Ranking Which Remaining Tigers Free Agents Could Return in 2026

The Detroit Tigers have eight free agents without contracts entering the new year. Which ones could make their way back to the franchise?

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, left, and manager A.J. Hinch meet with reporters Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, at Comerica Park in Detroit. | Evan Petzold / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers are trying to make a push to get to the World Series after two straight seasons of exits in the AL Division Series.

To that end, Detroit has gotten second baseman Gleyber Torres to accept his qualifying offer to solidify second base. Plus, the Tigers have signed three pitchers, including closers Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, to fortify their bullpen.  

But what about their own remaining free agents? The Tigers have seven free agents on the market entering January. There’s always a chance one could filter back. Here, we rank which free agents could return from least likely to most likely.

Least Likely to Most Likely Tigers Free Agents to Return

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Alex Cobb: The Tigers’ flier on Cobb last season was a complete failure and there’s no way they would re-sign him. It was easily their worst signing of last offseason.

Dugan Darnell: Darnell is only on this list because the Tigers claimed him off waivers in November and then designated him for assignment. The reliever has nine career MLB games and the Tigers have made a concerted effort to get other options.

Paul Sewald: Another veteran reliever acquired down the stretch last year, he only pitched four games for the Tigers before he got hurt. He’s had an ERA of 4.00 or worse the past two seasons and the Tigers have now covered themselves in the bullpen.

Andy Ibáñez: A solid utility player with only a little pop in his bat, the Tigers are likely to move on to internal options. Detroit also has Zach McKinstry to slide into this role, assuming the Tigers can solidify third base in free agency.

Tommy Kahnle: The veteran reliever didn’t get it done for Detroit, especially late in the season, as he went 1-5 with a 4.43 ERA in 66 games. With the signings of Finnegan and Jansen, along with holdover Will Vest, the Tigers have the eighth and ninth innings covered.

Chris Paddack: It’s a little surprising the Tigers haven’t kicked the tires on bringing him back, only because he’s shown an ability to eat innings. But, he went 5-13 with a 5.35 ERA in 33 games last season and there are enough options on the open market for the Tigers to find an additional starter.

Rafael Montero: He doesn’t appear to have a big market and that plays in Detroit’s favor. He pitched for three different teams last season but his work for the Tigers was his best (1-1, 2.86 ERA in 20 games. If Detroit wants to add one more set-up many to the bullpen, Montero would be the right pitcher to bring back.  

José Urquidy: The Tigers rolled the dice on Urquidy after Tommy John surgery and got two games out of him. It’s not a good sample of the pitcher he can be. In 2022 with Houston, he was 13-8 with a 3.94 ERA. It’s not out of the question for the Tigers to bring him back on a minor-league deal and let him try to be the No. 5 starter in the rotation.  He’s the most likely to bring back because there’s no risk and little cost.