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Bryan Sammons Signs With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines

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Former Tigers left-hander Bryan Sammons has signed a one-year deal with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines, per announcements from the team and from Sammons’ agency, GSI.

Sammons made his big league debut as a 29-year-old rookie this past season, pitching 27 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball for the Tigers during their Cinderella push to the playoffs. The 6’4″ southpaw averaged 91.5 mph on his heater, fanned 17.3% of his opponents and logged a 8.7% walk rate. Sammons spent the bulk of his 2024 season in Triple-A Toledo, where he pitched 102 innings with a 4.15 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. Detroit outrighted Sammons off the 40-man roster after the season, and he became a minor league free agent.

The move to Japan is the latest step in the type of baseball odyssey for which all fans love to cheer. The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen penned a fantastic look at Sammons’ journey from under-recruited high schooler to an eighth-round pick of the Twins who wound up being released both by Minnesota and by Houston. (Readers are highly encouraged to check out Stavenhagen’s piece in full.) Sammons, who graduated from Western Carolina with an engineering degree, contemplated giving up baseball entirely to pursue a more traditional career before taking one last shot and pitching in the Atlantic League. Just over a year later, he was on the mound at Comerica Park.

While Sammons is joining the same team for which Roki Sasaki has starred in his NPB career, he’s effectively taking the place of veteran lefty Dallas Keuchel, who started eight games for the Marines in the second half of the 2024 NPB season. The Marines announced in early December that Keuchel had been released and was a free agent. Sammons’ role will be determined, but manager Masahito Yoshii said his hope is that Sammons can pitch out of the rotation in 2025 (link via Yahoo Japan).

Tigers Interested In Kirby Yates

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Right-hander Kirby Yates is one of the better relievers available in free agency. The Cubs have already been connected to him in rumors and now Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that the Tigers can be added to the list.

Yates, 38 in March, just wrapped up an excellent season with the Rangers. He tossed 61 2/3 innings for them this year, allowing just 1.17 earned runs per nine. He surely got a bit of help from a .168 batting average on balls in play and 88.1% strand rate, which were both on the fortunate side, but even adjusted numbers like his 2.50 FIP and 2.85 SIERA suggest he would have fared well even with less favor from the baseball gods.

His 11.1% walk rate was on the high side but he counteracted that by striking out 35.9% of batters faced and keeping 45.5% of balls in play on the ground. He took over the closer’s role in Texas, earning 33 saves on the year.

Despite that strong performance, Yates will be limited in the kind of contract he can secure. That’s both on account of his age and also his injury history. He hardly pitched at all during the 2020 to 2022 period, mostly due to undergoing Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career. He bounced back in 2023 with a solid but not dominant season, posting a 3.28 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate, 14.6% walk rate and 36.4% ground ball rate.

Accounting for those factors, Yates is likely looking at a one-year deal this winter. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted him for a one-year pact with a $14MM guarantee as part of our annual Top 50 Free Agents post.

The Tigers could have some budgetary wiggle room and seem to want to avoid long-term deals. It was reported last week that they wanted to keep their potential starting pitching signing to one- or two-year pacts, then they signed 37-year-old Alex Cobb to a one-year deal. If they have a similar mindset for upgrading their bullpen, then Yates make a lot of sense.

RosterResource projects their payroll at just $95MM for next year. That’s roughly in line with last year’s payroll but they’ve been far higher in the past. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they had a $200MM payroll as recently as 2017. That was the year that owner Mike Ilitch died and the club hasn’t been in that range since Mike’s son Christopher took over. However, the Tigers did run the payroll up to $135MM going into 2022 when they thought their rebuild was over. That didn’t end up being the case but they finally cracked the postseason in 2024 for the first time in a decade.

The Tigers currently have Beau Brieske, Jason Foley and Tyler Holton as some of their more interesting relievers but no one of that group has reached 200 MLB innings pitched or celebrated a 30th birthday. Just about any club in the majors could add someone like Yates and bump everyone else down a peg on the pecking order, but that’s perhaps especially true in Detroit where there aren’t a lot of guys cemented in.

