Why Casey Mize Will Still Be Key to the Tigers’ Rotation in 2026
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This offseason was filled with drama for the Detroit Tigers' starting rotation. Not knowing how the Tarik Skubal arbitration deal would go and the front office remaining quiet until after the agreement was settled, the Tigers have composed one of the best starting rotations in the MLB.
Led by Skubal, followed by Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, and the return of Justin Verlander, one name that seems to get overlooked in the bunch is former No.1 overall draft pick Casey Mize. After the kind of 2025 Mize had, there shouldn't be anyone overlooking the pitcher he is nowadays.
Casey Mize Vital to Detroit's 2026 Success
Mize became an All-Star for the first time in his career last season for the Tigers, in what needed to be a year of improvement. Thus far into his MLB career, Mize has dealt with injuries and setbacks, but has stayed the course, and it finally paid off.
He was even able to help the Tigers in the playoffs, having been on the roster in 2024 but never getting a chance to throw. This past playoffs, Mize had a 3.00 ERA in two games pitched, covering six innings and collecting seven strikeouts.
In case fans were worried about Mize and how he's performed this spring, there hasn't been any setback or anything negative to say. Going into his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, Mize has a spring ERA of 3.24 across three games, 8.1 innings pitched.
Mize has been on the business side of some runs that came across that were not earned, but ultimately, he's been solid. In a rotation filled with Cy Young candidates, Mize knows that he must perform to ensure he doesn't get overlooked, especially with free agency looming around the corner.
"I'm going to keep doing what I always do – try to help us win games," Mize said via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Freepress. "If I'm able to do that, then that'll be positive for me on a personal level whenever that time comes, but I haven't given it too much thought."
Mize will make just over $6 million this season as he takes that optimistic approach into the new campaign. In what could be the final year of Mize in Detroit, depending on how the season goes, he will want to end things on the right foot.
But it doesn't feel all too odd to assume that there's a strong chance Detroit will want to bring Mize back in free agency.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.