One Offseason Mistake the Detroit Tigers Cannot Afford to Repeat
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It is hard to fathom that the same Detroit Tigers who came within inches of the ALCS in 2025 went on to sell at the trade deadline and finish 2026 10 games under .500 with a near last-place finish in the AL Central.
When their season ended in heartbreak for the second straight time, it felt like the clear area that needed addressing was the offense, as they were begging for some firepower. However, the only move the front office made in that regard was to extend a qualifying offer to Gleyber Torres.
Luckily, a breakthrough season from Dillon Dingler, as well as unfathomable performances from rookies Kevin McGonigle and then later Max Clark, masked the issue that was ignored. In layman's terms, they got lucky.
Kevin McGonigle connects for his first career home run! pic.twitter.com/lJo6qkCQBu
— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2026
Now, this is most definitely a team game, but one piece that hurt the Tigers more than the rest was undoubtedly the bullpen. There was nobody in the circle of trust as the relief staff blew 29 saves, and this was one piece of the roster that saw nothing noteworthy happen to it in the offseason.
Once their season ended in 2025, the free agent decisions were puzzling, to say the least, as nobody high-leverage was added to the pen, they overpaid for Framber Valdez, and stayed passive on the offensive side.
That is what they absolutely cannot do in the coming months: be passive. Management needs to aggressively pursue an elite closer, another high-leverage arm to complement, and at least one, probably two, starters.
Available Free Agents That the Tigers Should Look At
So, it seems clear that the direction that general manager Jeff Greenberg needs to go is upgrades with the arms in the 'pen. Now, they don't necessarily need to completely turn things inside out, as their overall ERAs weren't the problem.
The first name that many will be talking about is New York Yankees closer, David Bednar, who has been nearly unhittable as he posted a 1.89 ERA over his final 30 games of the regular season and tallied up 35 saves, the second-most of his career.
Another reliever that should be at the forefront of Greenberg's mind is veteran Steven Okert, who just finished up a 2.13 ERA campaign in 68 games for the Houston Astros while also logging 21 holds and posting a 0.87 WHIP.
Looking at a depleted starting rotation, they will clearly need to add reinforcements, and there is talk of Tarik Skubal possibly rejoining the franchise. Although his contract is going to be steep, if Greenberg can ink his name to paper, then it cannot be the only move that is made.
The rotation could also look at veteran Kevin Gausman, who is coming off a year of ups and downs. So, he won't cost quite as much and can serve as a tail-end of the rotation guy.
There are going to be a lot of options that become available for the front office when the time comes, and if Greenberg is passive once again, then that will all but guarantee the Tigers watching the postseason from their couches again.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.