Detroit Tigers 2025 Winter Meetings Preview

The 2025 MLB Winter Meetings are upon us. What’s on the agenda for the Tigers?

It’s hard to think of many activities that are less enjoyable than meetings, but in Major League Baseball, there’s one notable exception: the Winter Meetings.

The MLB offseason, unlike some other sports like the NBA, typically starts off rather quietly. There’s certainly activity, as teams fill out their coaching staffs, make contract decisions regarding qualifying offers, options and arbitration, and set their 40 man rosters; but player movement overall generally occurs at a glacier’s pace at the beginning of the baseball offseason.

This year, the hot stove has been a little toastier than usual, with some big trades and free agent signings happening in November and early December. But the vast majority of free agents are still available, and the proverbial foot hasn’t hit the proverbial gas pedal quite yet.

That is likely to change, starting this weekend.

Every year at the beginning of December, team executives and agents gather under one (large) roof for the MLB Winter Meetings. This provides an opportunity for organizational decision makers to hobnob with agents of players they are interested in, as well as with executives of other organizations they may be interested in doing business with.

The Winter Meetings provide a perfect forum for a lot of activity, as everyone is in one place, and teams start to feel pressure to get some of their roster building complete, lest they get caught empty-handed. This year promises to be no different.

The Detroit Tigers are seemingly a team on the upswing, coming off consecutive playoff appearances with a lot of young talent on the big league roster and more on the way down on the farm. But things can change quickly, especially when for example the team control of the best pitcher in baseball is down to just one year remaining.

Under President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris, the Tigers have employed a slow but steady build to get to this point, and it’s hard to argue that the organization isn’t in better shape than it has been in a decade. But with Detroit losing in the American League Division Series in 2025, after suffering the same fate in 2024, many fans would like to see the Tigers get a little more aggressive in adding to the MLB roster, to maximize the chances of a 2026 World Series appearance while Tarik Skubal is (probably) still in Detroit.

The Winter Meetings (along with the rest of the offseason) offer a great opportunity for the Tigers to do just that. Time will tell if Scott Harris, Jeff Greenberg and company feel that same sense of urgency, but most likely, they understand that more needs to be done for Detroit to get to the next level.

So what’s on the agenda for the Tigers at the Winter Meetings, and for the offseason at large? Let’s dive in with some questions (and a few potential answers).

What’s the 2026 payroll going to be?

Back in 2021, with the Tigers in the midst of a full-blown rebuild, their payroll sat at just $86 million. But in 2022, former Detroit GM Al Avila signaled that the Tigers were ready to compete, adding Javy Báez and Eduardo Rodriguez on big free agent deals and pushing the payroll up to $136 million.

It turns out that signaling you’re ready to compete doesn’t automatically translate to actually competing, as the Tigers slouched to a 66-96 record in 2022, costing Avila his job in the process.

In 2023, current Tigers POBO Scott Harris’s first full year at the helm, Detroit’s payroll dipped back down to $121 million, and in 2024, it dropped all the way down to $98 million. However, with the Tigers finally making some progress in the win column and advancing to the playoffs in ’24, Harris got the greenlight to spend some money on the MLB roster for the ‘25 season, with the final payroll (after some deadline deals) reaching $157 million.

Prior to the start of the ’25 campaign, Detroit’s payroll was right around $140 million, but as you may have heard, the Tigers made a large but ultimately unfruitful offer to Alex Bregman that would have pushed the payroll closer to $170 million to begin the year.

So, with the past five years as a guide, what can we expect Detroit’s payroll to be for the 2026 season?

The Tigers are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, and attendance numbers and TV ratings are on the come up. We also know that the Illitch family was ready to allow a payroll up around $170 million as recently as last year.

With those factors at play, a 2026 payroll of $175 million or more doesn’t feel too far out of the question. We’re certainly not expecting the Tigers to approach the $200 million mark like they did in 2016 (although it would be a pleasant surprise!), but increasing the payroll by $15-20 million from the 2025 season seems like a distinct possibility; and for the purposes of the rest of this article, will be the baseline by which we operate off of.

What are the Tigers priorities this offseason?

Currently, Detroit’s payroll is sitting somewhere in the $140 million range. If the Tigers don’t shed any substantial salaries via trade, that would leave just $35 million or so for Detroit to add for the rest of the offseason, assuming our hypothetical $175 million payroll is close to reality.

That’s important background information, because between the second half of the ’25 season and the ’25 postseason, it became quite clear that not only could Detroit use some improvement on offense, but that they could also use some improvement in the rotation and bullpen as well.

