2025 Detroit Tigers Season Preview
Can the Tigers build on their unforeseen playoff appearance in 2024?
Last time I was creeping around your inboxes, I was there to deliver a post about three remarkable people and their run of bad luck/good luck. Click below if you missed it.
This time I will bring you my second annual review of the Tigers’ off-season moves, as well as their outlook for the 2025 season.
Another MLB season is fast approaching, in fact the first Spring Training games started Saturday February 22. As a die-hard Tiger fan, I have high hopes that the Tigers can build on their surprise trip to the playoffs in 2024. However, this is still the Detroit Tigers, and they have shown over many years that they can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They have proven this time and time again with dreadful play, stupid decisions, horrible trades and a nearly indefensible history of bad free-agent signings and non-signings. Traditionally, I just assume that they will be bad, then I’m not disappointed when they are. However, this season seems different to me. Maybe, just maybe, the Tigers have turned a corner in the decade-long rebuild. Or, maybe last year was just an anomaly and they will go right back to being the cellar-dwellers we know and love.
Last season the Tigers ended the season in third place in the American League Central, with a record of 86-76, 6-1/2 games back from division winning Cleveland. They were, to everyone’s surprise, the third American League Wild Card team, breaking a ten-year drought for a playoff appearance. If you want to see how I did in my predictions last year just click below.
They beat the Astros in the Wild Card Round two games to none and took the Cleveland Indians (nope, still won’t call them that other name) to a winner take all Game 5, before losing 7-3, ending their Cinderella season. They won eight more games then they had in 2023 and 20 games more than 2022. Tarik Skubal had a coming out party, winning the pitcher’s Triple Crown and was a unanimous Cy Young Award winner. Colt Keith, who I had wondered about in the preview last year, had a solid season after a shaky start. Click below to look back at what I said last year.
Parker Meadows also ended the season as a league-average hitter and a spectacular center fielder, a net positive, considering he spent nearly two months in AAA Toledo. The season wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows though. Spencer Torkelson, the Tigers first overall draft pick in the 2020 MLB draft, continued his struggles at the plate and spent over two months in Toledo. A big (for the Tigers) free agent signing, pitcher Kenta Maeda, was so bad, he lost his spot in the rotation and was moved to the bullpen, where he was a little better, but not much. Javy Baez continued his freefall from great player to, why the heck did we ever sign this guy, before suffering a season-ending hip injury.
2024-25 Off-Season
What have the Tigers done this year to inspire their fans to believe that the 2025 season will be a step forward from last year’s surprise playoff appearance? There were quite a few big name free agents this winter. Pitchers; Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Max Fried, Shane Bieber, Patrick Corbin, Blake Snell, and Corbin Burns, were all available. Outfielders; Anthony Santander, Jose Siri, Cody Bellinger, Harrison Bader, Max Kepler, Kyle Tucker, and Michael Conforto where on the market. Infielders; Ha Song Kim, Alex Bregman, Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Ty France, Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, Willy Adames, and Isaac Paredes, were all potential signing targets for the Tigers. Unfortunately, the Tigers first free agent signing was none of those big name players.
Alex Cobb
The first free agent signing, the one that sets the tone for the offseason, was 37-year-old right handed pitcher Alex Cobb. On December 19, 2024, he was seriously contemplating retirement when the Tigers called and were able to change his mind with a one year deal worth $15 million. Cobb has a record of 79-76 with a 3.84 ERA, two shutouts, 383 walks, 1,108 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.27 in 1,327-2/3 innings. He has had a history of injuries the last few years with hip surgery in 2023 and right shoulder inflammation while rehabbing from his surgery in 2024. He only pitched 16-1/3 innings with Cleveland in 2024. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com said the Tigers signing Cobb was one of the worst for the entire offseason. He said of the deal;
“Cobb is another solid pitcher who just got more money this winter than many thought he was worth at this point. He's 37 and made just three appearances in the 2024 regular season due to hip surgery. He also has another hip procedure and a Tommy John surgery on his resume, so the injuries are beginning to become a cause for concern.”
Great, that sounds like just another good ole Tigers free agent signing. To put a capper on it, he is already hurt this year, with soreness in his right hip. He will be out until at least early April. Remember they are paying $15 million for this!
