3 Free Agents The Tigers Will Target This Offseason

I'm fortunate to be able to do what I do, but if there is one downside, I often get asked many of the same questions regarding the Tigers. During the offseason, the question is always, "Who are they going to sign in for agency?" During the season, it's "Who are they gonna trade away at the deadline?" Hopefully, the latter of those questions is currently in the rearview mirror. As long as Chris Ilitch is the owner and unwilling to spend the way we want him to, there will always be what I would do in free agency and what will happen in free agency. What would I do? Shit, if I had Chris Ilitch's money, I'd go and get Juan Soto tomorrow; you got something cooking here, go ahead and pull the trigger on a generational hitter. However, Chris, unlike his father, sees the Tigers as much more of a business. There was a reason why Scott Harris was hired here. He wants to develop and retain young players. One of the advantages of that is that young players are often cheap. There are exceptions; God knows Tarik Skubal will have a bag thrown at him at some point in the next few years, but the days of having a top-five payroll are likely behind us.

Even though last season was a miracle, especially in the second half, there is enough evidence to prove that Scott Harris's philosophy is working throughout this organization. They're doing a better job of developing position players, and from a pitching standpoint, they could get anybody to quality innings at this point. I can't exactly sit here and predict the future, but I do have three players that I'm confident the Tigers will at least take a run at in free agency this offseason.

SP Walker Buehler

I'm inquisitive to see what the market will be like for Walker. The guy has a legitimate history. He was a Cy Young-caliber pitcher at the peak of his powers, but injuries derailed him the last several seasons. He came alive in the postseason and was a huge contributor to the Dodgers World Series run, but at the end of the day, we are looking at a pitcher entering his early 30s. He's a lost velocity on his fastball, and he only won one game in the regular season a year ago, putting up an ERA of well over five in the process. Over the last several years, Chris Fetter has been the pitching whisperer regarding reclamation projects. I feel like Buehler is a pitcher looking for a one-year prove-it deal from somebody before getting a much greater sum of money thrown at him, assuming he pitches well in 2025. He's always pitched with a bulldog mentality. This is becoming a very appealing free-agent destination for veteran pitchers, and Buehler will be intrigued.

SP Justin Verlander

Sometimes I wonder if I'm not seeing a writing on the wall with this one. Realistically, the Tigers will go after Verlander this offseason, but the majority of Houston Astros fans I have said "You can have him." Verlander had his worst season a year ago, posting a 5.48 ERA over 17 starts. It usually doesn't make sense to sign a 42-year-old pitcher with tons of mileage on his arm even to a one-year deal, but I'm always inclined to believe that Justin Verlander has another good year of baseball left. While things fell apart for him in the last month of the season, Verlander did post a 3.29 ERA over his first 11 starts a year ago before getting sent to the injured list. There's enough depth within this organization, and even if Verlander struggled, it wouldn't be the end of the world for this organization, but the stars are rarely ever going to align like this. Let Verlander finish his career here.

1B Christian Walker

I think Carlos Santana is significantly more likely to end up in Detroit in 2025, but fans would be disappointed if I came on here and talked about three players who would likely just be given one-year deals. Christian Walker is by no means a superstar, but his floor is very high. He hit 26 bombs and drove in 84 runs in 130 games a season ago. He's won three straight Gold Gloves at first base. Signing him to a free agent deal would require him to be given multiple years of team control; he's been relatively durable throughout his career, and if need be, you can move him to designated hit her to get him off his feet. It wouldn't be cheap; it's clear that the Tigers want to avoid getting themselves into the situation that they got into with Jordan Zimmerman or Javier Baez, where they are left with a crippling contract that they can't get out of. Walker will cost money, but it wouldn't be an earth-shattering move. I know that I spent so much time hammering Spencer Torkelson last year, but the reason for it is that the one thing that he was supposed to do, which is consistently drive in runs, is something that he was utterly unable to do. His .539 OPS with runners in scoring position was a complete disaster a season ago. You would not only have a good defensive first baseman, which Torkelson is not, but you have a guy capable of driving in 80 to 100 runs a year. This is a no-brainer.