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MLBTR Podcast: The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What positions do the Astros need to target to make it back to the postseason? (41:55)
  • Do the Brewers need to change their contact-over-power approach? (45:20)
  • Will Kyle Tucker’s injuries significantly impact his payday? (47:10)
  • Should the Padres try to sign J.T. Realmuto or stick with Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano? (49:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here
  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
  • Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Tigers Not Bringing Back Anthony Iapoce

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First base coach Anthony Iapoce will not return to the team next season, as first reported by Andy Martino of SNY. He had served in the position since 2024. Iapoce had been in the organization for the past three seasons. He managed Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, in 2023.

As Jason Beck of MLB.com noted, Iapoce was well-regarded in the Tigers’ clubhouse. Players were seen with “Coach Poce” t-shirts before games.

Iapoce has held a variety of roles since wrapping up an 11-year playing career in 2005. He worked as a minor league hitting coach for the Marlins’ organization from 2006 to 2009. Iapoce spent the next three seasons as a minor league hitting coordinator with Toronto. From there he moved on to the Cubs, working as a special assistant to the General Manager from 2013 to 2015.

Iapoce earned his first MLB gig in 2016, serving as the hitting coach for the Rangers. He held that role until 2019, when he became the Cubs’ hitting coach, a position he would occupy through 2021. Texas was a top 10 scoring offense in 2016 and 2017, before slipping to 14th in Iapoce’s final season. Chicago topped out at 10th in scoring during Iapoce’s tenure.

Given his extensive experience and the support he had in Detroit, Iapoce seems like a good bet to latch on with another club this upcoming season.

Mets Expected To Show Interest In Tarik Skubal

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Ahead of his final year under team control, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has gotten plenty of attention as fans and clubs alike have begun to turn their attention towards the offseason. Detroit’s reported extension offer of less than $100MM over four years last offseason does not inspire confidence that the club will be able to lock him up long-term, but president of baseball operations Scott Harris gave a non-answer about Skubal’s future during his end-of-season press conference this past week. It’s impossible to say at this point whether Detroit would consider trading their ace this winter, but Will Sammon of The Athletic writes that the Mets are expected to be involved in that market if Skubal were to be made available.

That’s not exactly a surprise. The Mets had perhaps the most disappointing season in baseball this year given that they missed the postseason during Juan Soto’s first season in Queens after signing a $765MM deal last winter. Much of that disappointment can be chalked up to a lackluster rotation that crumbled down the stretch and posted a 5.09 ERA after July 1 that was good for just 25th in the majors. Injuries and underperformance from virtually every established arm in the rotation mix besides Clay Holmes and David Peterson left New York on the outside looking in this postseason, and while youngsters like Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong offer some optimism for the future, it would be understandable for the Mets to seek more certainty this winter than they can offer.

When it comes to starting pitching, there might be no pitcher this side of Paul Skenes who offers more certainty than Skubal. He’s pitched to a 2.30 ERA with a 31.2% strikeout rate and a 4.5% walk rate across 387 2/3 innings of work over the past two seasons. That work has already won him one Cy Young award and is likely to win him a second next month. He’s also managed to take things up a notch when the lights are brightest and dominate in the postseason, with a 2.04 ERA, 1.92 FIP, and 37.8% strikeout rate across six playoff starts. Of the 33 starting pitchers with at least 20 postseason innings over the past five years, Skubal boasts the highest strikeout rate, best SIERA, and the fifth-lowest ERA.

Skubal’s resume speaks for itself, and in a free agent market that looks relatively soft on starting pitching options he figures to be all the more attractive. With that being said, there are some reasons to think the Mets might not go all-in for Skubal even if the Tigers do make him available. The lefty is represented by the Boras Corporation, and agent Scott Boras is known for preferring his clients to test free agency rather than sign extensions. That would seem to make it unlikely that the Mets (or any other acquiring club) would be able to keep Skubal long-term after trading for him unless they outbid the field next winter.

New York certainly has the financial wherewithal to do that, but (as the Soto signing last winter showed) they could also look to do so without surrendering what figures to be a massive prospect package to acquire his final year of team control. Sammon suggests that the Mets would be open to considering a deal involving any player besides McLean, who posted a 2.06 ERA in eight starts this year and is viewed as a potential ace in his own right. Sammon speculates that the Tigers could ask for a package along the lines of Tong and Sproat plus top infield prospect Jett Williams in exchange for Skubal’s services.

