Tigers Enter the Offseason: Early Notes as Season Ends

Tigers Enter the Offseason: Early Notes as Season Ends

Detroit season is officially over. We’ll talk about the things that are already coming out of the organization as we enter the off season. All today on Locked on Tigers. You are Locked on Tigers, your daily Detroit Tigers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is up everybody? Welcome back to another edition of Locked On Tigers. I’m of course your host Scott Bentley. Today is Monday, October 13th, 2025. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Tigers your first listen every single day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every single day. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So, download the FanDuel app today. Welcome in, welcome all. The first day of Tigers off season, I guess the first episode, the first day would have been what? Sunday. S when was game five? Friday. Yeah. So, Saturday would have been game day one of the offseason. Anyway, we’re here. First episode of the Detroit Tigers in offseason mode for us here over at Locked on Tigers. Gonna have kind of a laid-back episode. I want to talk about just the news and notes that have already come out of camp. Uh it’s super interesting. I say camp, out of the organization more so. It’s always really fascinating to me how there are a handful of news and notes and reports that are made public immediately after a team is eliminated from the postseason or their season ends that it could be like months old. We’ll talk about Glaver Torres. Um but things that literally are are just like kept under wraps and then the second that the season ends they’re brought to light. So, we’ll talk about a handful of those. I want to talk about the importance of the off season. I want to talk about some comments that Terrick Scooble made. I want to talk about Dan Dickerson being the coolest person in the world. Um, we’ll talk a little bit about the playoff teams that are remaining. And then we’ll kind of end the show by talking about what this show is going to look like throughout the off season, kind of some of the conversations and episodes that you can expect over the coming weeks and months. So, we’ll start off with the noteworthy talking points, uh, pieces of news that came out of the Tigers locker room immediately following the loss. One is that Glabber Torres is almost immediately going to have surgery to repair a hernia. That sucks. And yeah, obviously wishing him the best in a speedy recovery. He is a free agent very notably this winter. Only signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers last winter. Said that he would be open to returning. Said that what he, you know, what the team did this year was really special. And obviously he would be open to returning. But at the same time, like every single person who’s ever been a free agent in the history of baseball has said that before entering free agency. Like you don’t want to close any doors. You don’t want to be like, “No, no, I I I would never play for this team. You’re you’re just eliminating uh biders for your services.” Okay. So, that means nothing to me that he would be like open to return. Obviously, again, wishing him the best in his recovery. Hernas are no joke, man. That sucks. And I think that that could be not a guarantee, but I think that when he enters free agency, that will likely be something that his camp and his agent point at and go, “Okay, well, the numbers in the second half were terrible.” Well, he had a hernia. He decided to play through it. He said that the Tigers training staff was wonderful and that they are, you know, the biggest reason as to why he was able to keep playing. But the numbers fell off an absolute cliff. And I think that that’s something that a could affect his free agency and b will certainly be a talking point when negotiations pick up for his said free agency. Um but yeah, you know, it’s it’s it’s interesting. It’s interesting because he took a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers with the intention of signing a multi-year deal and getting that $100 million contract that he wanted last winter. This winter, kind of a bet on yourself type of thing. Now, in the first half, I think he probably did himself a lot of favors and probably worked maybe not to 100 mil, but certainly to a multi-year deal that that gave him uh, you know, enough money to Yeah. like to to again, maybe not the exact bar of 100 mil, but certainly to get to a point where he was comfortable signing pen to paper. now that that really I think gets tossed up like he was that bad and and we’ll do a player review on on everybody on the roster, you know, in the coming weeks here and we’ll talk about specifically what his numbers look like and and what he struggled with and and etc. But I I think that that really could take a sizable hit to his free agency and kind of what he was hoping to get out of this winter. So, we’ll see. I we’ll talk about this a lot more at a later date as well. I don’t think he’s going to be a Tiger next year. I think he just played his last game as a member of the Tigers organization. I don’t expect the Tigers to a make him a high priority in the off season. Uh and b I just I I don’t think that from his perspective, you know, wanting a multi-year deal that even if the Tigers were interested that they would be interested to the extent of a three plus year contract. So, I expect him to