Dylan Cease

[Peter Welch]

Dylan Cease signed a 7-year, $210 million deal with the Blue Jays.  Woof!  Cease had a 4.50+ ERA in 2 of the last 3 seasons.  Good luck with that, Toronto. So Cease, who is nowhere near as good as Skubal and is a year older, is getting $30 million per season.   Skubal is going to want $50 million per season.

I wouldn't have minded signing Cease to a shorter-term deal, but no way for 7-years, $210 million.

No way are the Tigers going to pay Skubal $50+ million per season for 8+ years.  They need to trade him this offseason or go all in on trying to win the World Series with him this year.  Can the Tigers win the World Series in 2026 with their current roster?  

Framber Valdez is the biggest name starter left on the current FA market.  He's going to want at least what Cease got (Valdez is better than Cease, but has some "personality" issues).  I think Valdez would be a great fit for the Tigers, especially pitching in Comerica Park, and he has connections to Hinch, but no way will the Tigers pay him what he wants.  Valdez could also replace Skubal as the #1 starter after Skubal leaves.

If the Tigers are going to sign another starter, it's probably going to be somebody like Michael King, Merrill Kelly or maybe Zac Gallen on a short-term deal.  Maybe even Chris Bassitt on a 1-year deal.  I don't think the Tigers will sign Verlander.

Peter

[Cal Lord]

Skubal is worth every penny. Pay the man. 7 years 40 million.

Cal

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[Paul Meloche]

I saw the Cease deal and had the same reaction. Harris needs to decide if he’s going all in for this year or betting on 2027 and beyond. 

If it’s the former, we’ll need continued improvement from the current core and some savvy FA signings for the pitching staff. A lot would have to go right. 

Paul M.

On Nov 27, 2025, at 10:03 AM, Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:



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[Roger King]

On the Cease deal…I said to a Jays fan friend here in Toronto that… it isn’t obvious what a team that lost in 11 innings in Game 7 of the World Series needs to do to improve.  I’m not sure racing to sign a starter to a 7-year deal is the obvious answer.  

On that note, I’m not exactly sure what it would look like if the Tigers decided to go “all in” for 2026 in terms of winning a World Series.  I mean, it feels like one more solid hitter might do it, given they were just one key hit away from playing in the ALCS last year.

But if the Tigers sign one random good free agent hitter, I don’t think anyone thinks… Now they’ve got it all sewn up! 

My feeling is…given the current roster… And that they’ve already done things like re-sign Matt Vierling… I don’t think we’re going to get anything dramatic that shows… Wow, they’re trying to win it all clearly. 

But I also don’t know what that would look like other than some dramatic moves that by their nature are going to be risky. 

Roger King
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[Peter Welch]

Cease can be really good, but 7 years, $210 million for him is a big gamble.  I guess if the Jays win a WS in the next few years with Cease it will be worth it.

I think the Tigers need a couple more high-leverage relievers who can miss bats and another good starter to have a better chance to advance to the WS in 2026.  

We need a good #2 starter to support Skubal like we had in 2024 with Skubal-Flaherty.  I don't trust Flaherty, Olson or Mize to be a good #2 starter in 2026.  

We need to either re-sign Finnegan or sign another good high-leverage reliever or two.  We can't just let Finnegan leave and not replace him with anyone.  I don't think the holdovers from this year's bullpen will be good enough.  Vest can't do it all himself.  I suppose Melton could be a good high-leverage reliever if they want to use him as a reliever instead of a starter.  We need a power lefty in the bullpen as well.  

As for the hitting, if we get the 2024 versions of Greene and Carpenter in 2026 instead of the 2025 versions that would go a long way to helping the offense improve even if we don't sign/trade for another decent hitter.  Can we expect Greene and Carpenter to be better in 2026?  

It would also help if Tork would keep his OPS above .800 for a full season, and Keith turns into the hitter we'd thought he could be.  
Torres should be decent as long as he stays healthy.   Dingler might improve as a hitter.  I wish he would draw more walks.
I don't think we can expect the same production from McKinstry, and Baez/Meadows will be a sinkhole if they play regularly.
I also don't think we should expect miracles from rookies like McGonigle/Anderson/Lee if they make the roster.  

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2025 9:21 PM
To: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Cc: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>; detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Dylan Cease

 

[Dave]

Keith can't be the hitter we expect if he doesn't have a position to play.  They wanted him to learn 2nd base and then they sign Torres to play 2nd and  is not willing to play 3rd.

Keith is then slotted to play 1st base but Torkelson plays well enough in spring training to earns his spot back.

The Tigers sign this kid to a long term deal while still in the minors so they must think he is something special.  They need to let him play somewhere on the field for a season.  He can't be platooned or he will not develop.

I am beginning to doubt Harris and/or Hinch.  You can't develop players this way.

Dave

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[Peter Welch]

The Tigers were close to advancing to the ALCS both in 2024 and 2025 so I suppose you could argue with a bit better luck they could have had a chance to advance to the WS in either season.  They would have had to beat the Yankees in the ALCS in 2024 and beat the Blue Jays in 2025 and then played the Dodgers in the WS.  On paper, the Tigers were weaker than the 2024 Yankees, 2025 Blue Jays, and 2024-2025 Dodgers, but anything can happen in a best-of-7 series especially since the Tigers have Skubal.  

I really think the Tigers had a decent shot at beating the Blue Jays if they had played them in the ALCS this year...oh well.  The Tigers-Dodgers World Series in 2024 or 2025 would have been a mismatch on paper, but the Dodgers, especially this year's Dodgers, had some weaknesses that could be exploited.

Of course, you could also argue that the Tigers were very lucky to make the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.  

Anyway, if Harris doesn't do much this offseason to add some better players, the Tigers could still squeak into the playoffs again in 2026 and then anything can happen in the playoffs especially if you have a dominant starter like Skubal.  The AL Central doesn't have any dominant teams so the Tigers could still get into the playoffs.

That being said, we'll be disappointed if Harris doesn't do much this offseason to improve some weaknesses.  I don't think relying on improvement from Greene, Tork, Carpenter, Keith and Dingler and expecting our current bullpen and rotation (after Skubal) to get better is enough.

Peter

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From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2025 9:21 PM
To: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Cc: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>; detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Dylan Cease

 

[Michael W]

Yah, “anything can happen” is not much of a strategy.  Skubal was fantastic in 2024 and 2025, and it wasn’t enough to get us through the second round either year.  Sure, we were close, but as you said, we were just as close to not making the playoffs at all.  Skubal isn’t going to be materially better in 2026, although he certainly could be worse.

Michael 

[Peter Welch]

"Anything can happen in the playoffs" and "hope and pray a couple of players get hot in the playoffs" seems to be the Tigers' post-season strategy.

Yep, we've been very lucky that Skubal even had a chance to pitch in the playoffs the past 2 seasons, and we were pretty lucky to win our first-round Wild Card series in 2024 and 2025.

The Tigers actually gave up in 2024 (remember they traded their #2 starter, Flaherty, who was having a good season, at the deadline) but thanks to some crazy good luck they made the playoffs anyway.  Their luck eventually ran out in the ALDS.

2026 will be our last chance to win a WS with Skubal.  How serious is Harris about providing Skubal with better support in 2026 to make a run?

Or should we just trade Skubal this offseason and plan around a post-Skubal Tigers?

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2025 2:40 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Dylan Cease

 

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