Arbitration agreements

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Roger King

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Jan 8, 2026, 1:51:27 PMJan 8
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The Tigers getting their house in order today with some arbitration agreements:

Torkelson - 1 year.  $4.075 million
Greene - 1 year - $5 million
McKinstry - 1 year - $4.2 million
Vest - 1 year - $3.95 million

Probably more to come...

Roger King
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Michael W

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Jan 8, 2026, 3:10:17 PMJan 8
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A few years ago, I would not have expected McKinstry to get paid more than Tork!  Things certainly change.

Michael

Roger King

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Jan 8, 2026, 3:12:31 PMJan 8
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Adding Casey Mize to this list:
1 year - $6.15 million

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Peter Welch

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Jan 8, 2026, 9:18:41 PMJan 8
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Mize goes from $2.3 million to $6.15 million.  $6.15 mil for a mid-rotation starter isn't a bad deal.  I wonder what Mize will be looking for as a free agent after this season (assuming he stays healthy and has a similar season)?   Maybe $15 million per season?  If the Tigers splurge to keep Skubal, they might not pay to keep Mize.


Peter
From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 8, 2026 3:12 PM
To: Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
 

Roger King

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Jan 9, 2026, 11:01:12 AMJan 9
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A couple more for the list:

Carpenter - $3.275 million 
Holton - $1.575 million

Skubal was the only one not to agree on terms.  As I'm sure many have read, the Tigers offered $19 million and Skubal/Boras countered with $32 million.  Little bit of a gap!

If they don't agree on a salary (say, $25 million which is pretty much in the middle), it will go to arbitration and it will be one of the 2 submitted salaries.  Tiger fans on social media are already screaming that the Tigers are being cheap but the Tigers offer is the highest ever for a pitcher in arbitration.  I don't see this as a nail in the coffin for Skubal coming back long-term.  This is just a process...though if it actually does get to the arbitration hearing, it will be weird to potentially hear the Tigers make the case for why Skubal isn't really deserving of anything more than the $19 mill :-)


Michael W

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Jan 9, 2026, 5:56:08 PMJan 9
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> If the Tigers splurge to keep Skubal, they might not pay to keep Mize.

We should be realistic.  We aren't going to keep Skubal.  Boras will wait for the free-agency period, and there is no chance we will outbid everyone.  

The only chance Skubal stays is if he has a poor/injured season and the Tigers are still willing to give him $400m to appease the fans.

Michael

Sean Sweda

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Jan 9, 2026, 8:30:26 PMJan 9
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The Tigers offer of $19 million is comically bad, I can’t imagine Boras settling for anything close to the mid-point.

Sean
< via mobile >

On Jan 9, 2026, at 11:01 AM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:



Peter Welch

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Jan 10, 2026, 10:28:53 PMJan 10
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Skubal is so gone after this season.  We really should be entertaining trade offers.

Peter
From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Sean Sweda <sw...@ibl.org>
Sent: Friday, January 9, 2026 8:30 PM
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Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
 

Paul Meloche

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Jan 11, 2026, 11:07:02 AMJan 11
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I read an article yesterday that said the Tigers had spoken to Lucas Giolitio and Chris Bassit. The writer said the Tigers were interested in one or the other if Skubal's arbitration salary came in on the low end. Which is disturbing to me in that it sounds like management feels they can't afford $13M for one year of a veteran starter (Skubal's arbitration figures are $19M and $32M).

FWIW, Giolito was HS teammates with Jack Flaherty.

Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 12:33:23 PMJan 11
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I'd like to know what the Tigers' case will be in the arbitration hearing against giving Skubal more than $19 million.
It would be funny if they bring up "he doesn't go more than 6 innings in game 5 of the playoffs".  ;-)

Peter
From: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 11:06 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
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Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
 

Roger King

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Jan 11, 2026, 12:57:11 PMJan 11
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I saw a blurb similar to what Paul mentioned about Skubal’s arbitration result somehow affecting what they might spend on these other potential pitchers.  Surely, the Tigers didn’t put out that $19 million offer thinking Skubal would just accept it? Most cases don’t make it to an actual arbitration hearing, of course but they also don’t just end up with the player accepting the team offer straight up. Usually it’s somewhere in the middle from what the player submitted and the team.  