walk. Um, I I hope that the the hernia doesn’t affect his free agency and that he is able to get that long-term deal that he wants. I I think he was a great clubhouse dude. I I I enjoyed his time here. I just don’t think he’s going to be back because I don’t think the Tigers are going to prioritize bringing him back very much. But again, we’ll break that down much more in depth in the coming weeks and months here leading up to free agency. Jack Flity, no decision yet on his player option. That is one year $20 million. Says he loves the team and loves the players. Would would heavily consider coming back, but says he wants to kind of let the dust settle and and to kind of I think the word he used was process uh the loss and and kind of the season being over. So, we’ll see what happens with that. You know, if you would have told me or if you would have asked me rather, I don’t know, three months ago what Flity was going to do with his option, I would have said there was a 100% chance that he was back. But this kind of shows you how quick things change and how quickly things can change in terms of these options and and kind of setting the market and whatnot. Um, it it’s a decent free agent class certainly, but I I really do think I I don’t think that he will get north of 20 mil, but I do think that if you are in Flarity’s shoes and your decision is okay, you can take one year 20 mil or three years 17 or 18 mil that he would probably go with. Okay, we’ll knock a few years of AAV or a few mil in AAV off while adding years to that contract. And I think that’s more so what he’s considering here. This guy’s still not even 30 years old yet. And I I think that there is a market for him based on what he has shown over the last two years. This is now a big enough sample size where you can kind of, you know, as a front office be like, okay, the strikeouts will be there. there’s going to be some home runs uh issues maybe from time to time, but um if you know we can get our hands on him and and make sure that he’s a middle of the rotation guy for us for the next three years, assuming he stays healthy, which was a huge question mark for the first, you know, six years of his career, I guess. Um, but I I I think that that is more so what he’s weighing than like I again I don’t expect him to get like 25 mil a year or something like that in in the open market. But I do think that there are teams out there that look at a guy in his late 20s and look at his last two healthy seasons um and uh his last two seasons which were healthy and it can maybe justify giving him multi-year contracts. So we’ll see. We’ll see. Again, crazy how quickly things change. I I I I would have bet everything that he would have just picked up that option cuz he had an RA pushing five and it’s $20 million for a year. Um but then there’s like the qualifying offer is be going to be a factor in here. We’ll talk about that at a uh at a later date a little bit more in depth as well. Um, but I that is there’s going to be a lot to weigh, I guess, is the word I’ll use in terms of flity and in terms of, you know, what the Tigers are kind of looking to do with him as well. So, we’ll keep an eye on that. Uh, want to talk Kyle Finnegan, want to talk Trick Scooble, who immediately was asked if he was going to come back to and, you know, resign with the Tigers as that is just going to be littered with the uh the front page of all the local news throughout the winter. So, we will talk about all of those and more right after this. First though, got to talk to you’all about our friends over at FanDuel. FanDuel is the best. The NFL season is here. The fan and FanDuel has made an offer you won’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 bucks in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. You pick a bet, you put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. There’s so many great features with FanDuel because there’s so many ways to play, right? You can build parlays, you can do player props, you can even uh follow the games live during when they’re played. And that way you can bet literally in the middle, you know, halftime, third quarter, whatever you want in a ball game. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little bit of something riding on the action. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to join visit fanuel.com to join FanDuel and download the app today to get started. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Segment two, locked on Tigers. Appreciate y’all for tuning in as always, making us your first listen every single day. Shout out to the everydayers that do tune in every day. And we will of course be back tomorrow. We do not go anywhere in the off season. Be here 5 days a week until late December and then we’ll move to three days a week. But the show never actually fully stops. Just goes into offseason mode for about a month and a half later in the off season. But uh we are not there yet. Not even close. the next two months, we will still be in your eyes and ears five days a week. So, talking about the immediate noteworthy news to come out of the Tigers organization following their season coming to an end. Um, it it’s again, as I said at the top of the show, really fascinating how, you know, all the news and and press goes into the locker room after they’re eliminated and then all the secrets that that the team has just been holding on to, you know, just come to light uh immediately. It’s it’s