It should be highlighted that Sammon’s suggested package is purely speculative, but it’s still worth noting that it would be quite out of character for president of baseball operations David Stearns to surrender so much young talent for a one-year rental. That willingness to prioritize the farm system is something that he seemingly has backing from ownership on, given previous comments by Steve Cohen about the club’s current level of spending being unsustainable in the long-term and a desire to support massive deals for players like Soto and Francisco Lindor with young, homegrown talent.

The other side of that conversation is the reality that if the Mets are going to improve their rotation headed into next year, they’ll need to spend either prospect capital or more dollars. Even so, those other avenues to improving could be preferable to giving up a massive package to land Skubal. Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is expected to be available in trade this winter, and Sammon floats him as an example of a pitcher who likely could be had for a lower prospect cost than Skubal. The Mets have been unafraid of rolling the dice on pitchers with question marks in the past during free agency, and the upside a player like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, or Ranger Suarez could offer is immense.

Those alternative options may end up being necessary to pursue even if the Mets decide to pursue Skubal. There’s no guarantees the Tigers will make him available at all, and even if they do New York would hardly be the only suitor for his services. Last offseason’s failed pursuit of Garrett Crochet should serve as a reminder that the Mets aren’t as able to easily outbid the competition on the trade market as they are in free agency; the Red Sox and Craig Breslow were able to offer a massive package for Crochet that few teams in the sport would have been able to match, and even the improved farm system Stearns finds himself with this winter isn’t impossible to outbid with McLean likely off the table.

Latest On Tigers, Tarik Skubal

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October 17th: Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit’s offer after 2024 was for four years and less than $100MM.

October 16th: The Tigers are now down to their final season of control over the American League’s best pitcher. Tarik Skubal is entering his last year of arbitration and trending towards the largest pitching contract in history if he stays healthy.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote this evening that Skubal could seek a deal of at least $400MM. Heyman reports that Detroit’s extension offer last offseason was shy of the $170MM which Garrett Crochet received from the Red Sox in April. Heyman specifies that the Tigers’ offer came before Crochet’s extension.

Much will be made of the more than $200MM gap between those two numbers, but that doesn’t consider the timing of Detroit’s offer. The front office certainly wouldn’t be under any illusions now that a sub-$200MM proposal would be close. Their previous offer came when Skubal was two years from free agency and before the Crochet precedent.

It wasn’t clear last offseason that Crochet would command as strong a deal as he did. That contract was nearly $50MM above the previous top extension for a pitcher with between four and five years of service time (Jacob deGrom’s $120.5MM deal with the Mets from 2019). The Red Sox certainly don’t have any regrets after Crochet’s dominant ’25 season, but that deal pushed the extension market dramatically forward. While it’s not clear precisely what Detroit had offered, it’s safe to presume it was north of the deGrom extension and would have been a record within his service class before the Crochet signing.

Skubal bet on himself and is in position to truly cash in as a result. He’s going to win his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award after posting a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts across 31 starts. He is two and a half seasons removed from the flexor surgery that ended his 2022 campaign. Most importantly, he’s now 12 months away from the open market.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto received the largest guarantee for a pitcher in MLB history when he signed with the Dodgers for $325MM. That was in large part due to his unusual circumstances coming over from Japan. He was an established ace in NPB and widely viewed as one of the two best pitchers (alongside Paul Skenes) who had yet to pitch in MLB at the time. Yamamoto came over before his age-25 season — earlier than any MLB ace could accrue the necessary six years of service time to hit free agency. He commanded a 12-year deal that was three years longer than any other pitching contract.

Among domestic free agent pitchers, Gerrit Cole has the record on his nine-year, $324MM contract with the Yankees. Cole had yet to win a Cy Young but was coming off two straight top five finishes. He hit the market at age 29, while Skubal is on track to become a free agent at 30. Cole’s deal is six years old, so there’ll surely be an adjustment for inflation.

Cole’s $36MM average annual value was a record for a pitcher at the time. It’s now down to sixth — not including the Shohei Ohtani deal — on an annual basis. Late-career aces Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Wheeler have each reached or topped $42MM on two- or three-year contracts. deGrom received $37MM annually on his five-year deal with Texas, while Blake Snell is making $36.4MM per season from the Dodgers (albeit with deferrals that drop the net present AAV to the $31-32MM range).

Those are all free agent precedents. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Skubal for a $17.8MM salary in his last arbitration year. Detroit wouldn’t get much of a discount on an extension, but a long-term deal this offseason would come with the risk that he suffers an injury next year.