So the Tigers should have been already planning to pay Skubal more than $19 million.  

Despite the constant narrative from fans that Ilitch is running the Tigers on some kind of shoestring budget, I actually haven’t seen much hard evidence that Harris is being restrained financially. Not that they don’t have a budget, but obviously Ilitch has spent before which is why we still have the Baez contract and they went after Bregman last season etc. 

My impression is Harris is running the team the way he wants to and he actually doesn’t think that signing some big name free agent (of the ones available) to a multi deal will improve the Tigers significantly more than the options they have within.  And as we have discussed, he’s also reluctant to trade young talent at this point to land veterans who might help more in the short term. I believe this is his actual preferred approach and not something dictated by a budget.


Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 1:01:58 PMJan 11
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If the Tigers sign one of those guys it probably means they plan to use Melton mostly as a reliever in 2026.  

Verlander is still out there.  🙂

Peter

From: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 11:06 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
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Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
 

Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 1:11:03 PMJan 11
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Even the late 70s Tigers, which had even more young talent than the current Tigers, traded a couple of their younger players which improved the team (but they also made a couple of stupid trades of younger players, but that was because Tigers' management were cheapskates).  I know it's a bit different environment today, but Harris seems to be really holding his chips tightly, perhaps too tightly.  We'll see.

Peter
From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 12:56 PM

Michael W

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Jan 11, 2026, 1:54:36 PMJan 11
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Maybe having more young talent is what enabled them to trade some of it.

Michael

Michael W

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Jan 11, 2026, 2:06:57 PMJan 11
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>Harris seems to be really holding his chips tightly, 
>perhaps too tightly.

Well, some more than others.  He gave up Malloy pretty easily.

I was wondering though, about the timing.  They traded Malloy for cash right before all the arbitration signings.  And we’ve heard signals they are short of cash.  Normally when I hear a player has been traded for cash, I imagine it’s some negligible sum, but that’s not necessarily so.  Think Babe Ruth.  Perhaps Malloy was traded for a meaningful amount; he’s under team control for quite a while, so it seems plausible.  Is there a way to find out?

Michael 

On Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 12:11:03 PM UTC-6 Peter Welch wrote:

Roger King

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Jan 11, 2026, 2:27:14 PMJan 11
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There is the Tigers TV deal situation:



Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:30:21 PMJan 11
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I looked at this further, and, in retrospect, the Tigers did mostly hold onto their top prospects in the late 70s and early 80s to build the core of their 1984 championship team.
The Tigers had an amazing core of young talent in that era.  We have one of the better farm systems in baseball now, but the Tigers' system in the late 70s was one of the best ever.

The key trade I think of is Steve Kemp for Chet Lemon in 1981, although looking back Kemp was 26 at the time and had been with the Tigers for 5 productive seasons, and Lemon was 26 and had been with the White Sox for 6+ productive seasons.  They were only 26 but almost veterans in terms of service time. 
I suppose trading Riley Greene or Tork for an established player who is 25-26 would be close to the equivalent of Kemp-for-Lemon.  It would be like trading Greene for Julio Rodriguez or something like that.

Peter

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Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:30:55 PMJan 11
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Malloy was no longer a trade chip.  He was 2 years-ago.  Same with Jung, who has almost no value now.

Peter
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Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:32:54 PMJan 11
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The bad trade by the Tigers of a younger player at that time was Jason Thompson for Al Cowens in 1980.

Peter
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Mark Pattison

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:37:11 PMJan 11
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Jason Thompson didn't fit Sparky Anderson's mold of what a ballplayer should be, and it was his way or the highway, so off Thompson went.