Gleyber Torres
The next free agent signed by the Tigers is even worse in my opinion. On December 27, 2024, they signed former Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres to a one year $15 million deal. No I didn’t mistype that, it is the same length and money as the Alex Cobb deal. Torres has a career batting average of .265 with 148 homeruns, 441 RBIs, an OBP of .344, and an SLG of .441 in 888 games. He had two good years early in his career, 2018 and 2019 when he was an All-Star both years, and had a combined 62 homeruns and 167 RBIs, but has regressed each year since. Last year he hit .257 with 15 homeruns, 63 RBI, an OBP of .330, and a SLG of .378 in 154 games for the American League Champion Yankees. Compared to the 2023 season, he declined in every category. His batting average was 16 points lower. He had twelve less hits, two fewer doubles, two fewer triples, ten less homeruns, five less RBIs, nine less stolen bases, and 38 more strikeouts. Maybe you think he’s a great fielder that can bring increased value with his glove, but you would be wrong. He started off with the Yankees as a shortstop but was unable to be an effective defender there and he was moved to second base full time in 2022. Even at second he is still a minus defender. In 2023 he had a Fielding% of .975 and made 15 errors to lead all second baseman. In 2024 his Fielding% was .969 and he made 18 errors, again leading all second basemen.1 Even the silly Sabermetric stats that I can’t stand, tell the same story. I’m not going to explain these just know they are BAD. He is -10 in Defensive Runs Saved Above Average and has a Range Factor per Game of 3.69 (league average is 3.91). He is also below average for those stats for his entire career. You might wonder why the Yankees didn’t try to resign Torres, and hope for a return to his 2019 form. There were a few reasons, not only the offensive regression, but more importantly has been his attitude. He has been called out more than once by manager Aaron Boone for a failure to hustle, bad body language, poor effort, and a lack of focus. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Torres refused to move off second base after Jazz Chisholm was acquired at the trade deadline in 2023. Thanks Scott Harris, not only did you sign a defensive black hole, but his a selfish jerk too. He has said the same thing in Detroit, that he isn’t interested in playing anywhere but second base, so nothing seems to have changed in his new surroundings.
That’s not even the worst part of this signing. The worst part, is the fact that the Tigers signed Colt Keith as a second baseman last year for six years and $28.6 million. Now, because of the Torres signing and his inability and unwillingness to play anywhere other than second base, the Tigers are going to move Keith to first base, a position he has NEVER played at any level in his entire baseball life. Even though they are next to each other on the diamond, first and second are nothing alike. Second base is all about fielding the 2,880 square feet they are in charge of, double plays, steals and relays. First base is only 1,215 square feet of area, holding runners on, scooping bad throws and bunt coverage. First basemen are usually better hitters, at least from the power perspective, than second basemen and would generally be considered less athletic than their second base counterparts. So the idea of teaching a guy a new position, with a whole new set of rules and decisions to make, just to accommodate a guy who is a worse defender but may end up being a better hitter, is just laughable. What is the plan after this season? In 2026 Torres will be a free agent again and said this year that he is playing for a huge contract in 2026. So, odds are he will be playing for someone else. What do you do with Colt Keith at that point, just move him back to second after missing a whole year of time there? I guess maybe the Tigers are thinking of the future, and the up and coming prospect Kevin McGonigle. He is currently a shortstop in High A West Michigan but a lot of baseball talking heads think he grades out more as a second baseman. Maybe the Tigers are thinking of him in a few years playing second with Keith still at first. Of course all of this depends on Keith being able to be at least an average defensive first baseman. I guess we will see.
After the Torres signing, the Tigers were quiet on the free agent front as player after player signed deals with other teams. After Soto and Alonso signed with the Mets the biggest name left was third baseman Alex Bregman. There were reports and rumors every day about where Bregman would end up and a lot of those stories and rumors had the Tigers as major players in the Bregman market. The Tigers have a need for a everyday third baseman and Tigers manager AJ Hinch was Bregman’s manager in Houston so it seemed to fit. Alas, it was not to be. After months of waiting and speculation, Bregman signed with the Boston Red Sox for three years and $120 million with player opt-outs after each year.2 I was sure the Tigers didn’t want to shell out the cash for Bregman, but it turned out that Tigers offered Bregman a six-year deal worth $171.5 million. Bregman went with a shorter-term deal worth less total dollars, but a larger annual salary and more opt-outs. Plus, apparently he wanted to be in Boston rather than Detroit.