2024 Rule 5 Draft Results

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The 2024 Rule 5 draft took place this afternoon at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. The results of the draft are below.

As a refresher, the Rule 5 draft is a way for players potentially talented enough for the big leagues but blocked by their current clubs to find opportunities elsewhere. Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and have played five professional seasons, and any players who signed at 19 years of age or older at signing that now have four professional seasons, who are not on a club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Though the amateur (Rule 4) draft now has a lottery to determine the selection order, the Rule 5 draft still goes the old-fashioned way of reverse order of standings from the season that just ended. Clubs need to have an open 40-man roster spot in order to make a pick but aren’t obligated to make a selection on their turn. If they do make a pick, they will have to pay $100K to the team they select from. The selected players must stay on the active roster (or injured list) for the entire 2025 season or else be placed on waivers. If they clear waivers, they must be offered back to their original team. They cannot be optioned to the minors.

Last year’s edition saw some key players change clubs. The A’s took Mitch Spence from the Yankees with the top pick and kept him all year. Justin Slaten was plucked from the Rangers by the Mets and then traded to the Red Sox. Players like Anthony Santander and Ryan Pressly have been notable picks in other recent years while guys like George Bell and Roberto Clemente are found deeper in the history books.

Here are this year’s picks…

  1. White Sox: RHP Shane Smith (Brewers) (Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline relayed the pick on Bluesky prior to the draft)
  2. Rockies: pass
  3. Marlins: C Liam Hicks (Tigers)
  4. Angels: LHP Garrett McDaniels (Dodgers)
  5. Athletics: RHP Noah Murdock (Royals)
  6. Nationals: RHP Evan Reifert (Rays)
  7. Blue Jays: RHP Angel Bastardo (Red Sox)
  8. Pirates: pass
  9. Reds: 2B Cooper Bowman (Athletics)
  10. Rangers: pass
  11. Giants: pass
  12. Rays: LHP Nate Lavender (Mets)
  13. Red Sox: pass
  14. Twins: RHP Eiberson Castellano (Phillies)
  15. Cardinals: pass
  16. Cubs: 3B Gage Workman (Tigers)
  17. Mariners: pass
  18. Royals: pass
  19. Tigers: pass
  20. Astros: pass
  21. Mets: pass
  22. D-backs: pass
  23. Braves: RHP Anderson Pilar (Marlins)
  24. Orioles: pass
  25. Guardians: pass
  26. Padres: RHP Juan Nunez (Orioles)
  27. Brewers: LHP Connor Thomas (Cardinals)
  28. Yankees: pass
  29. Phillies: RHP Mike Vasil (Mets); Phillies later traded Vasil to Rays for cash considerations, per announcements from both clubs.
  30. Dodgers: pass

Second round (all but one club passed)

The minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft also occurred this afternoon. Those players will not go onto the selecting teams’ 40-man roster. Right-hander Hobie Harris, who pitched for the Nationals in 2023 and signed a minor league deal with the Mets last month, was taken by the Red Sox.

Rocky Colavito Passes Away

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Nine-time All-Star Rocky Colavito has passed away, the Guardians announced. The longtime MLB slugger was 91.

A native of the Bronx, Colavito signed with the Indians out of high school. He had consecutive 30-plus home run seasons in Triple-A and played his way to Cleveland by his age-21 season. Colavito carried that over against MLB pitching, hitting 21 homers over 101 games as a rookie in 1956. He finished runner-up to Luis Aparicio in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Colavito hit 25 homers in 1957.  By the ’58 season, he was one of the sport’s most feared power bats. Colavito popped 41 homers while hitting .303 with an MLB-best .620 slugging percentage at age 24. He placed third in that year’s MVP balloting. Colavito drove in 113 runs that season and tallied 111 RBI the next. On June 10, 1959, he became the eighth player in MLB history to hit four homers in a game. He led the American League with 42 longballs en route to his first All-Star nod and a fourth-place MVP finish.