Steve Kemp had the temerity to ask for more money and it kept bugging Jim Campbell, so he had to be dealt, too.

Mark Pattison


Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:49:41 PMJan 11
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I think Thompson also complained about his salary which was another reason for Campbell to jettison him.

If the Tigers had Thompson at 1B in 1981, 82 and 83 they might have made the playoffs in at least one of those seasons.  They had the likes of Rick Leach and Enos Cabell playing 1B during those years.  Horrible.  Thompson was very good although he declined quickly after 1983 with injury issues.

Thank goodness the Kemp salary dump ended up working out.  Lemon was a great player for us (and a great player for the White Sox).  Kemp declined pretty quickly with injuries after being traded.

Rusty Staub also got traded because of salary complaints.  The Fetzer/Campbell regime was very cheap.

Ron LeFlore also got traded because Sparky didn't like him (plus LeFlore had drug-use issues which eventually caught up with him).  LeFlore stole 97 bases for the Expos in 1980 after the Tigers traded him for lefty Dan Schatzeder, although LeFlore only had .700 OPS for the Expos.  He must have tried to steal almost every time he was on base.
The Tigers at least got the best seasons of LeFlore's career.

Peter
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Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 9:37 PM

Peter Welch

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Jan 11, 2026, 9:56:51 PMJan 11
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I remember at the time I didn't like Sparky's "my way or the highway" approach and silly facial hair policy.  He redeemed himself in 1984 and seemed to lighten up over time.  I had some issues with him (the overuse of Tom Brookens, for example, the HoJo trade, and scrubs like Enos Cabell getting way too much playing time)  but overall he was a  good manager for us.

Peter
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Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 9:37 PM

Roger King

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Jan 15, 2026, 10:05:22 PMJan 15
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Here is the Tiger management side of the story when it comes to Skubal and arbitration.  They say their initial offer was early in the arbitration process and not meant as a final number.

“The Tigers offered $19.8 million, and Boras, according to the two sources, did not counter. The negotiations ended there. They would have been willing to slide that offer up considerably, certainly over $20 million, maybe closer to $25 million.

But Boras shut it down. Radio silence. So, at the deadline, they filed at $19 million.

The first time the Tigers saw his $32 million salary bid was when they exchanged numbers late Thursday night, numbers that went straight to the league and formed the parameters of the arbitration case that will be heard in late January or early February.”

Full article:

Peter Welch

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Jan 15, 2026, 11:38:32 PMJan 15
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Don't like Boras, but that's why he gets the big bucks.  He often gets what he wants for his clients.  That's his job and he's good at it.
The Tigers should have known damn well that $19 million was a low-ball offer regardless of whether Boras countered or not.

I'd love to know what the Tigers' arbitration case will be against giving Skubal what Boras wants.  

No way are the Tigers extending or re-signing Skubal.  Time to start fielding trade offers.  Maybe with Tucker signing with the Dodgers the Mets or Yankees will be willing to give up a big package of top prospects for Skubes.  I'll take McLean from the Mets or Schlittler from the Yankees to start with.

Peter

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2026 10:05 PM

Sean Sweda

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Jan 16, 2026, 12:10:26 AMJan 16
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Maybe they should have had an intern type "what is the 2026 equivalent of 19.75 million in 2015" into google.