very fascinating to me. So, we are talking about some of those things today. Kyle Finnegan, someone that I want to talk about a little bit, was asked about his future with the organization, said that he would be open to returning, but obviously this was a rental when they acquired him and he will be a free agent, assuming they don’t work a deal out beforehand. But I I would imagine almost certainly that he’s a guy that goes to free agency. Um but said that he really enjoyed his time here as again they are always going to say. The the thing that’s interesting with Finnegan is how I don’t know different his production was post injury. Um pre-injjury he literally had a zero erra. He pitched for the Tigers for like what was it a month, month and a half and did not allow an earned run. And so you’re thinking, “Wow, you know, I would love to bring this guy back. I would love to work out, you know, some sort of extension or just resign him for a year, you know, and see what they can maybe do with him in 2026 over a full season through the splitter a lot more. that was a big reason as to why his success changed as he noted as a lot of other media personalities and and writers had noted. But after the injury, the production wasn’t quite the same. He was hanging the splitter a little bit too much for my liking, especially in the postseason there. Gave up a lot of contact. I think it’ll be interesting. thing. You know, this is a bullpen that I have said time and time again is unbelievably paper thin at the present moment. Now, hopefully you get some people back from injury next year. Maybe a healthy Bo Brisky can change that. Maybe a healthy Jason Foley, assuming that’s someone that you may get back at some point next year. Um, and I don’t know if that’s a guarantee, but again, like there are some guys, Alex Lang, maybe fully health, you can get another opportunity. We’ll talk about that a ton this off season. Um, but Finnegan, I I think you could do far worse. It’s just a matter of what his market’s going to be. Again, the it’s tough with relievers especially to find out what the market is this early. like that’s something that really won’t be um clear until free agency hits because there are always just more relievers than any other position obviously in free agency because there’s more relievers than any other position in the game of baseball. So, it’s just that’s something that we’ll probably just have to wait and see. again, I I would almost guarantee that he makes it to free agency and and they’re not going to work out a deal beforehand unless the Tigers will overpay for him. Um, and yeah, I I I think it really just determines or is going to come down to rather the the the Tigers personal evaluation of him. I I really would be fine either way. I I don’t have a strong opinion on Kyle Finnean. If they can get him for a decent price tag, then sure, bring him back. you clearly, you know, proved and showed that they can make some adjustments and make him a pretty good reliever. But at the same breath, like at the same time, I I if they choose not to, I’m not going to be heartbroken. I think there’s a lot of guys that are probably more sure things out there than bringing him back for a year or two. So, we’ll keep an eye on that. But again, as I said, he uh mentioned that he had no issue returning to the Detroit Tigers if that’s what ends up happening. Terrick Scooble, big talk of not only the weekend based on some comments he made, but a guy that is just consistently and constantly going to be at the forefront of Tigers media and Detroit media really. headlines all winter and it’s it’s really is disappointing the right word? It’s disappointing that it’s come to this where like the Tigers just really seem like they have no interest in paying him that high price tag and TK is a Scott Boris client that is going to make sure that he gets the most money possible and and so I I don’t expect the Tigers to resign him this off seasonason. I don’t expect the Tigers to resign him period. Uh the big question then is do you just go pedal to the metal and and just go, you know what, we got one year left of Scooble. We’re going to try to make the most of it and then he’s going to walk. Or do you trade him? Do you trade one of the two best pitchers on the planet, if not the best pitcher on the planet, and try to I I mean get some bats in here? Obviously, you need pitching depth. Like, you know, pe people talk about the the need for offense, which they they clearly do, as proven by the post the postseason performance of this lineup, but this pitching depth organizationally has gotten significantly thinner over the last couple of years. Um, this was something that I would have argued was a strong suit. Pitching depth that is, was a strong suit for this organization a year and a half, two years ago. And now I I think is it’s it’s getting very thin very quickly. And I I think that if they do trade Scoo, you’re going to want a obviously a a ransom. Like you’re going to want a huge massive return, but it’s not like you’re doing that just for bats. You’re going to need to get some arms in there to replenish the starting pitching side at least of this farm system that uh you know, between promotions and trades and whatnot has slowly and injuries honestly. um you know kind of appeared to be thinner uh this year than it has been in previous years. So his quote was it’s my job to play. That’s pretty much the point that he was driving