Early in the 1960 season, Cleveland traded Colavito to the Tigers in a one-for-one deal for star shortstop Harvey Kuenn. While Colavito hit 35 homers during his first season in Detroit, his average dropped to .249 in a disappointing overall season. He had a major rebound in ’61, as he set career marks in homers (45) and RBI (140). He hit .290 with a .402 on-base percentage, ranking top 10 among qualified hitters in OBP and OPS. He placed eighth in MVP voting in what was arguably the best year of his career.

Colavito played two more seasons in Detroit. He hit another 37 homers while leading the AL with 309 total bases in ’62. Detroit dealt him to the Athletics over the 1963-64 offseason. Colavito hit .274 with 34 longballs for the then Kansas City-based franchise. Things came full circle the next winter, as the A’s traded him back to Cleveland. Colavito combined for 56 homers over the next two seasons and paced the AL with 108 RBI in 1965. He saw limited playing time with the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers to close his 14-year playing career.

A career .266/.359/.489 hitter, Colavito was one of the best run producers of his day. He drove in 1159 runs on more than 1700 hits, 379 of which cleared the fences. Colavito had seven 30-homer seasons, including a trio of years with at least 40 longballs. He topped 100 runs batted in on six occasions. Colavito is 81st on the all-time leaderboard in home runs and slots in the top 200 in RBI. While he never got much consideration from voters for Cooperstown, he was inducted into the Cleveland franchise’s Hall of Fame in 2006.

Colavito’s impact on baseball extended well beyond his playing days. He worked in the sport for decades as a coach and radio broadcaster. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and many fans.

Tigers Designate Akil Baddoo For Assignment

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The Tigers formally announced their previously reported signing of right-hander Alex Cobb this evening. In a corresponding move, outfielder Akil Baddoo was designated for assignment as noted by MLive’s Evan Woodbery.

Baddoo, 26, was a second-round pick by the Twins back in 2016. The outfielder’s major league career wouldn’t begin until 2021, after he was selected by the Tigers in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. That first taste of big league action went remarkably well for the youngster, as he slashed an impressive .259/.330/.436 with a 108 wRC+ in 124 games for Detroit while splitting time between left field and center. Baddoo’s 26.5% strikeout rate was somewhat elevated, but he made up for it by walking at a healthy 9.8% clip and clubbing 13 homers, seven triples, and 20 doubles while swiping 18 bases during his rookie season.

That combination of power and speed was tantalizing enough that the Tigers stuck with Baddoo on a part-time basis despite lackluster numbers at the plate. Between the 2022 and ’23 season, he hit just .212/.302/.331 (80 wRC+) in 582 combined trips to the plate. While he went a decent 23-for-32 on the bases in those years, his power evaporated as he posted a combined isolated slugging percentage of just .119, down from the solid .177 figure of his rookie campaign. That downturn in performance in conjunction with the emergence of exciting outfield options like Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter from the Detroit farm system left Baddoo with fewer and fewer big league opportunities as his time in the organization continued.

That dwindling playing time in Detroit came to a head in 2024, as after a winter that saw the Tigers add Mark Canha to the lineup and a phenomenal Spring Training performance from Wenceel Perez, Baddoo found himself as the odd man out on Opening Day. Baddoo was optioned to the minors and ended up spending the overwhelming majority of his 2024 campaign at Triple-A. He made just 82 trips to the plate in the big leagues this past year and struggled badly in that limited time with a .137/.220/.301 slash line and a 32.9% strikeout rate. The Tigers kept him on the roster through last month’s non-tender deadline despite Baddoo being projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.6MM salary in his second trip through arbitration, but he’s now lost his 40-man roster spot with the club nonetheless.

Looking ahead, any club in the league will now have the opportunity to claim Baddoo off waivers if the Tigers don’t work out a trade for him within the next few days. The 26-year-old’s combination of youth and past big league success could make him an intriguing option for outfield-needy clubs, although his recent struggles and arbitration-level price tag could turn some potential suitors away.