Tommy Kahnle
The Tigers next “splash” in the free agent market was on January 29, 2025 when they signed right-handed relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle to a one year $7.75 million contract (yes, if you were wondering, I’m not very excited with signing two players who have been tainted by the team that shall not be named). Kahnle, a middle reliever, has pitched for four teams over ten years and has a record of 10-14, an ERA of 3.47, eight saves, 452 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.228 in 373-2/3 innings. Opponents have a .210 batting average against him, an OBP of .301, a SLG of .350. He only gives up homeruns 2.6% of the time, strikes batters out 28.9% and walks them 11%. 49% of the balls put into play are ground balls and the average speed of a ball coming off the bat on his pitches is 87.3 mph. He will be another depth bullpen arm solidifying the middle of the bullpen in 2025.
On 02/02/25, the Tigers traded former first-round Draft pick Alex Faedo to his hometown Tampa Bay Rays for Minor League catcher Enderson Delgado and cash. Giving Detroit a return for a pitcher that the team had designated for assignment the previous week. The 20-year-old Delgado joins a Tigers system that has built catching depth over the last couple years, including current MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceno. Delgado isn’t as strong offensively, but the switch-hitter still brings offensive value, batting .259 with four homers and 30 RBIs last year between Single-A Charleston and the rookie-level Florida Complex League. He hit .204 this winter in 31 games for Perth in the Australian Baseball League.
Jack Flaherty
The real biggest signing of the offseason for the Tigers was the reunion with Jack Flaherty. After signing him to a one year deal before the 2024 season, the Tigers traded Flaherty to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. In return the Tigers got shortstop Trey Sweeney and minor league catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo. Even now if you look at the 2024 pitching stats for the Tigers, Flaherty is second on the team in wins and strikeouts even though he didn’t play for the Tigers the last two months of the season. He finished 2024 with 13-7, an ERA of 3.17, 194 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.068. On 02/07/25 he returned to the Tigers with a deal that will pay him $20 million this year, including a $5 million signing bonus. The contract includes a $10 million player option for 2026 that would increase to $20 million if he makes at least 15 starts this season. We know what we got with Flaherty and we know how much better our rotation, and the team as a whole, are with him on the roster. The only question is his health. He has missed time with back issues, including missing a couple starts last year after getting injections in his back. If he can stay healthy the Tigers could have one of the best one-two punches in the league.
John Brebbia
On 02/12/25 the Tigers signed right-handed relief pitcher John Brebbia to a to a one-year, $2.75 million contract. He has pitched for four teams over a seven year career with a 15-21 record, an 3.80 ERA, four saves 388 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.214 over 355 innings in 354 games. Last year he pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves. We didn’t have any decisions but did have an ERA of 5.86, 67 strikeouts, and 19 walks. He gave up eleven homeruns, and had a WHIP of 1.355 in 55-1/3 innings over 59 games. It seems like a lot of money for another middle of the game bullpen arm, especially one that isn’t great.
Andrew Chafin
On 02/24/25 the Tigers signed another name from the past, when they gave Chafin, an 11-year MLB veteran, a minor league contract and an invite to Major League camp. He will earn $2.5 million if he makes the big leagues. His contract includes $1.5 million in incentives, plus a $250,000 assignment bonus if he's traded. Last year with the Tigers and Texas Rangers he was 4-3 with an 3.51 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 31 walks and a WHIP of 1.473 in 56-1/3 innings over 62 games. Can Chafin recreate what he had with the Tigers in 2022 when he had an ERA 2.83 and a WHIP of 1.169. If not he’ll be in Toledo to work on things and wait for an injury to a relief pitcher.
Jose Urquidy
On 03/08/25 the Tigers made another earth-shaking signing (please read that dripping with sarcasm). They signed right-handed pitcher Jose Urquidy to a one year deal with a club option for 2026. The deal is worth $1 million this season. Urquidy underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2024, and the structure of this deal says the Tigers believe that he won’t return to game action until the 2026 season. Urquidy’s 2026 option includes performance bonuses based on how many games he starts. It runs from $150,000 for four starts all the way to $500,000 for 28 starts. If you add up the incentives, Urquidy could make up to $7 million with a full 2026 campaign. So, let me get this straight. The Tigers signed a pitcher to a one year deal that they know won’t pitch until next year, if they choose to exercise the 2026 option. I guess, this allows Urquidy to complete his rehab with the Tigers this year, while letting them evaluate his progress and decide whether to exercise the option for next season. Detroit immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list. Before he was hurt he pitched for the Astros where he was 27-16 with an 3.98 ERA, one save, 97 walks, 326 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.143 in 405 innings over 79 games. I see that there could be some potential there, and in the grand scheme, a million bucks isn’t that much (to them).