The Tigers have signed two contracts above $200MM: Prince Fielder’s free agent deal and Miguel Cabrera’s franchise-high $248MM extension. They’re each more than a decade old and came under the ownership tenure of the late Mike Ilitich. Since his son Christopher Ilitch took control of the organization in 2017, they’ve signed one nine-figure deal — the $140MM Javier Baez addition. Detroit has a relatively clean long-term payroll outlook aside from Baez’s $24MM salaries over the next two seasons. Jack Flaherty has a $20MM player option for 2026, while Colt Keith is signed for $4-5MM for the next four years.

[Related Poll: Should The Tigers Consider A Skubal Trade?]

There’s enough payroll space that it’s conceivable the Tigers could make a competitive extension offer to Skubal. If talks don’t gain traction, they’d need to decide whether to hold him for a final season or entertain trade possibilities. Detroit is coming off consecutive playoff berths and spent most of the ’25 season in control of the AL Central. It’s difficult to envision the Tigers being legitimate contenders in 2026 if they were to trade Skubal, even if they built a return around controllable big league talent. There’s a strong argument for simply holding Skubal in the hope that he carries them to a deep postseason run and making a qualifying offer next winter. If they struggle in the first half, he’d be a marquee deadline trade chip.

The alternative this offseason would be to follow the respective Red Sox, Padres and Astros precedents with Mookie Betts, Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker. Those teams all traded their superstar before his final season of arbitration. That went terribly for Boston. San Diego did very well on the Soto return and has won at least 90 games in each of the past two seasons. The jury is still out on Houston’s trade of Tucker. They got a strong three-player return but came up shy of the postseason this year. Those teams were all navigating short-term payroll restrictions from ownership that shouldn’t be an issue for Detroit with how little money they have on the books.

President of baseball operations Scott Harris gave a non-answer when asked about Skubal’s future during the Tigers’ end-of-season presser on Monday. “I can’t comment on our players being traded … so I’m going to respond by not actually commenting on it,” Harris said. “Tarik is a Tiger. I hope he wins the Cy Young for the second consecutive year. He’s an incredible pitcher and we’re lucky to have him.”

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. Unless otherwise credited, these free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Catchers

Outfielders

Pitchers

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Munetaka Murakami to be posted for MLB clubs this offseason (2:20)
  • Ten teams will go into 2026 with a new manager, with eight of those jobs currently vacant (18:50)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Can the Mets get Tarik Skubal from the Tigers? (29:55)
  • Would Pete Alonso return to the Mets if they offered $150MM over five years? (38:20)
  • The White Sox have a lot of #4 or #5 starters. Which other teams might be interested in them? (40:00)
  • The Nationals have lots of outfielders, one of whom is 6’7″ tall, and no first baseman. Is it stupid to consider James Wood for first base? (44:20)
  • Will this finally be the Mariners’ year and can they keep Josh Naylor? (49:20)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
  • Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here
  • The Tigers And Astros Try To Hang On, And Brewers’ Rotation Issues – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Poll: Should The Tigers Consider A Tarik Skubal Trade?

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The Tigers lost a heartbreaker in Game 5 of the ALDS when they fell to the Mariners in 15 innings. Detroit was viewed as one of the best teams — if not the best team — in baseball throughout the first half but slumped to a 34-43 record from the start of July onward. They lost control of the AL Central despite boasting an 11.5-game lead on August 23rd, but they managed to put away the Guardians in the AL Wild Card Series even after ceding the division crown to them just days earlier.

It’s easy to argue that Detroit would not have made it to the postseason at all if not for ace Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and 2025 Cy Young frontrunner. Over the past two seasons, Skubal has posted numbers that few pitchers can hope to match — 387 1/3 innings, 2.30 ERA, 31.2 K%, 4.5 BB% — and he’s been essential to both of Detroit’s runs into the playoffs for the past two years.

Skubal won’t be around forever, however. He’s scheduled to hit free agency during the 2026-27 offseason. With just $28.3MM on the books in guaranteed contracts for 2027 according to RosterResource, one can argue that the Tigers must do whatever it takes to extend Skubal or re-sign him in free agency. An extension doesn’t appear likely, though. If Skubal turns in a season anything like his 2024-25 campaigns, he could justifiably take aim at setting a new record among starting pitchers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325MM deal with the Dodgers stands as the current mark after narrowly edging out Gerrit Cole’s $324MM deal with the Yankees.