> On Jan 15, 2026, at 11:38 PM, Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Don't like Boras, but that's why he gets the big bucks. He often gets what he wants for his clients. That's his job and he's good at it.
> The Tigers should have known damn well that $19 million was a low-ball offer regardless of whether Boras countered or not.
>
> I'd love to know what the Tigers' arbitration case will be against giving Skubal what Boras wants.
>
> No way are the Tigers extending or re-signing Skubal. Time to start fielding trade offers. Maybe with Tucker signing with the Dodgers the Mets or Yankees will be willing to give up a big package of top prospects for Skubes. I'll take McLean from the Mets or Schlittler from the Yankees to start with.
>
> Peter
>
> From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2026 10:05 PM
> To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
> Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
> Here is the Tiger management side of the story when it comes to Skubal and arbitration. They say their initial offer was early in the arbitration process and not meant as a final number.
>
> “The Tigers offered $19.8 million, and Boras, according to the two sources, did not counter. The negotiations ended there. They would have been willing to slide that offer up considerably, certainly over $20 million, maybe closer to $25 million.
>
> But Boras shut it down. Radio silence. So, at the deadline, they filed at $19 million.
> The first time the Tigers saw his $32 million salary bid was when they exchanged numbers late Thursday night, numbers that went straight to the league andformed the parameters of the arbitration case that will be heard in late January or early February.”
> Full article:
>
> https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/columnists/chris-mccosky/2026/01/14/mccosky-separating-facts-misrepresentation-in-run-up-to-tarik-skubal-arbitration-hearing/88178926007/#
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:56 PM Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:
> I saw a blurb similar to what Paul mentioned about Skubal’s arbitration result somehow affecting what they might spend on these other potential pitchers. Surely, the Tigers didn’t put out that $19 million offer thinking Skubal would just accept it? Most cases don’t make it to an actual arbitration hearing, of course but they also don’t just end up with the player accepting the team offer straight up. Usually it’s somewhere in the middle from what the player submitted and the team.
>
> So the Tigers should have been already planning to pay Skubal more than $19 million.
>
> Despite the constant narrative from fans that Ilitch is running the Tigers on some kind of shoestring budget, I actually haven’t seen much hard evidence that Harris is being restrained financially. Not that they don’t have a budget, but obviously Ilitch has spent before which is why we still have the Baez contract and they went after Bregman last season etc.
>
> My impression is Harris is running the team the way he wants to and he actually doesn’t think that signing some big name free agent (of the ones available) to a multi deal will improve the Tigers significantly more than the options they have within. And as we have discussed, he’s also reluctant to trade young talent at this point to land veterans who might help more in the short term. I believe this is his actual preferred approach and not something dictated by a budget.
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:33 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'd like to know what the Tigers' case will be in the arbitration hearing against giving Skubal more than $19 million.
> It would be funny if they bring up "he doesn't go more than 6 innings in game 5 of the playoffs". ;-)
>
> PeterFrom: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2026 11:06 AM
> To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
> Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
> I read an article yesterday that said the Tigers had spoken to Lucas Giolitio and Chris Bassit. The writer said the Tigers were interested in one or the other if Skubal's arbitration salary came in on the low end. Which is disturbing to me in that it sounds like management feels they can't afford $13M for one year of a veteran starter (Skubal's arbitration figures are $19M and $32M).
>
> FWIW, Giolito was HS teammates with Jack Flaherty.
>
> On Sat, Jan 10, 2026 at 7:28 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Skubal is so gone after this season. We really should be entertaining trade offers.
>
> PeterFrom: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Sean Sweda <sw...@ibl.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 9, 2026 8:30 PM
> To: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
> The Tigers offer of $19 million is comically bad, I can’t imagine Boras settling for anything close to the mid-point.
>
> Sean
> < via mobile >
>
> On Jan 9, 2026, at 11:01 AM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:
>
> A couple more for the list:
>
> Carpenter - $3.275 million
> Holton - $1.575 million
>
> Skubal was the only one not to agree on terms. As I'm sure many have read, the Tigers offered $19 million and Skubal/Boras countered with $32 million. Little bit of a gap!
>
> If they don't agree on a salary (say, $25 million which is pretty much in the middle), it will go to arbitration and it will be one of the 2 submitted salaries. Tiger fans on social media are already screaming that the Tigers are being cheap but the Tigers offer is the highest ever for a pitcher in arbitration. I don't see this as a nail in the coffin for Skubal coming back long-term. This is just a process...though if it actually does get to the arbitration hearing, it will be weird to potentially hear the Tigers make the case for why Skubal isn't really deserving of anything more than the $19 mill :-)
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 8, 2026 at 9:18 PM Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Mize goes from $2.3 million to $6.15 million. $6.15 mil for a mid-rotation starter isn't a bad deal. I wonder what Mize will be looking for as a free agent after this season (assuming he stays healthy and has a similar season)? Maybe $15 million per season? If the Tigers splurge to keep Skubal, they might not pay to keep Mize.
>
>
> PeterFrom: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
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Roger King

