
Dylan Cease
Assuming that Jack Flaherty exercises his player option for 2026, on paper, the Tigers starting rotation for next year would appear to be set: Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Troy Melton.
But we know that teams need more than five starting pitchers to get through a season, as evidenced by the fact that Detroit used 11 different starters in 2025, not including openers.
We also know that things could change in regards to not only Jack Flaherty, but also *gasp* Tarik Skubal.
Resources are limited for every team, and it will be interesting to see how Detroit utilizes their funds this offseason. But if they decide that adding a free agent starter is in their best interest, you’d be hard pressed to find a better pitcher to add to the squad than Dylan Cease.
Cease’s ERA has fluctuated a bit from year to year, but what hasn’t fluctuated is his production. Since 2021, Cease ranks seventh in baseball in innings pitched and fourth in fWAR. He also ranks 15th in MLB in strikeout rate since 2021, and while the walks are a bit on the higher side, you do have to wonder what Chris Fetter and the Tigers pitching department would have in store for the flamethrowing right hander.
Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize are all slated to be free agents after the 2026 season, and the Tigers are in desperate need of some rotation stability not only in 2026, but in 2027 and beyond. Dylan Cease would be just what the doctor ordered.
Michael King
If the Tigers want to shop in the upper level of the free agent starting pitcher aisle, but are on a tighter budget, Michael King could be their man.
King’s track record is not as long as Dylan Cease’s, and he did miss time in 2025 with right shoulder inflammation and left knee inflammation. That’s a lot of inflammation, but when healthy, King was a sturdy number two starter; and in 2024, his first full year as a starting pitcher, he was closer to a number one.
Every free agent starting pitcher comes with question marks, and Michael King is no exception. But those questions may also keep his salary at a somewhat reasonable number, and if Detroit is looking to add to their rotation while maintaining room to also add a hitter via free agency, King could be quite enticing for the Detroit Tigers.
Brandon Woodruff
It’s getting close to Halloween, and there are not many words scarier for a right handed starting pitcher than “right shoulder surgery”. But that’s exactly what Woodruff dealt with in October of 2023.
That surgery would cost him all of the 2024 season, and setbacks in his recovery (not necessarily related to the shoulder) caused him to miss a major portion of the 2025 season as well.
But when healthy, Woodruff is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has a career 3.10 ERA, backed up by a 29.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. Opposing hitters also have a career .210 batting average against the big righty.
Chances are that Woodruff will be looking for a one or two year deal this offseason to build his value back up after missing so much time the past few years. If the Tigers are looking for a high upside starter on a shorter term deal, there are not many better options out there than Brandon Woodruff.
Shane Bieber
This look into potential Detroit Tigers free agent targets is getting quite lengthy, so for brevity’s sake, you can copy much of what was written about Brandon Woodruff and paste it into this section about Shane Bieber.
Instead of right shoulder surgery, Bieber underwent the dreaded Tommy John surgery back in April of 2024. He came back healthy in late 2025, and after a trade to the Toronto Blue Jays, has helped propel them to the World Series on the strength of his talented right arm.
Like Brandon Woodruff, there’s a world where Bieber is looking for a one or two year “prove it” deal this offseason. After years of tormenting the Tigers on behalf of the Cleveland Guardians, Bieber would look pretty good in Detroit for the right price.
Devin Williams
Paying market rates for free agent closers can be risky business. Reliever production can often fluctuate from year to year, and there’s a long list of teams who have been burnt by putting all their eggs in one reliever’s basket.
But if the Tigers do want to spend some money on a big name reliever this offseason, Williams could be a perfect target.
Detroit desperately needs some swing and miss in their bullpen. Since 2020, 286 pitchers have thrown at least 250 innings, and Williams 39.4% strikeout rate ranks second. That’s… pretty good.
One other factor in the Tigers favor is that Williams had a bit of a bumpy 2025 season in New York, which could drive his price down, at least slightly. His ERA was 4.79, and at first glance teams wouldn’t be falling all over themselves to pay a reliever big bucks whose ERA was up near five. But front offices are smarter than ever, and one look at Williams’ peripherals (including a 3.07 xERA and 2.95 xFIP) shows that the talent is still there.
As mentioned, resources will be limited this offseason for Detroit, like they are for all teams (except the Los Angeles Dodgers). There’s an argument to be made that spending a lot of those resources on a reliever isn’t smart business, but if the Tigers want to get creative, Williams would provide a major boost to the back of Detroit’s bullpen.
Robert Suarez
One of the highlights of the Detroit Tigers Cinderella run to close out the 2024 season was this grand slam from Parker Meadows. Watching that game live, it was hard to keep your jaw from hitting the floor.
Meadows incredibly took a high and outside 101 MPH heater and launched it over the left field wall, giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead over the San Diego Padres in the top of the ninth inning.
That 101 MPH heater came courtesy of Padres closer Robert Suárez, who appears likely to opt out of his 2026 contract and hit the free agent market.
Suárez was a bit of a late bloomer, as his first season in the major leagues came at age 31 in 2022. But bloom he has.
Since 2022, Suárez’s 2.91 ERA ranks 35th among 253 qualified relievers, and despite being 34 years old, he showed no signs of slowing down in 2025. His 21.9% strikeout minus walk rate ranked 26th among 147 qualified relievers in 2025, and his average fastball of 98.6 MPH ranked seventh.
If the Tigers are interested in adding an excellent reliever via free agency this offseason, but aren’t interested in meeting what’s certain to be a high price for Devin Williams, Suárez could be an ideal backup plan.
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Chris Brown 
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Jerry McKennan