Tigers Are Excellent Fit for Dependable Blue Jays Free Agent Starting Pitcher
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The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason looking to improve on their pitching staff, and while in some ways they have done that, there is still some work to do if they want a finished product.
President of baseball operations Scott Harris deserves a ton of credit for what he did in the bullpen by signing Kenley Jansen as well as keeping Kyle Finnegan, but the only meaningful starter he had added is KBO lottery ticket Drew Anderson. After all the injuries that occurred last year for Detroit, more starters are needed.
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The Tigers of course have guys like Reese Olson and perhaps at some point Jackson Jobe coming back, however injuries are inevitable. If A.J. Hinch wants to avoid having to manufacture wins with the bullpen and an opener, at least one more addition would be huge.
Detroit has been linked to various names, but the one who makes the most sense both in terms of production and reliability is Toronto Blue Jays veteran Chris Bassitt.
Tigers Should Be Going After Chris Bassitt to Join Rotation
According to most reports, how seriously Detroit shops the rest of the pitching market could depend on how much they actually have to pay Tarik Skubal this season after the arbitration hearing. Beyond the top of the market, the Tigers are casting a wide net in search of help, but nobody fits better than Bassitt.
Coming off one of the better seasons of his career at the age of 36, Bassitt pitched to a 3.96 ERA and had a 2.1 bWAR across 31 starts. The most encouraging part about him though is that durability and reliability he has shown throughout his career.
Bassitt's 125 starts over the last four years place him sixth in all of baseball, rarely dealing with injury issues and being able to be counted on every fifth day. Compare that to someone like Alex Cobb last year, who signed a one-year deal and did not throw a pitch for Detroit and Bassitt is ideal.
Bassitt Likely Would Not Cost Tigers a Ton of Cash
On the cusp of turning 37 years old, Bassitt would likely be had at the kind of one-year agreement Detroit has made a habit of acquiring pitching on, and there's little reason to think he could not produce in that one year.
For a pitcher or any player for that matter, the most important ability is availability, and Bassitt provides the kind of insurance plan the Tigers did not have in 2025. While the Skubal situation is frustrating in terms of finances, the right-hander is someone they should be looking into either way.
Detroit is no stranger to making late adds to the pitching staff in free agency, and as spring training starts to creep closer and closer, keep an eye on Bassitt as someone the Tigers are going to keep targeting.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.