Tigers Sign Alex Cobb

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The Tigers announced the signing of veteran right-hander Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15MM deal. He’d unlock $1MM bonuses at each of 140 and 150 innings. Detroit designated outfielder Akil Baddoo for assignment in a corresponding move. Cobb is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

The move fits with the Tigers’ recent modus operandi when it comes to rotation building. Since Scott Harris was hired as president of baseball operations in September of 2022, the club has tended towards short-term deals for starting pitchers. Detroit’s first offseason under Harris resulted in one-year deals for Matthew Boyd and Michael Lorenzen. Last winter, it was a one-year deal for Jack Flaherty and a two-year pact for Kenta Maeda.

Going into 2025, it would have been fair to expect more aggression. The Tigers surged in the second half of 2024, making the playoffs or the first time in a decade. They have an exciting core of young players and almost no money on the long-term payroll. Moving to the top tiers or even just to the middle of the rotation market could have been viable, but it was reported in recent days that the Tigers preferred to stick to chasing upside on shorter pacts.

Cobb, 37, is certainly a buy-low move since he’s coming off a mostly lost season. He was with the Giants at the start of the year, recovering from offseason hip surgery. It was initially hoped that he would be recovered from that procedure fairly early in the year but he ended up battling through some shoulder discomfort. He still hadn’t made his season debut when he was traded to the Guardians ahead of the deadline.

With the Guards down the stretch, he was able to get on the mound but also dealt with some fingernail/blister issues that got in his way and sent him back to the injured list twice down the stretch. Cleveland made the postseason regardless and Cobb was activated for the American League Division Series but he was later bumped from the Championship Series roster due to an acute left low back strain.

Around all those injury setbacks, Cobb only made five starts on the year, three in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He only threw 22 innings overall between those five outings, a tiny sample that would be tough to draw meaningful conclusions from.

The Tigers are surely hoping Cobb can bounce back from that tough season, something he’s done before. He was a rotation regular for the Rays over the 2012-14 seasons but then missed all of 2015 and most of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. He was back on the mound and made at least 28 starts in both 2017 and 2018, but then various ailments limited him to just three starts in 2019.

He wasn’t terribly effective in the shortened 2020 season but went on to have a strong three-year run after that, his most recent stretch of being both healthy and effective. From 2021 to 2023, he made 74 starts and tossed 394 1/3 innings with a 3.79 earned run average. He struck out 22.8% of batters faced in that time, limited walks to a 6.8% clip and and kept 58.1% of balls in play on the ground. Among pitchers with at least 350 innings in that stretch, only Framber Valdez and Logan Webb had better ground ball rates.

The Tigers are obviously hoping that the injuries are behind him and Cobb can get back into that 2021-23 form. There is some risk there, as Cobb is now 37 years old and can’t keep coming back from injuries forever, but he’s done it before and has a long track record. He has 233 starts under his belt overall with a 3.84 ERA.

As Detroit engineered its fairytale finish to the 2024 season, manager A.J. Hinch used the term “pitching chaos” to describe the approach. Thanks to some trades and some injuries, the Tigers were effectively down to just Tarik Skubal as the only regular starting pitcher, otherwise cobbling games together via openers, bulk guys, bullpen games and whatever Hinch could make work.

That did the trick for a while but could be difficult to maintain over an entire 162-game schedule, so bolstering the rotation was a natural target for the Tigers this winter. Skubal and Cobb should have two rotation jobs with Reese Olson in another.

Guys like Maeda, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe and Matt Manning could be in the mix for roles as well, but there are question marks with each of those. Maeda struggled badly this year and got bumped to the bullpen, finishing the year with a 6.09 ERA. Mize and Manning are former top prospects but with middling results thus far in their careers. Jobe is one of the most exciting young pitchers in the league but only just made his major league debut late in the year and only has two Triple-A starts under his belt.

Perhaps the Tigers will make further additions to that group. Finances shouldn’t be standing in the way. Before factoring in Cobb, RosterResource projects the Tigers for a payroll of just $80MM next year. As mentioned, there’s almost nothing on the long-term books. Cot’s Baseball Contracts had Detroit at $98MM on Opening Day this past year and they’ve been far higher than that in the past.

