Detroit Tigers Could Turn Career Around for Veteran Pitcher in MLB Free Agency
The Detroit Tigers are about to enter the most critical offseason they have had in a very long time as the team looks to build on the weaknesses of 2024 that prevented the unlikeliest of postseason runs from turning into a Cinderella story for the ages.
Detroit was eliminated in the ALDS by their division rival Cleveland Guardians in a decisive fifth game, but the path to getting there was quite the roller coaster after sitting nearly double digit games back in late August before making the playoffs and defeating the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round. Had the Tigers had some more reliable starting pitching behind Tarik Skubal, the run could have potentially gone on for even longer.
Finding quality arms to join the rotation should be the top priority this winter with a ton of quality names available. There's a lot of directions Detroit can go, from spending top dollar to pair a second ace with Skubal to simply trying to fill the rotation with solid starting pitching without breaking the bank. One player who could present a balance between both strategies is Boston Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta. Roger Castillo of FanSided named Pivetta as a guy that Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris should covet as someone who has a high ceiling and a player who the team's elite pitch coaching staff could get the most out of.
"Harris knows he can sell on making pitchers better and Pivetta, who was inconsistent at times for Boston, would give the Tigers someone who can give them innings, something their starters could not do outside of Skubal in 2024," Castillo wrote.
Pivetta would not exactly come cheap, valued by Spotrac at $60 million over four years, but this is still far less than what the top names in free agency would cost. As Castillo pointed out, Pivetta is a strikeout specialist and could compliment Skubal perfectly. Pivetta has been in Boston for four seasons and never had an ERA below 4.0 but has become a consistently solid innings eater who knows how to get people out.
$15 million annually may be a bit rich for a player of Pivetta's caliber, but if Detroit can get that number down just a little bit, he could be an ideal fit and make a seamless transition into the Tiger rotation.
