Does Reunion With Former Ace Make Sense for Detroit Tigers?
The Detroit Tigers are heading into the winter looking to take another step forward and a shockingly good 2024 campaign.
Last season, the Tigers were able to surprise everyone after the MLB Trade Deadline. Despite being sellers, Detroit was able to become one of the best teams in baseball in the second half of the year. Ultimately, they proceeded to eliminate the Houston Astros from the postseason.
After the series with the Astros, the Tigers were defeated by the Cleveland Guardians in an epic five-game series. Detroit leaned heavily on their bullpen in that series, but having another starting pitcher to pair with Tarik Skubal would have been ideal.
This offseason, while the Tigers will likely pursue some help for their lineup, they could also benefit from adding a starting pitcher or two. With money being spent trying to add a power hitter for the middle of the order, finding a reasonable veteran starting pitcher would be a great idea.
One player who could make a lot of sense for Detroit is a potential reunion with their former ace, Justin Verlander. The future Hall-of-Famer is one of the best pitchers of the last two decades, and at over 40 years old, he still has the desire to pitch.
With the Tigers, the right-hander was able to establish himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. He totaled a 183-114 record, 3.49 ERA, and won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006, and a Cy Young and MVP in 2011.
The veteran currently has 262 wins, and with a couple of World Series victories to go along with his individual accolades, Verlander might have his eyes on trying to reach the elusive 300-win mark.
At 41 years old, it would likely take three more good seasons to reach that plateau for the right-hander, but as we have seen in other sports like with Tom Brady and LeBron James, players are capable of playing at a high level late in their careers.
As a free agent, Verlander is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 campaign with the Astros, as he was simply never able to get going. That could very well be father time coming for him, but he was really solid in 2023 for both Houston and the New York Mets.
For a Tigers team that is looking to take a step forward, a potential reunion with their former ace would not only be a good story, but he could help them win games if he can be healthy and pitch like he did in 2023.
Verlander likely won’t cost a ton of money coming off a bad season. He could be a solid, low-risk, high-reward signing.
