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Three New Year's resolutions for the Detroit Tigers in 2025, including shortstop position
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- Three New Year's resolutions for the Detroit Tigers in 2025, including shortstop position
The calendar has changed from 2024 to 2025.
The Detroit Tigers enter the new year in search of returning to the postseason with help from a young core of players, headlined by Kerry Carpenter , Riley Greene , Colt Keith , Parker Meadows , Reese Olson and Tarik Skubal . It will be the third season of president Scott Harris and the fifth season of manager A.J. Hinch .
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Here are three New Year's resolutions that the Tigers should strive for in 2025, as discussed on this week's episode of the "Days of Roar" podcast :
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Tarik Skubal : Pay him or trade him
It's time for the Tigers to make the Tarik Skubal decision.
Are the Tigers going to extend Skubal, or are the Tigers going to trade Skubal? The answer to that question — at the earliest — will be answered in the 2025-26 offseason, which begins in November.
The Tigers already tried and failed to extend Skubal 's contract beyond the 2026 season. If the Tigers try and fail again, then the Tigers would be wise to trade Skubal before he becomes a free agent.
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ANALYSIS: Could Tigers ace Tarik Skubal become first $400 million pitcher in MLB history?
Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the top of the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
For now, Skubal — the reigning American League Cy Young winner , represented by agent Scott Boras — will become a free agent after the 2026 season. He has a chance to become the first pitcher in MLB history to get a $400 million contract , as long as he maintains health and performance.
Skubal, 28, has two seasons of team control remaining, but when the 2025-26 offseason begins, he will have just one season remaining, and by the 2026 trade deadline, he will have just a few months until free agency.
If an extension is impossible, the Tigers would get more trade value in a return package by trading Skubal in the offseason (with seven months of on-field value remaining) rather than trading Skubal at the trade deadline (with two months remaining).
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That's exactly what the Milwaukee Brewers did with Corbin Burnes in the 2023-24 offseason, trading him to the Baltimore Orioles with one year of team control remaining for infielder Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall . The Brewers still made the postseason in 2024 despite trading their best starting pitcher, all while Ortiz took over as the third baseman and remains under team control through the 2029 season. Meanwhile, Burnes made his fourth-career All-Star appearance with the Orioles, then signed a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks .
The Tigers could take the same route with Skubal in the 2025-26 offseason.
A decision needs to be made — pay him or trade him.
Develop shortstop of the future
Javier Báez , who has been the Tigers' primary shortstop for the past three seasons, is owed $73 million across the final three seasons of his contract: $25 million in 2025, $24 million in 2026 and $24 million in 2027. The Tigers will give the 32-year-old an opportunity to prove his health and production in spring training in return from right hip surgery, which could solve his lower back injuries that led to rotational issues when swinging.
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Regardless, the Tigers need to develop a shortstop of the future as Báez's replacement.
COMING SOON: Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle is going to hit, but will he stay at shortstop?
Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez during picture day at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.
Four of the top 20 prospects in the Tigers' farm system are shortstops: No. 3 prospect Kevin McGonigle , No. 4 Bryce Rainer , No. 13 Franyerber Montilla and No. 18 Trey Sweeney . The Tigers acquired both Rainer (in the MLB draft) and Sweeney (at the trade deadline) in the 2024 calendar year. Now that the Tigers have stockpiled replacements for Báez, it's time to develop one of them into the shortstop of the future.
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McGonigle, who doesn't turn 21 until mid-August despite already having reached High-A West Michigan, is poised to fill that role, as long as he sticks at shortstop and doesn't require a move to second base . He is one of the best pure hitting prospects in baseball.
In Low-A Lakeland, McGonigle hit .326 with four home runs, 35 walks (12.9% walk rate) and 24 strikeouts (8.9% strikeout rate) across 60 games, with 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts. He also had an elite 11.2% whiff rate — he rarely swings and misses.
McGonigle also played 14 games in High-A West Michigan, where he projects to start the 2025 season. He suffered a right hamate fracture in mid-August, which required season-ending hand surgery , but he will be healthy for spring training.
The No. 37 overall pick in the 2023 draft has the potential to replace Báez, but his defense needs to hold up at shortstop throughout the remainder of his development in the minor leagues. If all goes as planned, McGonigle could make his MLB debut — possibly as the Tigers' shortstop — on Opening Day in 2026.
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Prove 31-11 run wasn't a fluke
On Aug. 10, the Tigers were on pace for 75 wins.
Had that happened, the Tigers would've posted the second-worst record in A.J. Hinch's four seasons as the manager, only better than the 66-win campaign in 2022 that led to the firing of general manager Al Avila .
But that's not what happened.
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Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch relieves Jackson Jobe, center, in the seventh inning against the Houston Astros during Game 2 of the wild-card series at Minute Maid Park on Oct. 2, 2024 in Houston.
Instead, the Tigers went on a magical 31-11 run, beginning Aug. 11, to clinch a spot in the postseason , advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
For context: The 31-11 record is a full-season pace of 120 wins, which has never happened in MLB history. Both the Chicago Cubs in 1906 and the Seattle Mariners in 2001 won an MLB-record 116 games. It seems unlikely the Tigers can maintain that 31-11 pace across a full season in 2025.
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The Tigers, though, can prove the 31-11 run wasn't a fluke by winning the American League Central in 2025. Winning the division is a goal that's already been set by Hinch .
The AL Central is open for the taking, with possibly a three-horse race between the Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins , as the reining AL Central champions — the Cleveland Guardians — have taken a step in the wrong direction by trading first baseman Josh Naylor and second baseman Andrés Giménez . If the Tigers sign Alex Bregman , then the Tigers will be the favorites to win the AL Central.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers New Year's resolutions: Time for a Tarik Skubal deal?