‘Tis the season, so if one was to make a wish list for the Tigers offseason, it may look something like this, in no particular order: 1) an impact bat, 2) an impact starting pitcher, and 3) two or more impact relievers. That’s a lot of wishes, and as we’ve covered, there may “only” be $30-40 million available to grant those wishes. With impact bats and impact starters often costing $20-30 million per year or more on the free agent market, and impact relievers often costing $10 million per year or more, it doesn’t take a math whiz to realize that the Tigers most likely won’t be able to make all of those dreams come true via free agency alone.

There’s a chance that Scott Harris and company have a different agenda than the one listed above, but if some or most of it is accurate, it’s clear that the Tigers will need to rely on a combination of trades and free agency to make it happen.

The only hangup regarding the trade route: the Tigers have a strong desire to hold onto their top prospects, and there were a ton of injuries to several intriguing minor league pitchers in 2025. That means that although Detroit’s system is deep, the amount of trade candidates that are currently at peak value may not be as high as one would think, given the depth of the system.

Will the Tigers pursue Alex Bregman, Ketel Marte or another impact hitter?

On the morning of July 9^th, 2025, Detroit was 59-34, a whopping 25 games over .500.

At the time, the Tigers not only had the 3^rd best ERA in baseball, but they also had scored the 6^th most runs in baseball, with a teamwide 109 wRC+ that ranked 7^th in MLB.

But in the early evening of July 9^th, the Tigers season took a twist so outlandish that it would have made M. Night Shyamalan blush.

Detroit lost to Tampa Bay that day, and would go on to lose 11 of their next 12 games after that. A four game winning streak to close out July stopped the bleeding, but only temporarily, as the Tigers went 28-41 from July 9^th through the end of the season.

Part of the blame for the Tigers second half collapse rests with the pitching staff, as Detroit’s 4.67 ERA from July 9^th through the end of the year ranked 25^th in MLB. But when you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you, and the offense played their part in the collapse as well, ranking 23^rd in MLB in runs scored from July 9^th on, with a 94 wRC+ that ranked 20^th.

Despite the second half breakdown, Detroit eked its way into the postseason as a wild card team; and on the strength of a resurgent pitching staff that posted a playoff ERA of 2.91, advanced to the American League Division Series, only to lose an epic heartbreaker in game five to the Seattle Mariners.

While the pitching led the way in the postseason push, the offense lagged behind, with a wRC+ of just 69. Coupled with the decline in the second half of the season, it’s not hard to make an argument that Detroit could use an impact hitter to add to the middle of the order this offseason.

On the other hand, on paper, the Tigers currently have a pretty intriguing mix of position players on the roster, the majority being young enough that further improvement could be in the cards. Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers comprise a solid tandem behind the plate; Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres, Javy Báez, Colt Keith and Zack McKinstry were all promising in the infield (and in some cases the outfield) to one degree or another in 2025; Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Pérez offer upside in the outfield; Jahmai Jones returns as a lefty masher and Matt Vierling returns as a potential solution at third base and in the outfield.

Outside of those 13, the Tigers have some depth on the 40 man roster and in AAA, including Eduardo Valencia, Jace Jung, Hao-Yu Lee, Trey Sweeney, Max Anderson, Trei Cruz, Justyn-Henry Malloy and others.

Overall, that’s a pretty solid group; and with the sheer number of options, along with the relative youth (and potential for improvement) of the roster, there’s a good chance that the Tigers can be average or slightly above at a number of positions in ‘26.

However, in checking out the 2026 ZiPS projections for Detroit, there are not a lot of star-level performances in the forecast for Detroit. Not only that, but there are also some clear candidates for regression.

So with all of that in mind, getting back to the original question: will the Tigers pursue an impact hitter, to add to the middle of the lineup?

In this view, they could clearly use one. Adding an Alex Bregman or Ketel Marte would instantly give the Tigers a deeper and more formidable lineup, and with the amount of swing and miss Detroit showed offensively to end the year, both those options in particular would be strong fits.

But the decision to add an impact hitter could come down to two things: 1) with a (likely) limited amount of payroll room left, as well as a strong desire to hold onto their top prospects, how much are the Tigers willing to sacrifice in dollars and/or prospects to add to the lineup at the potential opportunity cost of adding to the pitching staff, and 2) do the Tigers feel that between Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, Josue Briceño and others, that any solutions to a lineup deficit could come from within?

The guess here is that if it comes down to adding an impact hitter or impact starter, Detroit will choose the latter, based on believing in internal improvement and internal solutions.

Will the Tigers pursue an impact starting pitcher?

If the 2026 season started today, first of all, it would be quite chilly for baseball. Second of all, the Tigers rotation would likely look something like this: Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Troy Melton.

Keider Montero, Sawyer-Gipson Long, Troy Watson and the newly signed Drew Anderson would likely be the next in line as depth, with Jake Miller, Andrew Sears, Ty Madden, Jaden Hamm and eventually Jackson Jobe among some of the potential starters that could become options as the season rolls along.