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Jan 16, 2026, 7:28:23 AMJan 16
to Sean Sweda, detroit...@googlegroups.com
The article speculates that Boras wants to break the entire arbitration process in which case it’s not entirely clear that even if the offer from the Tigers was say, $25 million, he would’ve accepted it. Obviously the Tigers were approaching it like any arbitration case where you start a little bit low, the agent counters and then they meet in the middle.

I’m also of the opinion that it wouldn’t matter what the Tigers offered Skubal for an extension, Boras won’t agree to anything until Skubal is actually a free agent and he can get a bidding war going. 

Knowing all this, even though he is the best pitcher on the planet, I can’t see many teams offering a boatload of young talent for one year of Skubal.  


Peter Welch

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Jan 16, 2026, 10:30:35 AMJan 16
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True, we're probably not getting anyone's top pitching prospects now if we trade Skubal, but we'll still probably get a better package than just a single comp round draft pick in 2027, which is what we'll get after Skubal signs with the Dodgers.  I guess we can just place a Polymarket bet that the comp round pick turns into the next Skubal.

As Tigers' fans, we've just got to hope everything falls into place this season and we somehow grab a World Series title in Skubal's final year.
Can't say I'm optimistic based on the Tigers' current roster configuration.  We're going to need career-best seasons from everyone and hardly any injuries.

Peter
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2026 7:28 AM
To: Sean Sweda <sw...@ibl.org>

Roger King

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Jan 16, 2026, 10:51:18 AMJan 16
to Peter Welch, detroit...@googlegroups.com
I’m not sure we need career best seasons from everyone. I mean, when you look at it, two years in a row, the Tigers have come within one game (and last year, literally one hit!) from advancing to the American League championship series.

So in theory, we could pretty much get the same seasons from most of the players on the team with just a bit of improvement in a couple of areas and the team could go further. Of course the counter argument is… They almost missed the playoffs entirely last year so any slippage from a couple of key players and it could be a somewhat mediocre season.

You can certainly spin it that there will be improvement without getting into any unrealistic scenarios:

-Greene cuts down on K’s
-Carpenter gets his OPS somewhere between 2024’s .932 and last year’s .788
-Keith has more of a breakout year than last year
-McGonigle is the real deal and either makes the team out of spring training or gets called up shortly after
-Torres stays healthy and produces more consistently because he doesn’t have the hernia issue from the second half of last year

The above could certainly be enough to propel the Tigers into the post-season and beyond, especially if we’re not having to endure starts down the stretch from guys like Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton ie. We have a healthy pitching staff for most of the season.

Expect some drop-off from “all stars” Baez and McKinstry but I don’t think that would offset what I’ve listed above, especially if McGonigle is producing, which would presumably mean less starts from guys like McKinstry.

So that’s the glass is half full spin…


David Panian

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Jan 16, 2026, 12:38:26 PMJan 16
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I had hoped the Tigers could sign Tucker. He would've been an upgrade over Carpenter, who could then play mostly DH or be traded for another position of need. But in a world where Aaron Judge not too long ago signed for $40 million a year and Juan Soto for $51 million, I don't see how Tucker should be paid more than either of those guys. The Dodgers are drunk.

Maybe this will be a signal to Riley Greene that he could get that kind of payday if he cuts way down on the strikeouts and gets on base more often. Tucker has never hit more than 30 homers in a season, but he's also never struck out more than 95 times, either. In his last two mostly healthy seasons, he walked 80+ times, too. It seems like Tucker is the kind of hitter that Greene could aspire to be — though I still think peak Greene is more like Freddie Freeman.