The Tigers have never spent more on a player than they did Miguel Cabrera, who they inked to an eight-year, $248MM extension back in 2014. The Tigers of the past few years haven’t come close to approaching the sort of overall spending they put forward during the 2016-17 seasons, when they carried a payroll in the $200MM range.

Would the Tigers be willing to give out a franchise-record deal to keep their ace? Asked about the matter after his season ended, Skubal himself told the Tigers’ beat that his job is “to go out there and play” and that such conversations are better left to the front office (via The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen). President of baseball operations Scott Harris isn’t tipping his hand publicly one way or another, however.

“Listen, I totally understand the question and understand that you have to ask me,” Harris said at the team’s end-of-season press conference when asked about Skubal’s future (video link, with the Skubal question landing around the 16:00 mark). “I’ve kind of learned over time, especially with this question, that general comments tend to get chopped up and forced into narratives. I can’t comment on our players being traded. I can’t comment on free agents, and I can’t comment on other teams’ players. So, I’m going to respond by just not actually commenting on it. Tarik is a Tiger. I hope he wins the Cy Young for a second consecutive year. He’s an incredible pitcher, and we’re lucky to have him. That’s all I can say on that.”

Fans of other clubs are understandably captivated with the idea of seeing their favorite clubs make a run at a Skubal trade. One could argue that if the Tigers don’t believe a long-term deal is possible, they’re better prioritizing long-term health of the organization than employing a win-at-all-costs-in-2026 mentality.

It goes without saying that having Skubal at the front of the team’s rotation would give Detroit its best chance of bringing home a championship next year. In addition to his dominant regular season work, he’s been a menace in the postseason with a 2.04 ERA, 1.92 FIP, and a 37.8% strikeout rate across his six starts. Skubal has not just been essential to the Tigers getting to October over the past two years, but he’s managed to shine when the lights are brightest.

Zooming out to look at the larger Tigers organization reveals that Detroit may not be particularly close to full power yet. Star pitching prospect Jackson Jobe made just ten starts this year before he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery, which is likely to eliminate his entire 2026 campaign. Even setting Jobe aside, the Tigers are bringing along a number of elite prospect talents who figure to make their big league debuts in the next few years. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle is considered one of the sport’s top 10 prospects and should make his way to the majors next year. Outfield prospect Max Clark is also frequently ranked as a top-10 leaguewide prospect, while catcher Josue Briceno and shortstop Bryce Rainer are typically regarded as top-50 talents.

That upcoming crop of youngsters could pair with Jobe and the team’s existing young core to produce a behemoth that competes for years to come. Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Spencer Torkelson are all controlled through 2028, while Reese Olson is controlled through 2029, Dillon Dingler will be in town through 2030 and Colt Keith is locked up through 2032.

Proponents of a trade would argue that Skubal would fetch the sort of high-end talent who can help replace not only Skubal himself but also other key veterans like Casey Mize, Gleyber Torres, and Jake Rogers. On the other hand, the Tigers already have a touted farm system and know all too well how uncertain the future of even elite prospects can be.

It wasn’t long ago that Mize and Torkelson were viewed just as highly as McGonigle and Clark are now. They both contributed to the 2025 team, but neither has turned out to be the sort of franchise-defining player the Tigers hoped to be getting when each was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. Even Skubal battled through four seasons of injuries and mediocrity before coming into form as a superstar last year.

How do MLBTR readers think the Tigers should proceed with Skubal this winter? Should they trade him to load up for the future or should the maximize the 2026 even with no guarantees of signing him long-term? Have your say in the poll below:

Tigers Extended Manager A.J. Hinch Earlier This Season

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The Tigers and manager AJ Hinch quietly agreed to a long-term contract extension during the 2025 season, president of baseball operations Scott Harris announced today at his end-of-season press conference (video link). Harris and Hinch did not specify the length of the contract, but Hinch ostensibly is now signed through at least 2027. Harris effused praise for Hinch, calling him one of the best managers in the sport and saying he hopes to continue working with him “as long as I can possibly work with him.”

Hinch, 51, just wrapped up his fifth season as the manager in Detroit. This is already the second time the organization has “proactively” extended him — as Harris phrased it — before the conclusion of his existing contract.

The Tigers have reached the postseason and won a Wild Card series before falling in the ALDS in each of the past two seasons. Hinch’s club has gone 394-416 since he was hired following the 2020 season, though the Tigers spent the first three years of his managerial tenure wrapping up a large-scale rebuilding effort, so it’s hard to ding him for a sub-.500 record. Hinch has spent parts of 12 seasons as a major league manager in Detroit, Houston and Arizona.

