Former Cy Young Winner Should Be Targeted by Detroit Tigers in Free Agency
The Detroit Tigers are in a position to make a notable splash this offseason.
Considering their roster is full of rising star players and prospects, making even just one high-profile addition could go a long way in pushing this team out of their rebuilding phase and into being a perennial contender in their division and the American League as a whole.
Who they might be searching for becomes the question.
The Tigers are loaded with talent across virtually every position group, having multiple options across their infield and outfield while also possessing great depth when it comes to their pitching staff.
However, the one area that clearly needs to be upgraded is their starting rotation.
While the young arms they have on their roster and within their pipeline might become elite starters one day, it was clear A.J. Hinch didn't quite trust anyone outside of Tarik Skubal to pitch multiple innings during the playoffs.
That can't be the case going forward.
With that in mind, Detroit should strongly consider taking a chance on former AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber this offseason.
This would be a risk considering the right-hander is coming off Tommy John surgery, but is something they should do.
Bieber looked like he was going to put together an impressive season early on when he didn't allow a single run across 12 innings pitched in his two starts, but after dealing with elbow issues that put him on the injured list multiple times since he won the Cy Young and Triple Crown in 2020, he underwent the procedure.
It's never easy to predict how a pitcher might look when coming back from this type of surgery, but that could help the Tigers.
Spotrac projects his market value to be at $24.5 million per year, but considering his injury history and the stacked free agent class full of starting pitchers, he could find himself getting much less than that.
Detroit might think to offer him a short-term "prove it" type of contract, something that would bring in the star righty for one or two seasons while their young starters continue to develop.
If he's healthy, Bieber would also give the Tigers a great one-two punch at the top of their rotation alongside their reigning AL Cy Young winner.
Price would be the deciding factor in all this.
Detroit is rumored to have interest in Alex Bregman, bringing in a player with championship experience who would man the hot corner for the foreseeable future, so they might prefer to hand him a megadeal instead of spending it on Bieber.
The Tigers should be interested in getting both deals done.
At the very least, Bieber is someone the front office should take a long look at, and if the price is right, they should extend an offer.