Now that Bregman and Tucker have signed, I think we might see teams making some trades. I don't know that the Tigers are in a position to do anything noteworthy but maybe with Colt Keith? Or Parker Meadows? Or Casey Mize if they sign another starter like Bassitt or Giolito? It seems like Keith, Meadows and Mize would have some good trade value. Keith is young, has an affordable contract and still has lots of upside. Meadows is young, too, and could be seen as having offensive upside along with his elite defense. Of course, those are reasons the Tigers would want to keep them. Mize is a free agent after this year, but he's probably more resignable for whoever might trade for him so we might get someone good for him. It would take a good offer to pry any of them away, but it seems like that would be more doable than trading Skubal for similar value.

Now that I think about it, Torkelson resuscitated his trade value last season. There could be a team out there that thinks they can improve him even more, and the Tigers could play Keith at first.

Trading Meadows could be similar to how the Tigers traded Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman. With Vierling, Baez and Perez on the roster, the Tigers could make do in center.

I suppose trading Carp could still be an option, like when the Tigers traded Steve Kemp for Chet Lemon.

The Tigers could look to improve at third, short and center and in the bullpen. Depending on the deal, they might even get a starting pitcher back who could help make up for losing Skubal and Mize after this season.

I'm not necessarily advocating for a trade and I don't think the Tigers would trade multiple starters from last year's team outside of a blockbuster deal since that hasn't been Scott Harris' M.O. But if the Tigers want to try to improve in another way than just expecting their younger hitters to improve, they have some players who seem like they have decent trade value. 

As for Skubal, I don't think they'll trade him now. They can get to the playoffs again with him. If the season goes badly, then, sure, trade him for some prospects, but if the Tigers can line up their postseason rotation to maximize his starts, they have a good shot at winning multiple series, especially if they go six or seven games.

David


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Peter Welch

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Jan 16, 2026, 2:11:24 PMJan 16
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I think we'll need close to "career best" seasons from guys like Greene, Keith, Tork.  What Greene did in 2025 isn't enough, despite his 36 homers.  He only produced 2.2 WAR last year and a .313 OBA.  He wasn't bad, but didn't get on base enough or draw enough walks, and struck out a zillion times.  We need him more like the 2024 version (5.4 WAR and .348 OBA) or better.

Carpenter needs to get back to his 2023-2024 levels.  I'm hoping his dropoff in 2025 was caused by injuries rather than the start of a decline (he'll be 28 this season so he still should be close to his peak).  Hinch using Carpenter as a platoon player is still annoying.

Keith potentially has the most room to improve as a hitter.  I'd like to see more power from him (he had good power in the minors) and for Hinch let him play against lefties.

I think Tork might be just what he is (a low-average slugger who draws a few walks) but he's 26 so still could improve.  I don't think he'll ever be Kyle Schwarber or even Pete Alonso.

Anything we get from McGonigle this year will be a bonus.  If he makes the team, he'll be a rookie facing major league pitching for the first time.  Rookie hitters often struggle no matter how good they were in the minors.
The same will apply to rookies like Max Anderson or Hao-Yu Lee (or even Max Clark if he gets a look) if they make the team at some point.

Torres and Dingler will probably be about the same.

McKinstry is useful, but I'd be surprised he can put up .771 OPS again.  
Baez is what he is.  He needs to be used in limited time against lefties.
Meadows is a wild card, but the odds are he still won't be able to hit.
The rest of the bench (Vierling, Perez, Jones, etc.) will be platoon players who Hinch will mix and max.

I'm not sure I'm seeing an offense that can carry this team past the AL Championship series into the World Series, even if Skubal tries to carry the team on his shoulders.  Sure, they have a decent shot of making the playoffs again, but they need a lot of things to go right to get past the ALDS.