Though if the recent past in any indication, they’ll be looking to chase upside on fairly modest deals. They’ve been connected to arms like Kyle Gibson, Walker Buehler and Andrew Heaney in recent days, with each of those guys expected to land a one- or two-year deal. For now, the Tigers have added some stability to an area of the roster that was fairly lacking in it.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Tigers and Cobb had agreed to a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of the New York Post had the financials.

Jace Jung Underwent Wrist Surgery, Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training

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Tigers third baseman Jace Jung underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right wrist in October, the team announced this evening. The talented infielder has already begun a hitting program and is expected to be full go for Spring Training.

Jung is the in-house favorite for Detroit’s third base job. The Tigers have been frequently connected to Alex Bregman, largely because of the history with manager A.J. Hinch, but there’s no indication they’re willing to make that level of long-term commitment. Jung’s minor surgery isn’t going to have any impact on a potential Bregman pursuit, of course. Assuming he recovers as expected, he’s on track to vie with Matt Vierling and Andy Ibáñez for playing time.

A former 12th overall pick, Jung made his MLB debut late in the season. He appeared in 34 games, hitting .241/.362/.304 without a home run through 94 trips to the plate. The lefty-hitting Jung had a strong year in Triple-A. Over 91 games, he hit .257/.377/.454 with 14 longballs and an excellent 16.1% walk rate.

In another development on the Detroit infield, Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic tweets that Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy will take offseason reps at first base. Keith is expected to remain the team’s primary second baseman, as the measure is simply designed to increase his versatility on the right side of the infield.

It could be a more consequential development for Malloy, who has always been a promising hitter without a defensive home. Malloy worked in the corner outfield or at designated hitter as a rookie. He played third base in the minors through 2023 but was panned by scouts for his glove. Malloy logged a little bit of first base action in college but hasn’t played there professionally. Former first overall pick Spencer Torkelson could have a tenuous hold on the starting job. Detroit is reportedly among the teams that have been in contact with Paul Goldschmidt as they look for a right-handed bat this winter.

Tigers Interested In Paul Goldschmidt

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With their first prominent offseason move now in the books, the Tigers may be looking to follow up the Alex Cobb signing with some offensive help.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (via X) that Detroit has interest in seven-time All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who is a free agent for the first time in his 14-year career.

Acquiring Goldschmidt isn’t the type of blockbuster move it would’ve been just a few years ago, as the veteran is coming off the first true middling season of his long career.  Goldschmidt had a perfectly average 100 wRC+ over 154 games and 654 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2024, while batting .245/.302/.414 with 22 home runs.  All three points of that slash line were career lows for Goldschmidt, and his strikeout, walk and chase rates were all well below the league average.

Since Goldschmidt turned 37 in September, it could be that he is simply hitting a decline phase after holding off Father Time for so long.  That said, there is reason to believe the first baseman might still have something left in the tank for a 15th MLB season (or beyond).  Most of Goldschmidt’s struggles were contained to the first half of the season, as he hit a more respectable .271/.319/.480 in 250 PA after the All-Star break.  He has continued to blister the ball when he does make contact, as Goldschmidt had strong barrel rates and a hard-hit ball rate that ranked in the 92nd percentile of all batters.

Between the hard-contact numbers and Goldschmidt’s excellent track record, there is certainly reason for teams to think he might have a bounce-back season in a new environment.  His age means that a one-year contract is likely, which fits the Tigers’ preference for shorter-term contracts.  Recent reports have indicated that Detroit is known to be looking for one- or two-year deals for starting pitchers, and the team is also wary of making a play for any free agent attached to a qualifying offer.  This would seemingly hamper the Tigers’ chances of signing another target in Christian Walker, so Goldschmidt could be viewed as alternative.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has been vocal about his desire to add some veteran leadership to a young and talented club that reached the playoffs this season.  Goldschmidt would certainly fill that role in the clubhouse, and his right-handed bat fits well in a very left-handed Detroit lineup.

The Tigers can use all the offense they can get considering the team’s lackluster hitting numbers in 2024, though installing Goldschmidt at first base begs the question of what will be done with Spencer Torkelson.  The DH spot would allow Torkelson or Goldschmidt some at-bats when Kerry Carpenter is used in right field, though naturally Torkelson would be something of an odd man out in this situation.