With regard to the team’s coaching staff, the Harris/Hinch duo did not specify whether changes are on the horizon. Hinch voiced pride in his staff but noted that there will be an assessment period at all levels within the organization in the days ahead as leadership looks ahead to the 2026 season.

Of course, even if Harris and Hinch fully intend to bring back the same staff, there’s no guarantee that’ll happen. An incredible eight teams are on the hunt for a new manager right now, and it’s common for clubs seeking new skippers to look to the coaching staffs of contending clubs. Even if no Tigers coach is plucked away for a new managerial gig elsewhere, new managers with other teams will also look to contenders’ coaching staffs to fill out their own. If another team is interested in a Tigers assistant pitching coach or assistant hitting coach to take a lead role in their organization, for instance, that could lead to some turnover.

While some changes further down the ladder can’t be ruled out, however, the leaders in the baseball operations department and in the dugout are squarely returning, providing continuity as the Tigers look to capitalize on ace Tarik Skubal’s final season of club control prior to his entrance into the free-agent market next offseason.

There was never any real thought that Hinch’s job would be in jeopardy, even after his team’s collapse in the season’s final few months. The Tigers floundered down the stretch and ultimately ceded the division crown to the Guardians despite holding a 9.5 game lead in the AL Central as deep into the season as Sept. 10. They rallied to topple Cleveland in the Wild Card round, however, before falling in a 15-inning ALDS Game 5 nailbiter against the AL West champion Mariners.

Fans of any of the incredible eight (!!) teams seeking a new skipper might have hoped that Hinch would potentially be available, but all indications since his hiring in Detroit are that he’s firmly entrenched himself as a pillar of the organization. Harris’ comments today reflect that, and Hinch himself spoke of how much he’s embraced the Tigers organization, the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. Said Hinch:

“I’m so happy being in Detroit. I’m so proud to be the manager here. I love working for [Harris]. And this is the second time that I was approached and was asked for more — and it was an immediate ’yes’ for me. When you have an environment that both pushes you and satisfied you, you want to be in it. I was honored. I was thrilled. It was one conversation with my wife, and I went back to Scott with an immediate ’yes,’ and off we went.

…I can’t tell you how proud I am to be the manager of the Tigers. It’s a rewarding place to be. I bought a home here. We live here the majority of the year and we continue to be thrilled to become more and more Michiganders as a family.”

Jack Flaherty Undecided On Player Option For 2026

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Following the Tigers’ 15th-inning loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALDS, right-hander Jack Flaherty (who pitched two scoreless innings late in the game) spoke to members of the media about how much he enjoyed returning to Detroit this season. “I came back here for a reason, to be with these guys, play with them, and be part of this team. I didn’t want to leave it last year,” he explained (per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi).

Flaherty, 30 next week, signed a two-year, $35MM guarantee with the Tigers in the offseason. Earlier this season, he increased that guarantee by reaching the 15-start threshold and escalating his 2026 player option from $10MM to $20MM. In a few weeks, he’ll have a decision to make: Will he opt in for 2026 or return to free agency for a third year in a row?

According to Morosi, Flaherty has not yet decided what he’s going to do. In an MLBTR poll at the end of September, more than 60% of readers said he should stay with Detroit, but Tigers beat writer Evan Woodberry of MLive.com claims “it would be a surprise” to see Flaherty pick up his option.

Flaherty signed a one-year, $14MM deal with the Tigers in his first offseason as a free agent. He was two years younger than he is now, but he was coming off a mediocre season (144 1/3 IP, 4.99 ERA, 4.53 SIERA, 1.8 fWAR) and had dealt with significant injuries in both 2021 and ’22. Following a much stronger 2024 campaign (162 IP, 3.17 ERA, 3.10 SIERA, 3.3 fWAR), he re-entered free agency but failed to land the long-term deal he was surely looking for, ultimately settling for his aforementioned two-year deal in February. That contract initially came with a $17.5MM average annual value, which he increased to $22.5MM. Now another year older and coming off a less impressive season (161 IP, 4.64 ERA, 3.67 SIERA, 2.5 fWAR), it’s worth wondering if he’ll want to risk another disappointing foray into free agency.