Peter

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2026 10:51 AM

Jeffrey Withey

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Jan 16, 2026, 2:27:43 PMJan 16
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My question is, if the Tigers do nothing, are the other teams in the division also sitting pat? I haven’t paid much attention to that, but the division was very competitive last year so it is far from a foregone conclusion that the Tigers will be as successful against divisional opponents. They are banking on the players who were good last year remaining good and the prospects being ready and actually producing, which is a massive gamble in my opinion. 

Jeff

From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David Panian <dpa...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2026 12:38:10 PM

To: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Arbitration agreements
 

[EXTERNAL]

Sean Sweda

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Jan 16, 2026, 2:55:29 PMJan 16
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You can’t directly compare the AAV of guys who sign these short term deals with others who signed 10+ year comtracts. The teams signed those long term deals so they could spread the total outlay over more seasons, no different than salary deferral. What you’re seeing with Tucker is what the true market rate is when you cut out the dead money on the back end of the long term deals.

Sean
< via mobile >

Michael W

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Jan 16, 2026, 5:11:34 PMJan 16
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> Obviously the Tigers were approaching it like any arbitration case where you start a
> little bit low, the agent counters and then they meet in the middle.

People who don't really know how to negotiate are always surprised by people who do.  

If Boras believes he can get get $32M from arbitration (which he apparently does) why would he mess around with splitting the difference? 

We'll see what the arbiter says, but it looks like the Tigers got schooled.

Michael

Michael W

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Jan 16, 2026, 5:20:12 PMJan 16
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It seems plausible that McGonigle might make it to the big leagues this year, although September is more likely than May.  But there's no reason to expect him to contribute positively in his rookie year.  Rookies almost never do, especially very young rookies, and including rookies who go on to have great careers.

Michael

Michael W

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Jan 16, 2026, 5:33:40 PMJan 16
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> The teams signed those long term deals so they could spread the total outlay over more seasons, 
>no different than salary deferral. What you’re seeing with Tucker is what the true market rate

Exactly right Sean, thanks for reminding us.

Michael

Roger King

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Jan 16, 2026, 5:39:55 PMJan 16
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But note that Boras didn't even give the Tigers an offer.  It wasn't a negotiation in any real sense.  

Based on these recent free agent deals, I think Boras has a good shot at winning the case.  Even if his goal isn't blowing up the whole arbitration process, Skubal is kind of an outlier anyway.   Pretty easy to make the argument he's the best pitcher in the game or at least the league.  


Roger King

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Jan 16, 2026, 5:54:57 PMJan 16
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Yeah, it's interesting because there has been some buzz that McGonigle will at least have a shot to make the team out of spring training but I think where most of the chatter comes from is Harris saying offensive improvement in 2026 was going to "come from within".

Many have taken that to mean that he is counting on McGonigle and others currently in the minors to have an impact this season.  Otherwise, he is running back the exact same line-up as last season.  But if you read his comments closely, you realize he is first and foremost counting on the core of Greene/Tork/Carpenter/Keith etc to all be better.  And then he also adds a second tier of Meadows/Perez/Dingler.  

Counting on *all* of those guys to be better is a lot to ask.  


Peter Welch

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Jan 16, 2026, 7:47:11 PMJan 16
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Where is McGonigle going to play for the Tigers in 2026 since apparently they don’t rate him that highly as a shortstop?  I don’t think he’ll be taking over the starting SS job for Baez/McKinstry in 2026, and
they’ve got Keith at 3B and Torres at 2B for this year.
I think they might want to give him some time in AAA to work on his defense.  Maybe somebody like Alan Trammell could work with him on positioning and turning the double play?
But if McGonigle is beating up on AAA pitching by June they’ll probably find room for him somewhere.  You could see Torres traded mid-season to make room for McGonigle.

Peter 



On Jan 16, 2026, at 5:55 PM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:



Peter Welch

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Jan 16, 2026, 7:55:15 PMJan 16
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Skubal will sign for 4-years, $400 million.

Peter


On Jan 16, 2026, at 5:33 PM, Michael W <miw...@gmail.com> wrote:


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