home. It’s my job to play. I don’t handle, you know, ask the Tigers front office if they have plans of resigning me, but it’s my job to just focus on playing and to continue doing that. Um I I don’t expect too much of a different answer at any point this year. I I kind of expect every time he he’s going to be asked about it a lot. I hope he’s ready for that. Um but yeah, I I I anticipate every answer to kind of be similar in that regard as I’m just focusing on today. I’m just focusing on playing. I’m just focusing on my offseason, you know, program, etc., etc. I I don’t expect him to comment too much on the extension until uh either it happens or it it doesn’t and he’s traded or is a free agent. The other thing that Scooble said that I really liked was that the World Series should be the standard for everybody in this organization. And I think the players are there. I I’m not convinced that the front office and that ownership necessarily is in that boat. And I don’t say that from a a viewpoint of like ignorance. I understand that this organization did nothing for the better part of 10 years in terms of major league success and now has made the postseason in back-to-back years. That is obviously a massive step in the right direction and this front office deserves praise for doing that. That being said, I think it is I I I’m a broken record with it, man. I I know people comment all the time and tell me to stop talking about it. I I’m sorry, but it it is very hard for me to believe that this front office’s highest priority is a World Series when they had the best record in baseball at the trade deadline and and their deadline looked the way it did. Man, that that is just such a catastrophic blow to reputation and to like me believing any word out of your mouth to be completely honest. And that’s not to say that that can change in the future. Dave Dumbrosski lied all the time. Um, and but at least you saw with his actions that he was constantly trying to make the team better and doing kind of whatever it took to get the Tigers over that hump. I mean, we’re still what, three years in, this is off seasonason number four for Harris. Um, there’s plenty of conversations we will have in regards to Scott Harris over the next four months, right? A ton on this program. I I promise you and guarantee you I have a lot of mixed feelings. I think he’s done a lot of good. I think that the farm system’s in a really good place. I think kind of just the structure of the organization is in a really good place. I also have a lot of frustrations as I’ve voiced plenty throughout the year. So, um I think that this is a really important offseason for him and I think that it’s a really important off season to prove to the fan base. Not that he really owes the fan base, I guess, a whole lot. that’s more of like an ownership thing. Um, but I I I think that it is important to show, okay, the the the priority still is to win at the major league level and the priority is still going to be to get that World Series and I’m not sure we have seen the aggressiveness from this front office over the last four years that really is is very convincing of that. That’s all. So I I all that is to say rambling as I tend to do that TKO saying the World Series should be the standard I think is welcomed and and hopefully is something that maybe lights a fire under what could be his last year in this organization. Got a couple more players I want to talk about. Um want to talk Dan Dickerson as well. Then we will talk about what the rest of the offseason will look like. We’ll do all of that right after this. Got to talk to you today about our friends over at Monarch Money. Monarch Money is the best. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts, or even what they are worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That is where Monarch Money comes in. and it’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or phone. There’s so many great features. 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That’s such a cheap number that I’d imagine they just do it just from a value perspective, right? It’s 4 mil, man. Like in in today’s day and age, that that is that’s, you know, uh, middle reliever money on the open market. So, I I really expect him to be back next year in some capacity. Even if that is just like, hey, we’re going to pick up this option. You’ll be in spring training. If it doesn’t work out, you know, by the end of spring training or even like the first couple of months of the regular season, it it’s $4 million. We’ll eat that and nobody’s the wiser. So, I I I expect them to at a minimum pick that up. Paul Seawald is a little bit more interesting. That’s a mutual option for $10 million. I have a hard time believing based on Seaw Wald’s age, injury history, and what he showed this year, even in the few innings he did pitch, that he’s going to get 10 mil anywhere else. Um, that that is the the price tag for this mutual option. So, I’d imagine he opts into that. So, it’s going to be more kind of the appearance of a team option than anybody else. Now, maybe he just like hates it in Detroit and is like, I’d rather get paid, you know, $3 million somewhere else than $10 million here. But again, I I I would imagine he will opt in and the Tigers will be left with a decision of whether they want him back for that price tag. I would imagine the answer is no. Uh I mean, maybe they see something in the off season, you know, in in private