That was the extent of the offseason activity for the Tigers in 2024/25. Jack Flaherty, a crappy fielding second baseman that is hoping for a good offensive season and a bunch of pitchers that may or may not have good seasons. Next, let’s look at what I think the starting rotation will be.
Starting Rotation
All of this is dependant on players not getting injured or having horrible springs.
The problem here, is the same one as last season. The Tigers have more pitchers than rotation spots, and beyond Skubal and Flaherty, and maybe Olson, none of the others are a guaranteed success. They currently have eight starting pitchers, the aforementioned Flaherty and Skubal, Reese Olson, Keider Montero, Casey Mise Alex Cobb, Kenta Maeda, and Jackson Jobe. It seems that Reese Olsen is the closest to a lock for a spot. He ended the season on the Injured List with a right shoulder strain, but appears to be healthy this season. Alex Cobb will occupy a spot when he returns from injury, but as I said earlier he won’t be available until some time in April, if he doesn’t suffer any setbacks and everything goes well. If you are wondering about a return to the “Pitching Chaos” of last year, I would be very surprised if they would try that for an entire season because of the stress it puts on the bullpen
Here is how I see the rotation working out:
Tarik Skubal
Jack Flaherty
Reese Olson
Jackson Jobe
Casey Mise/Alex Cobb (once he is healthy)
Tarik Skubal
Left-hander Skubal, had a season to remember last year, the best for a Tigers pitcher since Max Scherzer in 2013, and is looking to build on it this year. He still has something to prove, because 2024 was his only full season in the Majors. He wants to prove he is past his injury concerns and that his 2024 performance wasn’t a fluke. If he has a season even close to that, he could be in for another Cy Young Award. He has already been named the Opening Day starter and is quickly pitching his way into the hearts of Tigers fans. If he can get a little more support from the hitters this year, he could be the first 20-game winner in the American League since 2019 (Verlander with Houston).
Jack Flaherty
Like I said earlier, Jack Flaherty just has to prove he can stay on the field, and pitch like he did last year to be a success this season. If he can put together a full season with production like last year, or maybe a little better, he could give Skubal a run for a Cy Young. It gives the Tigers a great pair of pitchers to open a series, all season and the best combo of Tiger pitchers since Verlander and Scherzer.
Reese Olsen
Right-hander, Reese Olsen was quickly establishing himself as a great third pitcher in the Tigers rotation before his injury. He started the second most games, and threw the second most innings on the team, after Skubal. He ended the season 4-8 with a 3.53 ERA, 101 strikeouts, 33 walks and a WHIP of 1.184 in 112-1/3 innings. As the team got better Olson did as well. He had a great July going 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA and eleven strikeouts. If he can build on that, and carry it over to this season he could turn into one of the best third men in the American League.
Jackson Jobe
I know Jobe is only 22 and still has plenty of Minor League options left, but the time has come for him to show us what he can do.3 I think it is time for the Tigers to put up or shut up and for Jobe to really start his Major League career. The Tigers might be thinking that he needs a little more AAA experience and might let him be a solid starter there, until either he proves he’s ready (how much more can he do?) or there is another injury to a starting pitcher. In the minors, Jobe has thrown 233 innings with a 11-12 record, an ERA of 2.97, 261 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.19 in 233 innings over 58 games. At 22-years-old, I think it is time for Jobe to prove he can be a Major League pitcher and for the Tigers to get as much value from him as possible. I have seen a lot of offseason predictions that say Jobe is the player most likely to win the Rookie of the Year award in 2025. If he’s good enough to be in the conversation around that award, he should be good enough to win a spot in the rotation.
The Fifth Spot
This spot is the one with the most questions surrounding it. Kenta Maeda and Casey Mise are both making their cases to be that fifth starter in Spring Training. Every outing that Mise and Maeda have this spring seems like a audition for that fifth spot. But, don’t forget about the 15 million dollar man, Alex Cobb. Eventually he will be back, and the Tigers didn’t just spend that much for him to be in Toledo or to cut him.
