Tigers Miss Out On Perfect Fit Free Agent After Lucrative Offer from Braves

The Detroit Tigers have lost out on a player who would have been a perfect addition.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers went into the offseason expected to add more so to their pitching staff than anywhere else, and that is exactly how they have approached free agency to this point.

Rebuilding the bullpen by bringing back Kyle Finnegan and landing a new closer in Kenley Jansen as well as signing Drew Anderson for the starting rotation was a strong start, however this team is far from a finished product.

Detroit needed help on the pitching staff, but this team is also in desperate need of another bat that they have yet to land at this point, not to mention the gaping hole at third base. On Monday night, the potentially perfect fit in terms of all-around ability and affordability came off the board.

As first reported by baseball insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Atlanta Braves re-signed Ha-Seong Kim to a one-year deal worth $20 million after he turned down his player option for $16 million to hit the open market again.

Tigers Miss Out On Ha-Seong Kim After Reported Interest

Sep 20, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (9) celebrates after he scores a run in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Kim's decision to return to Atlanta gives him the opportunity to play shortstop full-time and get a raise from the option he declined while also having the flexibility to hit free agency again a year from now.

It was clarified by Jeff Passan of ESPN that Kim did turn down multiyear offers from other teams in order to stay with the Braves, and while it's unclear if Detroit was one of those offers, it would make a whole lot of sense if they were.

Kim has an ability to play wherever needed in the infield at a Gold Glove level and gets on base at a high rate with very strong walk and chase rates. The Tigers were confirmed to be in on Kim a year ago but passed due to his injury situation, and it was suspected they were involved again.

How Detroit pivots from here becomes anyone's guess, but losing Kim stings.

Tigers Now Must Shift Focus to Other Free Agents

Detroit Tigers team owner Chris Ilitch, left, talks to president of baseball operation Scott Harris as they watch batting practice during spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The reality around this Detroit lineup is that it is not strong enough to win at the highest level when the lights get bright in October. Whether or not the front office agrees with that assessment is another question, however they should look no further than their elimination as evidence.

With an offense that disappeared down the stretch and for most of October as well as a still looming massive third base sized gap, the Tigers need to make moves. It does not seem at this point that Alex Bregman or Bo Bichette are realistic, but there are other names out there.

Eugenio Suárez, Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto all loom as potential lineup upgrades, and if Detroit wants to take that next step, they need to land one of them.

Kim would have been a more affordable fit, but clearly the Tigers did not want to do what it took to land him. What they do -- or don't do -- from here could wind up defining the offseason.