Detroit Tigers Newsletter: Meet the top free-agent targets of the offseason

Winter comes quickly, once the Detroit Tigers make the last out every year.

Although they put it off longer than expected this season — far longer than expected, really — once Emmanuel Clase’s foot beat Colt Keith’s to first base Saturday afternoon in Cleveland … well, you could almost see the clouds rolling in and a chill settling in on the western side of Lake Erie.

And so the countdown begins: 131 days until there’s baseball again. 131 days till the Tigers host the Phillies in the first game of spring training in Lakeland, Florida.

Of course, there’s another marker to look forward to, one that’s much closer. Sometime in late October or early November — five days after the end of the World Series — baseball’s best and brightest (and, OK, even some of the White Sox) will fill out a form and kick off MLB’s third season: Free agency.

Hello, and welcome to The Last Tigers Newsletter of the Year (Probably)!

The refreshing thing about the Tigers in this year’s free-agent market is that it’s tough to argue they don’t have cash to spend.

MLB’s youngest roster — and one that added up to roughly $18 million on the books for the playoffs — comes in on the cheap; even accounting for raises via arbitration, the Tigers will likely be on the hook for less than $75 million (the seventh-lowest in MLB) in 2025, and that’s including the $25 million owed to Javier Báez (who may be the bane of Tigers fans, but he’s still a favorite in the clubhouse ). In short, there’s money on hand.

The frustrating thing, though, is that there may not be many spots at which to spend it.

The Tigers’ lineup appears mostly set for 2025, with young players seemingly locked in at catcher (Dillon Dingler), first base (Spencer Torkelson), second base (Colt Keith), third base (Jace Jung), left field (Riley Greene), center field (Parker Meadows) and DH (Kerry Carpenter).

And as the Freep’s Jeff Seidel noted Monday morning, most of those prospects learned a lot from this playoff run and have high expectations for a return next season.

But still, we have nothing to do till the end of the World Series but dream of the Hot Stove League’s potential big-name signings (and potential October at-bats next year). With that in mind, let’s break down the top of the market, as well as some fringe players with potential.

Catcher: Carson Kelly

At the top: The ex-Tiger is one of just two catching free agents who’ll be 30 or younger next season. (The other: Danny Jansen, who posted a .658 OPS last season.) Kelly’s time with the Tigers was arguably better than his .716 OPS in Detroit; from May 1 to July 28, he posted a .256/.351/.429 slash line; just three catchers had a better OPS over that span.

On the fringe: There’s always power in Gary Sánchez’s bat — he popped 11 homers in 89 games — but little else as he approaches age 32.

First base: Pete Alonso

At the top: Spencer Torkelson’s reoccurring struggles might make it fun to dream of the Polar Bear dropping bombs into the Comerica Park dugout on a regular basis — his 230 regular-season and playoff home runs over the past six seasons are second-most in baseball (behind Aaron Judge’s 238). But beware: Just 192 of Alonso’s blasts would have been homer at the CoPa. (But really, Tork’s not going anywhere.)

On the fringe: Josh Bell’s .725 OPS with the Marlins and Diamondbacks would have ranked third among Tigers who qualified for the batting title (and his 19 homers would have been second).

Second base: Gleyber Torres

At the top: We’ll assume the Rays are going to pick up the option for 20-homer-hitting Brandon Lowe, even as he turns 30, so Torres is the top option, despite a dropoff in power in his age-27 season (15 homers after hitting 49 in 2022-23 combined). Still, he’s basically Colt Keith with less upside (and almost certainly a bigger contract).

On the fringe: Brandon Drury averaged a homer every 18.5 at-bats in 2022, every 18.7 at-bats in 2023 and every 81.3 at-bats in 2024. Maybe it’s a post-age-30 dropoff, but maybe there’s a rebound year coming.

Third base: Alex Bregman

At the top: He’s probably never repeating his white-hot 2018-19 stretch (under manager A.J. Hinch) when he posted a .970 OPS while striking out just 168 times in almost 1,400 plate appearances. But he probably wants to be paid like he will (which is why Houston will likely let him hit the market). But even his .798 OPS the past three seasons would be a marked improvement over Tigers 3B’s .638 OPS — 29 ^th in the majors — during the same span.

On the fringe: Look, we now Yoán Moncada’s never gonna play a full season again … but somebody’s gonna give him a chance to, in hopes he can repeat his stellar .315/.367/.548 slash line from 2019. (It probably shouldn’t be the Tigers, though.)

Shortstop: Willy Adames

At the top: The former Tigers prospect — dealt away in the 2014 three-way swap that landed David Price from Tampa Bay — hits the market after putting up 33 doubles, 32 homers and 21 steals as a 28-year-old. Then again, he also set a career high with 173 strikeouts this season while struggling in the field at times. Also, the Tigers would be bidding against a certain L.A.-based team with a gaping hole at short.

On the fringe: The vibes are immaculate with part-time shortstop/ part-time pop star Jose Iglesias, who was an All-Star during his 2013-18 stint with the Tigers. This season, he slugged .448 in 85 games. O.M.G., indeed.

Left field: Tyler O’Neill

At the top: The 29-year-old Canadian picked a good year to A.) stay healthy for more than 100 games, and B.) crush 31 homers in his 113 games. (Of course, only 23 of those homers would have cleared the fences at Comerica Park, the worst of all 30 stadiums.)

On the fringe: Jesse Winker in five seasons with the Reds: .888 OPS. Winker’s OPS in the three seasons since (with the Mariners, Brewers, Nationals and Mets): .700.

