Tigers Can Pursue One Elite Free Agent to Change Everything for Offense

The Detroit Tigers have one more name they could pursue in order to revamp the offense.

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The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason with fans feeling the same way they do every year: having high hopes that this could be the year the franchise spends big on one of the top free agents.

After missing on Alex Bregman a year ago, Detroit flat out took a pass this time around which is understandable, but they have not pursued much offensive help at all despite the way the season came crashing down in the final stretch of 2025.

President of baseball operations Scott Harris has done a nice job rebuilding the bullpen, but outside of that it's been a quiet winter for the bats since Gleyber Torres signed his qualifying offer. As the top names including Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and others start to come off the board though, there is still one elite bat out there who could add a new element to the Tigers offense.

The longer the bidding goes on, the better chance a team like Detroit will have with any free agent, and if Harris wants to make a huge upgrade to the offense, he should be on the phone with agent Scott Boras to try to land New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Tigers Should be Going After Cody Bellinger with Lucrative Offer

Cody Bellinger against Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Interestingly, the shorter term lucrative AAV type contract seems to be the new wave with the top free agents these last couple of years, which is exactly the type of area Detroit could be willing to strike on.

The seven or eight-year commitments are becoming fewer and fewer, and while Bellinger has been reported to be looking for that, perhaps the Tigers can tempt him instead with the kind of offer the New York Mets secured Bichette on, or the Boston Red Sox took Bregman with last year.

If the Tigers are going to keep Tarik Skubal in 2026, they need to go for it more than they are right now, and giving Bellinger $40 million a year with the assumption that he opts out following just one season could be the exact way to do that.

Given the struggles of Parker Meadows, Detroit desperately needs an offensive upgrade in the outfield, and Bellinger certainly would provide one while weakening a team who could be standing in their way in October.

Bellinger is Perfect Fit for Tigers Offense

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Though he would obviously not do much to balance out a lefty-heavy lineup, Bellinger is the exact kind of bat this lineup was missing in September and October. In his lone season with New York, he had his best campaign since winning the National League MVP in 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Slashing .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI, the 30-year-old posted a 5.1 bWAR in 152 games played which was also aided by very strong defense in the outfield. Bellinger would certainly not be cheap, but Detroit shoud be able to look past this on a short-term deal.

The cost of winning in today's day and age is spending big, and until the Tigers do that they will continue to be stuck where they are. Someone like Bellinger has the potential to change all of that.