Casey Mise
Mise is a known quantity with 291 Major League innings under his belt. However, there are significant issues when it comes to his pitches. Even with the outstanding pitching coaches the Tigers have, he doesn’t seem to be able to get swings and misses at the MLB level.4 Last year for example, he threw 102-1/3 innings and struck out 78 hitters. That is only .76 an inning, by contrast Skubal struck out 1.19 batters an inning. If we look at some advanced metrics, the pitch Mise get the most swings and misses with is his split-finger fastball at 32.2%. He threw that pitch 18.2% of the time. His four-seam fastball, which he throws 38.1% of the time only got 20.7% swing and misses. again, for comparison Reese Olson’s most used pitch, his slider, got 45.5% swings and misses. In other words Mise’s most used pitch is only missed by batters 21% of the time while Olson’s most used pitch is missed 46% of the time. Something has to change for him to be successful at this level, and so far the pitching braintrust hasn’t been able to figure a way to fix that. Although, this spring it seems like they may have done it. In 11-2/3 innings he hasn’t given up a run, has only walked five and struck out fourteen.
Alex Cobb
In 2023 before a hip injury ended his season, Alex Cobb was 7-7 with an 3.87 ERA with two complete games, one shutout, 131 strikeouts, 37 walks and a WHIP of 1.322 in 151-1/3 innings over 28 games for the Giants. If he can come back healthy from this hip issue and return to his 2023 form I might change my mind about this signing. Until he proves himself, I still think this was a horrible signing.
Kenta Maeda
He was signed to a two year deal before the start of the 2024 season and in his first five starts, I thought this was a horrible signing. By my birthday, July 9, I was sure it was He was 2-5 with a 7.26 ERA, 23 walks, 50 strikeouts, 15 homeruns given up, and a WHIP of 1.583 in 65-2/3 innings. He was so bad that the Tigers moved him out of the rotation and into the bullpen. In his last thirteen games, coming out of the bullpen he was better, 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA, eight walks, 46 strikeouts, seven homeruns surrendered, and a WHIP of 1.092 in 46-2/3 innings. I’ve heard early reports that Maeda’s fastball velocity, which averaged 91 last years is averaging 92 and is reaching almost 94. That is a big jump in velocity for a 36-year-old pitcher. So far in 12-2/3 innings in spring, he has a 5.68 ERA with one walk, four homerun surrendered and 19 strikeouts. At first it looked like he was going to be a lock for the fifth spot, now he is falling back into old habits. I’m going to call it right now and say, he goes back to the bullpen, until there is an injury to a starter.
Bullpen
Just like last year the big question in the bullpen is who will be the closer. Last season I said that Alex Lange was the closer of the future, and boy was I wrong. He couldn’t throw a strike to save his life. His knuckle-curve is a great pitch, and he has a four-seam fastball, sinker and a changeup to go with it, but his curve is his go to pitch. Last season, he could not get it over the plate, or close enough to get swings, and batters just ignored it and crushed his other pitches. It became such an issue he was sent to the minors to work it out. Not only did he not work it out, he got hurt. He is still recovering from the injury, a torn latissimus dorsi tendon, and was placed on the 60-day injured list as of 02/12/25. That means he won’t even be eligible to pitch in a Major League game until 04/12/25. Even if he has no lingering effects from the injury and is ready to throw in MLB games, I would expect him to spend significant time in Toledo until the Tigers are sure he has figured out his control issues. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see him in Detroit until June or maybe not at all.
If Lange isn’t the closer (or highest leverage reliever, as AJ Hinch calls it), who will be? I think it will be one of three pitchers; Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, Beau Brieske or Will Vest, with a dark horse candidate of Chase Lee.
Jason Foley
Last season, after the demotion of Lange, Foley became the default closer. He had 28 saves in 32 opportunities, an ERA of 3.15, 46 strikeouts, 28 walks and a WHIP of 1.18 in 60 innings over 69 games. Not the greatest stat line for someone who is supposed to come into the game and shut the door on the other team. On top of that he’s a ground ball pitcher, not really what you want for a closer. Ground balls have a way of sneaking through the infield leading to runs. What you want is a strikeout pitcher who when he gives up contact to hitters, gives up fly balls. I think he has the inside track, just because he did it last year.