Center field: Cody Bellinger

At the top: The former NL MVP can leave $52.5 million on the table and hit free agency for the third straight offseason, but with the Cubs the only team willing to give him a multiyear deal last offseason — after he hit 26 homers in 130 games — who’s going to do it this offseason following an 18-homer campaign?

On the fringe: Harrison Bader was a Gold Glove winner with a .785 OPS in 2021. Since then? A .644 OPS with the Mets, Reds and Yankees. Still, he doesn’t turn 31 until June.

Right field: Juan Soto/Anthony Santander

At the top: This isn’t to suggest they’re equals. It’s just that Soto, whose near-certain top-10 MVP finish this season will give him five top-10 nods in seven MLB seasons, is in the market for such a mega-contract — remember, he turned down a $440 million offer (that still would have been an underpay) back in 2022. And so, the teams unable (or unwilling) to pony up Soto-level cash could settle for Santander, whose 44 homers this season gives him 105 over the past three seasons combined.

On the fringe: Max Kepler’s slugging percentage dropped more than 100 points from last season, and for the first time in nine seasons, he didn’t homer off the Tigers.

Designated hitter: Joc Pederson

At the top: Of the left-handed Pederson’s 23 homers in 449 plate appearances, 22 came off right-handers, for a .531 slugging percentage with the platoon advantage. (Though, oddly enough, Pederson got on base better — .405 vs. .392 — against lefties.)

On the fringe: Yes, we’ve reached the “Time for a Tigers reunion?” portion of the free-agent rundown — J.D. Martinez is back out there, after hitting 16 homers (less than half his 2023 total) in 120 games with the Mets.

Starting pitchers: Corbin Burnes

At the top: This segment is ridiculously deep even if Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell don’t opt out of their deals. (They’d be options 1 and 1A if they did.) Burnes, meanwhile, also has a Cy Young award, as well as a likely finalist nod this season after posting a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 194⅓ innings. Then again, the Tigers could be well-positioned for a reunion — there’s that word again — with righty Jack Flaherty, who finished 2024 with 194 strikeouts in just 162 innings.

On the fringe: Reunion , you say? Old friends (of the Tigers, that is) and 40-somethings Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are back on the market after disappointing 2024 seasons. Of the two, Scherzer was more effective, with a 3.95 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 43⅓ innings. But J.V. will always be the one that got away, and perhaps Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter could fix whatever resulted in Verlander’s ugly 5.48 ERA this season.

Relief pitchers: Tanner Scott

At the top: The Tigers know better than most teams how effective Scott — who had a 1.75 ERA with the Marlins and Padres in 2024 — can be; he threw five scoreless innings against them this season, scattering six hits and a walk while striking out seven.

On the fringe: The return on investment on 30-something relievers can be iffy — how’d the Shelby Miller Experience go this year? — but right-hander Paul Sewald might be worth a flier. He had a 4.31 ERA this season with the D’backs, but pitched better than that, with a 1.134 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 39⅔ innings.

A moment of gratitude

But before we go marching into the market, Little Caesars Platinum Platinum Card in hand, let’s take a couple minutes to look back on the playoff run that just wrapped up. Minutes after that final out in Cleveland, some Tigers were already trying to put things in perspective: “I’m never gonna forget this team,” catcher Jake Rogers told Our Man Seidel while sipping a beer. And in return, Our Man Seidel had a few words of thanks for a team he’ll never forget, either .

5 to remember

So what happened in the series? A few rough pitches, a few tired bats and, in Game 5, one long grand slam. But don’t take our word(s) for it — here are our favorite ALDS pieces from the Freep (just in case Our Man Petzold needs a refresher when he gets back from Greece ):

GAME 1 — Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face .

GAME 2 — Only “Kerry Bonds” could upstage Tarik Skubal .

GAME 3 — The lesson, as always: Don’t think; it can only hurt the ballclub .

GAME 4 — The Tigers and Guardians, more alike than anyone expected .

GAME 5 — Everybody’s human. Even Skubal .

So, now what?

Mark your calendar, of course. The Tigers will report to Lakeland in mid-February, and their first game arrives Feb. 22. After that, it’s five weeks of Florida ball before the earliest Opening Day in franchise history: March 27 in L.A. against the Dodgers (who might be a bit tired by then, considering they’re still going in this year’s postseason and have their regular-season opener March 18 in Tokyo). And then, the home opener April 4, when the Tigers can finally avenge their regular-season-ending series loss to the White Sox.

Tigers birthdays this week: Jack Flaherty (29 on Tuesday), Jonathan Schoop (33 on Wednesday), Goose Goslin (would have been 124 on Wednesday; died in 1971), Yoenis Céspedes (39 on Friday), Willie Horton (82 on Friday), Rajai Davis (44 on Saturday) and Juan González (55 on Sunday).

TL;DR

So who should the Tigers target, anyway? Max? J.D.? J.V.? O.M.G.? It’s tempting to root for a homecoming for the stars of the Tigers’ previous dynasty. But it’s also tough to see spots for the 40-year-olds when there are so many 24- and 25-year-olds on the upswing.

Still, the Tigers’ offense was far closer to replacement level than any other playoff team, with just 16 bWAR from position players, 21 ^st out of 30 teams. The good news? The next-worst playoff teams in non-pitcher WAR, at 20.4 and 20.6, were the Royals and the Guardians, respectively — the two teams the Tigers need to pass in the AL Central. That calls for at least a few additions to the lineup.

Despite the seeming logjam — which will only grow as Hao-Yu Lee , Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer work their way up — in the infield, adding Adames or Bregman would shore up the left side of the infield and the middle of the lineup. Can either be signed for less than $30 million a year? That’s a question for their agents — and Chris Ilitch’s wallet.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com . Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Newsletter: Meet the top free-agent targets of the offseason