Detroit Tigers Trending Right Way in Pre-Spring Training Power Rankings

What the Detroit Tigers accomplished down the stretch of the 2024 MLB regular season was one of the most shocking mid-season turnarounds in the history of the game.

Despite being sellers ahead of the deadline in July and facing a double-digit deficit in the standings, they turned into arguably the best team in baseball down the stretch. They erased that deficit, earning the second wild card spot in the American League.

The hot streak continued in the playoffs, as they swept the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card series before being defeated by the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series.

It looked as if the team just ran out of steam, but the Tigers had announced their presence as a playoff contender in the league.

Looking to build off of that positive momentum, many people thought the Tigers would be aggressive this offseason upgrading their roster.

There were clear needs that had to be addressed.

The lineup was lacking power and was in the bottom half of the league in nearly every offensive category. Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was a one-man wrecking crew in the rotation as injuries crushed their depth, leading to several bullpen games.

Detroit did bring in reinforcements for those two spots, but not to the extent anyone expected.

The only significant additions made this offseason have been second baseman Gleyber Torres and starting pitcher Alex Cobb, who both agreed to one-year, $15 million deals.

They should both help, but how much they move the needle is certainly up for debate given the question marks around them. Torres has underwhelmed more often than not since two All-Star appearances to begin his career and Cobb made only three starts in 2024 because of an array of injuries.

Despite what many would consider an underwhelming haul this offseason, the Tigers are heading in the right direction.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has placed them at No. 15 in his power rankings one month away from Spring Training and there is one move that could be made to push them even closer to the top 10 — land Alex Bregman.

“The Tigers have an exciting young team on the rise, and adding Alex Bregman to the mix could be the type of addition that pushes them over the top, but the two sides remain at a stalemate in what has long looked like a logical fit for both sides," the MLB expert wrote.

If that doesn’t come to fruition, the team would benefit greatly from bringing back Jack Flaherty, who started the 2024 campaign in Detroit and was stellar, resulting in a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the deadline.

This is a team on the rise, as the core that emerged last season is talented and only going to get better.

Adding another established veteran or two to the mix would certainly help push things forward, as they proved in October they can hang with the best, giving the Guardians everything they could handle.