As the roster currently stands, there’s some depth in the starting pitching department for Detroit. But with teams often needing 10 or more starters to get through a season, there’s also some uncertainty, as among the depth options listed above, only Anderson, Montero, Gipson-Long, Madden and Jobe have MLB experience (and generally limited experience at that), while Miller, Sears and Hamm have yet to reach AAA.

Coming off consecutive playoff appearances that ended in the ALDS, the goal for Detroit should be to take the next step in 2026. And despite a pitching staff that performed well in the 2025 postseason, it’s clear that adding a high-end number two starter behind Tarik Skubal would go a long way towards trying to accomplish that goal.

One could argue that not only do Reese Olson and Troy Melton have the potential to fill that role for Detroit, but also that Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty could be even better in 2026 as well.

But that’s a lot of “ifs”, and when combined with the reality that pitchers get injured, upgrading the number two spot in the rotation should be a clear priority for Detroit this offseason. This would not only strengthen the top of the rotation, but would subsequently strengthen the depth as well, pushing everyone down one spot in the pecking order.

Having two frontline starting pitchers is a big advantage in the postseason, and one that is certainly not unnoticed by the Tigers front office.

This winter, the free agent starting pitching market not only has depth, but also some capable high impact type starters. Despite the relative strength and depth of the Tigers current rotation, there are a few free agent starters left that would clearly boost the staff: Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Michael King immediately come to mind, Zac Gallen could be one as well, and Tatsuya Imai comes with a lot of upside also, among others.

The trade market is an option as well, with another handful of high-end options that could be available. But the guess here is that Detroit would be loathe to part with the requisite prospect capital to land a starter of that caliber via trade, as it would most likely require parting with one or more of the very top of the Tigers top prospects.

We promised to provide some potential answers to our own self-made, made-up questions in this list, with the framework of a $175 million payroll in mind. We previously guessed that the Tigers would refrain from adding an impact bat due to opportunity cost and the potential for internal improvement and solutions; that was because we do feel that the Tigers will attempt to add an impact starter, along with some help in the bullpen (more on that in a second).

So for the purposes of this exercise, let’s provide one potential solution to the Tigers need for a frontline starter: Michael King, for somewhere around $20-25 million over four years.

Will the Tigers pursue bullpen help?

We’re somehow up over 2,500 words already, so let’s cut to the chase: yes, the Tigers will pursue bullpen help this winter.

In 2025, Detroit’s bullpen ranked 17^th in MLB with a 4.05 ERA. Even more concerning, Detroit’s bullpen ranked 29^th in strikeout percentage, at 20.1 %.

That makes upgrading the relief core a major need for the Tigers this offseason. Will Vest, Tyler Holton, and Brant Hurter provide a solid starting point; Brenan Hanifee and Beau Brieske have proven to be effective at times; Dylan Smith, Drew Sommers, Bailey Horn and Chase Lee all have MLB experience and some upside; and Ty Madden (and his intriguing splitter), Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Drew Anderson and Jake Miller could help in relief as well, among others.

But the best teams (and the teams that advance in the postseason) tend to have lockdown bullpens, and unless multiple guys pop, it’s hard to label Detroit’s relief core as a lockdown bullpen as is.

(Yes, one of the starters could transition to relief if the Tigers make the postseason. But that should be viewed as a luxury, not a necessity.)

Just like the free agent starting pitching market, the free agent reliever market is fairly deep, with several options that would likely be considered upgrades for the Tigers bullpen.

The trade market is another route of course, and in this view, would be a much more likely path for Detroit to take than adding either a hitter or starting pitcher via trade, solely due to acquisition cost.

While acknowledging that the Tigers could certainly add to their bullpen via trade, since the trade market is a little hazier to predict than free agency, let’s stick with our theme of providing potential solutions, and find some free agent fits for Detroit.

In this hypothetical exercise, we previously added Michael King (if only it was that was easy!) at around $20-25 million per year. With our baseline of a $175 million payroll, that would leave around $15 million or so to address the bullpen; with a clear need for two impact relievers.

Would it be great to see Robert Suarez closing games for Detroit? Of course it would, but he will likely command a $15 million per year contract all by himself. The Tigers need multiple backend relievers, and with a potentially limited budget to accomplish that task, let’s split the difference and offer up old friend Kyle Finnegan at around $10 million per year, along with Hunter Harvey at around $5 million per year as potential solutions to the Tigers bullpen woes. (Brad Keller would be another formidable option at around $10-12 million per year, but he’s also garnering interest as a starting pitcher, including from Detroit.)

Michael King, Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey. How does that sound for an offseason? Another hitter would certainly be nice, but unless Scott Harris decides he’s willing to trade his top prospects, or unless Chris Illitch turns into Chris Kringle, the guess here is that the Tigers will be able to address most of their needs this winter, but maybe not all.

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