It doesn’t appear as though Detroit is giving up on Torkelson’s potential, even though he has yet to show much consistency over parts of three MLB seasons.  In an interview on MLB Network (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press), Harris described Torkelson as “immensely talented. Just like these young guys, we got to stick with him.  We got to keep finding ways to get a little bit more out of him.”

Tigers Interested In Walker Buehler, Kyle Gibson, Andrew Heaney

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It’s no secret the Tigers are looking to improve their rotation over the offseason, and three more potential targets for the team have emerged. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers are showing interest in right-handers Walker Buehler and Kyle Gibson and left-hander Andrew Heaney.

Buehler is the biggest name of that trio. Although he’s coming off a difficult, injury-plagued season, he was an ace-caliber pitcher when last healthy in 2021. Indeed, from 2018-21, he pitched to 2.82 ERA and 3.56 SIERA over 564 innings. His 14.4 FanGraphs WAR ranked 14th among all pitchers in that time. Still just 30 years old and another year removed from Tommy John surgery, he is widely considered one of the top bounce-back candidates on the free agent market. It helps his case that he looked excellent in the postseason. After a rough outing in the NLDS, he pitched 10 scoreless innings between the NLCS and the World Series.

Precisely because Buehler comes with more upside than Gibson or Heaney, he could be looking for a longer-term commitment. The MLBTR staff predicted a one-year, $15 million contract for Buehler at the beginning of the offseason but noted that a two-year deal with an opt-out was a possibility. Petzold also remarked Buehler could be seeking a two-year deal with an opt-out this winter, and he suggested that might be more than the Tigers are willing to give. Ideally, they’re looking to offer a one-year deal.

In that case, Detroit could pivot to Gibson or Heaney. Of the two, Gibson seems more likely to sign a one-year contract. Both pitchers appeared on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list: Heaney at no. 25 and Gibson at no. 41. Our staff predicted a two-year, $24 million deal for Heaney and a one-year $13 million deal for Gibson. The slightly higher AAV prediction for Gibson reflects his longer track record of success, but at 37 years old, he’s unlikely to command a multi-year deal. Heaney, on the other hand, is young enough (he’ll turn 34 next June) that he could feasibly land a two-year commitment, especially on a market that has been quite kind to mid-tier starting pitchers thus far. Luis Severino, Yusei Kikuchi, Frankie Montas, and Matthew Boyd all signed for more guaranteed money than MLBTR predicted.

Gibson and Heaney are both coming off similar 2024 seasons. Gibson made 30 starts with a 4.24 ERA and 4.44 SIERA, while Heaney made 32 appearances (31 starts) with a 4.28 ERA and 3.95 SIERA. Heaney’s underlying numbers were a little promising – he had a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate – but Gibson has been significantly more consistent and durable throughout his career. Ultimately, both are capable back-of-the-rotation starters but not much more. Either would raise Detroit’s floor, but neither would do much to lift the team’s ceiling.

If a pitcher like Gibson or Heaney is the only starter the Tigers add, they’ll need to hope that some of their younger arms step up to help ace Tarik Skubal at the top of the rotation. That includes Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and potentially top prospect Jackson Jobe. More arms that could make up the rest of Detroit’s starting staff include Keider Montero, Matt Manning, and Kenta Maeda. In other words, this team isn’t short on back-end depth. What they could really use is a proven, postseason-caliber starter. However, such an acquisition seems far less likely. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, the Tigers have “some interest” in a reunion with Jack Flaherty, but the word “some” speaks volumes in that report.

Ultimately, despite their postseason appearance in 2024, it seems as if the Tigers aren’t planning to be particularly aggressive this winter. As Petzold points out, their interest in signing a starter to a one-year deal mirrors their strategy from the previous two offseasons, in which they signed Michael Lorenzen and Flaherty. There’s no doubt it paid off in both cases; Lorenzen and Flaherty both pitched well over a few months with Detroit before they were flipped for prospects at the trade deadline. However, the Tigers were still in the middle of a rebuild when they signed Lorenzen ahead of the 2023 season and Flaherty ahead of ’24. That’s no longer the case, so it’s odd to see they’re still looking for stopgaps rather than trying to sign a more impactful pitcher to a multi-year deal.