Because he was traded to the Dodgers ahead of the deadline in 2024, Flaherty was not eligible to receive a qualifying offer last offseason. It’s certainly possible he opts for free agency, only to receive a qualifying offer (projected to be worth around $22MM) and take it, earning himself an extra $2MM. The righty is precisely the type of player whose earning power could be hamstrung by a qualifying offer, so he might prefer to accept it, play another season with Detroit, and try to enter free agency in a stronger position the following winter. It seems like a safe bet that Flaherty could out-earn $22MM on a multi-year deal this offseason, but the AAV would likely be lower. If he believes he can produce a stronger campaign in 2026, he could maximize his total earnings by taking the $22MM and looking for a more lucrative long-term contract a year from now.

If Flaherty returns next season, the Tigers might run with a very similar rotation to the group they used in 2025, featuring Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and a hopefully healthy Reese Olson. As things stand, Troy Melton, Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long could compete for the final spot, although president of baseball operations Scott Harris would be wise to look for some outside help.

Gleyber Torres To Undergo Sports Hernia Surgery

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With the Tigers’ season now over, Gleyber Torres is planning to undergo sports hernia surgery, the second baseman told reporters (including the Detroit News’ Tony Paul) in the aftermath of the club’s loss in Game Five of the ALDS.  Torres revealed that he has been dealing with the injury for several months, and praised the Tigers’ training and medical staff for helping him keep playing.

“It was not good from the [start of the] second half,” Torres said.  “It was a lot of pain.  But we do a really good job keeping me playing….It’s not about the numbers, it’s just about playing every day.”

A look at Torres’ numbers, however, clearly reveals something was amiss.  Torres hit .281/.387/.425 over 359 plate appearances in the first half of the season, and was performing well enough to earn a starting nod as the American League’s second baseman in the All-Star Game.  Once the All-Star break was over, however, Torres hit only .223/.320/.339 over his final 269 PA of the regular season.  He seemed to rediscover his stroke over Detroit’s first seven postseason games, but an 0-for-6 showing in yesterday’s 15-inning marathon with the Mariners dropped Torres’ playoff slash line to .235/.316/.382 over 38 PA.

Torres’ slide mirrored the Tigers’ own fortunes.  One of baseball’s better clubs for much of the season, Detroit went 9-22 over its last 31 games and barely squeaked into the postseason field in the final AL wild card slot.  If the Tigers had retained their healthy AL Central lead, Torres likely would’ve gotten more opportunity to rest down the stretch, and yet the mutual struggles of player and team led to the Tigers led to an unfortunate Catch-22 situation.  The Tigers still needed Torres in the lineup as much as possible as their top-choice second baseman, yet Torres’ struggles kept adding to the team’s woes (though Torres was far from the only Detroit player to under-perform in September).

The injury adds context to Torres’ second-half decline, and adds a wrinkle to his upcoming free agent market.  Firstly, sports hernia surgeries usually take at least two months of recovery time and closer to 12 weeks on the longer end, so the procedure shouldn’t impact his readiness for the start of Spring Training.  Interested suitors might now wait until Torres is fully recovered before diving too deeply into his market, so it is possible he might not sign until late December or early January.

For the season as a whole, Torres hit .256/.358/.387 with 16 homers over 628 PA, with below-average glovework (though better public defensive metrics than his 2024 work as the Yankees’ second baseman).  This works out to 2.6 fWAR, which was still eighth-best among all second baseman in 2025.  Looking at the free agent second base market, Torres is still arguably the best option available, since Jorge Polanco’s time at second base was also impacted by injury.

Torres’ reps at Octagon will clearly make the case that their client’s first-half performance is a better reflection of what a healthy Torres can bring.  Detroit signed Torres to a one-year, $15MM contract last winter that was essentially a pillow deal for the second baseman, as he was looking a shorter-term deal and a better platform year in 2025 that would allow him to re-enter the market with a stronger set of numbers.  Torres hit .257/.330/.378 with 15 homers over 665 PA (with a 105 wRC+ and 1.8 fWAR) for New York in 2024, so while he did improve in Detroit, it wasn’t the leap ahead he was hoping to achieve.

Could a return to Motown be possible?  Torres is open to it, saying “hopefully we get a really good conversation here.  I feel really good with this group….It was really special this year.”  Retaining Torres would be a logical way for the Tigers to keep a right-handed hitting bat within their lefty-tilted lineup.  On the flip side, a longer-term deal with a second baseman might not appeal to a Tigers team that has some notable minor league infielders (Hao-Yu Lee, Max Anderson, and star prospect Kevin McGonigle) nearing MLB readiness.

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