Why the Tigers Should Strengthen the Left Side of Their Starting Rotation
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When the Detroit Tigers signed Framber Valdez earlier this year to join Tarik Skubal as the second arm in the rotation, it was inevitable to think about the projections of a rotation powered by two elite left-handers. However, Skubal’s salary arbitration hearing and the possibility that he would reach the trade deadline as the most important piece on the trade market drastically changed short-term expectations.
Then, reality was somewhat worse than expected, as Framber couldn't hold up long enough and Skubal ended up on the injured list due to surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, which kept him out of action for more than a month.
Skubal remained out until June 13 and, after his return, posted a 4-3 record with a 2.87 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 53 ⅓ innings in his last nine starts. His best stretch came in July, when he posted a 3-1 record, with a 2.03 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings, until he was sent to the Dodgers on Aug. 2, putting an end to his time in Detroit.
After Skubal’s departure, Framber became the Tigers’ main starter and had a much better finish to the season in several aspects, which could lead us to think about a rebound for his second season in Detroit. Framber managed to reduce hard contact, improving from the 77th to the 85th percentile in that final stretch. He also made a considerable jump in his Hard Hit% allowed rate, moving up from the 40th to the 63rd percentile, while his ability to generate ground balls remained intact.
In other words, he handled a large number of situations and counts in which he ended up getting too far away from the strike zone with greater ability. This caused him problems that increased with the decline in his strikeout rate.
Should the Tigers Strengthen the Left Side of Their Rotation?
Look, I still haven’t completely ruled out that Framber can bounce back and, definitely, his improvement could be key if Detroit adds a left-handed arm to strengthen the rotation. One of the main reasons comes from the effectiveness the team showed in 2026 during the short time when Skubal and Framber were able to coincide, which then improved when the Dominican managed to make adjustments after the trade deadline.
In the end, this led the Tigers to post a combined 2.91 xFIP, the best among all American League teams. But if we reduce it only to the starters—basically the Skubal-Framber duo, with some brief appearances by Tyler Holton and Andrew Sears—the xFIP drops to 2.68.
This effectiveness is related to a trend that reveals the problems of most left-handed hitters on American League Central teams against left-handed pitching, such as the Minnesota Twins (75 wRC+), the Kansas City Royals (77 wRC+), and the Cleveland Guardians (82 wRC+), which finished at the bottom of the offensive list.
After Skubal, among the main left-handed arms in free agency are Trevor Rogers, a former Tiger, Matthew Boyd, David Peterson, Kris Bubic, and Shota Imanaga. Therefore, Detroit will have a good opportunity to evaluate its budget and decide whom it could offer a short- or long-term contract to.
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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