These Are the Four Best Detroit Tigers Contracts on Next Season's Payroll
The Detroit Tigers shocked the world when they made a late-season push for the playoffs this year, which seemingly commenced after a trade deadline sell-off.
It is not every day that a team that is selling at the trade deadline makes the postseason, but the Tigers accomplished that feat, as well as knocking off the dynastic Houston Astros with a two-game sweep in the Wild Card round.
If Detroit wants to continue to be relevant in 2025 and beyond, they will need to make a free agency splash this winter, and these four contracts on their payroll allow them the flexibility to do so.
All figures accurate as of December 2
RP Tyler Holton
As most middle relievers do, Tyler Holton's accomplishments throughout his short career thus far have mostly flown under the radar.
The Tigers selected the reliever off of waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the 2023 campaign, and Holton has rewarded their faith in him with a 2.15 ERA across 179 2/3 innings with 151 strikeouts and a 195 ERA+ in 125 games.
Holton pairs his elite four-seam fastball with a plus curveball and excellent control to force hitters into weak contact and ground balls.
The lefty was so good this year, that he earned a down-ballot vote for the American League MVP, and finished 15th for the award while playing on a pre-arbitration, league-minimum deal.
Pre-Arb, League Minimum
OF Kerry Carpenter
Kerry Carpenter was a middle-round draft pick of Detroit in 2019 and has made a name for himself as someone who can reside comfortably in the middle of their lineup since debuting in 2022.
The outfielder has batted .276/.338/.512 across 868 plate appearances in 236 games with 44 home runs, 131 RBI, and a 135 OPS+.
Injuries have hindered Carpenter's ability to stay on the field, with one injured list stint in each of his three seasons in the Majors keeping him to a current career-high of only 118 games played in 2023, his only year with 100 or more games played.
The slugger has shown an innate knack for barrelling the ball, with a 12.9 percent barrel rate, well above the league average in that time of 7.0 percent.
With one more year before reaching arbitration eligibility, a full season of Kerry Carpenter would go a long way to improving a Tigers' offense that finished 23rd in MLB in 2024 with an OPS of .685.
Pre-Arb, League Minimum
OF Riley Greene
Riley Greene was a first-round selection of Detroit's in the same draft that produced Carpenter, proving to be a solid draft for the club.
While Greene may not have the same level of production that Carpenter has had, the young outfielder has shown improvement across each of his campaigns in the Majors, with a 97 OPS+ in 2022, a 119 OPS+ in 2023, and a 133 OPS+ in 2024.
Greene's BABIP was actually down in 2024 compared to his career mark, but he improved his walk rate and tapped into his power stroke, knocking 24 home runs in 584 plate appearances, crossing 20 for the first time in his career.
If the outfielder can take another step forward in his offensive production in 2025, his final year before arbitration eligibility, the Tigers have an insanely terrifying one-two punch on their hands with Greene and Carpenter.
Pre-Arb, League Minimum
SP Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal. That's it. That's the section.
Skubal's brilliance was not just a product of 2024; the lefty returned from flexor tendon surgery and made his 2023 debut in July, quietly pitching to a 2.80 ERA across 80 1/3 innings in 15 starts with 102 strikeouts and a 155 ERA+.
The ace was even better in 2024, pitching to a 2.39 ERA across 192 innings in 31 starts with 228 strikeouts and a 170 ERA+, winning the American League Triple Crown and the American League Cy Young Award.
Before the surgery, Skubal was leaning more on his slider, which is a good pitch for him, but not as good as his fastball and changeup combination.
Since the surgery, the ace has leaned more heavily on that combination with fantastic results, quickly becoming one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball.
Oh, yea, he's only in his second year of arbitration eligibility.