In the same vein, Petzold suggests the Tigers are interested in first baseman Christian Walker but says they might back off if “big-market teams” are also bidding on his services. Moreover, Petzold adds that they are unlikely to sign any free agents who rejected a qualifying offer. Walker is among that group. While the Tigers have been linked to Alex Bregman, who also received a qualifying offer, Petzold writes that they would probably only pursue him if he were still available entering spring training and his price tag plummeted. As is the case with Walker, the Tigers are interested but not interested enough to enter a bidding war. In other words, it seems as if they’d only be willing to sign a QO free agent at a significant discount.

Tigers Interested In Ha-Seong Kim

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The Tigers have shown interest in infielder Ha-Seong Kim, as related by the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold in a recent appearance on the Days Of Roar podcast.  The Blue Jays, Giants, and Kim’s former team the Padres have all been publicly connected to Kim this offseason, though it is fair to guess that San Francisco may be out of the running after signing Willy Adames.

As recently noted by Anthony Franco in a piece for MLBTR Front Office subscribers, Kim is one of the trickiest players to evaluate within the 2024-25 free agent class, owing to the shoulder surgery that Kim underwent in late September.  Kim will miss some time at the start of the 2025 season, though the exact timeline is up in the air — agent Scott Boras said a late-April return is possible, while Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller in October said Kim might not be ready until “May, June, July.”  It should be noted that Preller was speaking broadly on the topic rather than giving any sort of definitive timeline, yet even raising the possibility of a three-month range adds to the uncertainty over Kim’s health.

Some teams have still floated the idea of signing Kim to a multi-year contract, though the exact nature of such offers aren’t clear.  It would be risky to offer Kim something like four or five guaranteed years, but a two-year contract (likely with a player opt-out after 2025) seems entirely plausible.  Kim and agent Scott Boras might also seek out a flat one-year deal with the same idea of Kim getting to quickly re-enter the market next winter, ostensibly on the heels of a healthier and productive platform year.  MLBTR’s projection of a one-year, $12MM contract for Kim supports this strategy, though Boras is no stranger to creative deals that provide his clients with plenty of flexibility.

A shorter-term contract might have more appeal to the Tigers, who are reportedly seeking out such deals in regards to starting pitchers.  Now that Detroit is coming off a wild card berth and an ALDS appearance, the expectation has been that ownership and president of baseball operations Scott Harris will be somewhat more aggressive in upgrading on seems like a winning core, though the Tigers’ offseason has been pretty quiet to date, albeit with some rumors of interest in Jack Flaherty or Alex Bregman.

From a pure baseball perspective, a healthy Kim would be an ideal fit for the Tigers in many ways.  As Petzold notes, Kim’s speed and high-contact/low-strikeout approach greatly helps a Tigers team that finished near the bottom of the league in OBP and stolen bases, plus Kim’s right-handed bat adds balance to Detroit’s lefty-heavy lineup.  Kim is also a strong defensive player at multiple infield positions, so he could address the team’s needs at either third base or shortstop.

Javier Baez is still technically the incumbent starting shortstop, but his stock is at an all-time low after three increasingly poor seasons in Detroit and a hip surgery that ended his 2024 campaign in August.  Baez is still owed $73MM through the 2027 season, and since the Tigers would just be eating the money anyway in releasing him, the team might as well give Baez another chance at the start of the season to see if his surgery has perhaps corrected any of the health issues that led to his dropoff in production.

Trey Sweeney stepped into the shortstop role after Baez’s season ended prematurely, and Sweeney played well enough to put himself into the conversation for more regular playing time as well.  If the Tigers signed Kim, Detroit could just stick with Baez and Sweeney at shortstop until Kim is ready to play, and then evaluate whether Kim could just take over at shortstop, or perhaps play third base if Baez or Sweeney are having productive seasons.

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