Tyler Holton
Next up is left-handed pitcher Tyler Holton, last year he was 7-2 with an ERA of 2.19. He had eight saves in eight opportunities, 77 strikeouts, 17 walks, and a WHIP of 0.784 in 94-1/3 innings over 66 games. He has the same problem as Foley, way to many ground ball for a closer, although he gets a lot more strikeouts than Foley does, nearly twice as many. I would put him third on my list of possible closers.
Will Vest
Right-handed pitcher Will Vest is a great candidate to fill the closer roll. Last season he was 3-4 with 2.82 ERA, two saves, 63 strikeouts, 18 walks, and a WHIP of 1.123 in 70-1/3 innings over 69 games. Still a little too many grounders but he strikes out so many batters, he compensates for it. I would say that if the Tigers don’t want to use Foley that Vest has the inside track to the closer role.
Beau Brieske
Right-handed Beau Brieske is another option for the Tigers. Last year, during Pitching Chaos he served as the opener in 16 games only pitching an inning and never more than two. He was 4-5 with an ERA of 3.59, one save, 69 strikeouts, 30 walks, and a WHIP of 1.256 in 67-2/3 innings over 46 games. His issue is the number of walks he gave up last year, 30 is WAY too many for a closer. I think he is last on the list to assume the closer role. He has a better profile for a starter or long reliever.
Chase Lee
If I had to pick a dark horse to take the closer spot it would be 26-year-old right-handed side arm pitcher Chase Lee. Acquired from the Rangers in the Andrew Chafin deal, Lee is coming off a breakout minor league season in 2024 that saw him record a 2.75 ERA while totaling 49 strikeouts in 36 innings of work between Texas' and Detroit's farm systems. His late-season run at Toledo included 31 strikeouts and only four walks over 22 innings. Impressive enough that Detroit added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He faces an uphill battle to crack a crowded Tigers bullpen, but as I have just been saying a closer should have more strikeouts, and Lee presents an intriguing option, especially with his unorthodox delivery.
The rest of the bullpen should be Kenta Maeda, Tommy Kahnle, John Brebbia, and Brenan Hanifee. I’m sure that AJ Hinch will use them in all sorts of interesting ways this season. He seems to be a master at matchups in the later innings.
I think that this is a good place to stop today. If I start talking about the position by position battles, this could easily turn into a 30 minute read. Next time, I will complete the 2025 position by position battles, roster and lineups. I think this year I will have a totally separate post for my 2025 MLB predictions. I hope you enjoy these posts and please feel free to share them with anyone who might be interested.
Chris
In 2023 league average Fielding% for second basemen was .985, and in 2024 it was .983. So he was considerably worse than the average second baseman.
A player opt-out in baseball means that when an opt-out comes up the player can choose to stay with the team earning what the contract was for, or become a free agent. Essentially, it means if a player has a great year, he will opt-out and get paid as a free agent. If he has a bad year or is hurt, he will opt-in and the team is stuck with him until the next opt-out or the contract expires. That is how the Tigers are saddled with the horrible Javy Baez. He opted-in after a bad year. Traditionally, teams hate to let players have that much power over their time with a team and most contracts that have player opt-out also have team opt-outs as well.
Players on a 40-man roster are given three Minor League "options." An option allows that player to be sent to the Minor Leagues ("optioned") without first being subjected to waivers. Players who are optioned to the Minors are removed from a team's active 26-man roster but remain on the 40-man roster. A player who is on the 40-man roster but does not open the season on the 26-man roster or the injured list must be optioned to the Minor Leagues. Once an optioned player has spent at least 20 days in the Minors in a given season, he loses one of his options. Only one Minor League option is used per season, regardless of how many times a player is optioned to and from the Minors over the course of a given season. (Players may only be optioned five times per season; after that, it requires outright assignment waivers to assign the player to the Minor Leagues).
Chris Fetter, Juan Nieves and Robin Lund are the Tigers pitching gurus, with Fetter being the Pitching Coach. In fact, he was named MLB Coach of the Year in 2024. The trio has turned the Tigers into a pitching factory with the fourth lowest ERA in the Majors in 2024.
Am so glad I discovered your Substack! Go Tigers!
Love all the details Chris—as a “suffering living in Ohio” Tigers fan—I was hoping they’d build on the playoff run last year. I want to be optimistic but man-I feel like a lot went right last year and can we count on that this year? I’m curious to read where you think they’ll end up.