workouts or whatever that gets them super inspired or or um intrigued. Optimistic is the word I’m looking for. goodness for Seawald next year. Uh it is a pretty small sample size, I guess, this season, but I I didn’t see anything that would give me a ton of confidence that he is productive next year. And 10 mil for a reliever, a one inning reliever at that is is is a pretty hefty price tag if he’s not like, you know, a closer. So, we’ll see what happens. Dan Dickerson, that obviously happened. Uh that that video came out this weekend. Um I I love it, dude. I I don’t know why anyone would be mad at that. Uh he apologized because he’s a class act and is one of the classiest dudes in sports, dare I say. Um he’s a great phenomenal human being. And so I I’m sure the network was like, “Yo, you like you got to apologize for dropping an F-bomb on air.” But I I I think all it’s just really cool to see the people that are in these positions be actual fans of the team you root for. And it’s not just like, oh, I, you know, got hired from whatever, you know, like California and grew up a Dodgers fan, but then like, oh, Detroit had an opening, so I’m just like here because of that. like this is this is and that’s not to say that you know like Benetti obviously is from Chicago. I I think it’s safe to say Benetti is a Tigers fan at this point. I think he makes that pretty clear. But it’s just it’s cool to see Dickerson, you know, let that let that through a little bit even if it wasn’t, you know, unintentional. And obviously, you know, you can’t be dropping fbombs on air and keep your uh your professionalism intact or whatever, but he’s a pros pro. He is the most professional guy in the business. And I I think that all Tigers fans kind of loved and rallied around the fact that he was as pissed off as all of as as much as we were. Um and and he was saying the exact same words that we were saying when that game ended. So I we love Dan Dickerson. Absolute legend. And uh yeah, I have no issue with that. Okay. Well, uh, the the CSR set, the ALDS, CS rather, and NLCS. You have Jay’s Mariners in the American League. Should be a good series. I’ll take the Blue Jays in six. Then you have the Dodgers and Brewers. That is far more the uh the intriguing matchup to me. Now, naturally, that’ll be a sweep and the AL will be like some sevename thriller, but Dodgers Brewers is a really good series, man. that is the most expensive and most talented roster in the sport going up against the team that had the best record in baseball this year. And there’s a lot of great storylines surrounding the Brewers. Um there’s a lot of uh you know a youth movement that is coming through that organization that is playing very very well. Then you have, you know, guys like Andrew Vaughn that struggled for most of their career and now have completely reinvented themselves. I think that is a really really fun series. I’ll take the brew crew in seven making their uh their their first World Series in what 50 years. I want to say it was the it was 72 74 77 somewhere around there is uh the last World Series that they made. So it’ll be fun. It’ll be fun. I I think that both of these are good series and I think that um I I I think really any combination of these four teams in the World Series will be a a fun and competitive World Series as well. Okay, let’s talk about the uh what this show is going to look like in the off season. Um as we already mentioned, a huge offseason for Scott Harris. Um we’re going to have a lot of different conversations and a lot of different um what’s the word I’m thinking of? a lot of different I I can’t think of the word. Doesn’t matter. We’re going to have episodes that are dedicated to talking about everyone that is not under contract in 2026 and debate whether they will return or not. We may even divide it into, you know, these are the UFAs and these are the guys that have like options on the team. Uh then we’ll obviously have an entire episode dedicated or multiple dedicated to uh non-tender deadline and I talk about players that are under team control for 2026 that the Tigers may even decide not to bring back. There’s always a handful of those around the league every year. We’ll also have our our annual what went right this season and what went wrong this season episodes. We just do one full episode of each of those things. Um, they’re both coming. I I always every year in the what went right episode, I get, “Wow, well, you’re not going to talk about anything that went bad.” And then in the what went wrong episode, I get comments about, “Wow, you’re so negative. Why didn’t you talk about anything that went right?” Both happen every year. Okay. I promise that that’s how I’ve done it since I took over this show. Um, and yeah, I think that there’s there’s a a lot of both this year. So, it’ll make it this is kind of the the most intriguing what went right and wrong season review I think that I’ve probably ever had as host of this show. We’ll obviously do a lot of free agent profiles um once it is determined, you know, who is going to be a free agent around baseball this year and who’s not. We’ll talk about who could fit the Tigers plans. Um we will talk winter meetings when it comes around in December. You know, 40man, we have rule five protection deadline. Um, so we’ll talk about players that aren’t on the 40man for the Tigers right now that could be or should be by the season’s end. And then every year we also do player reviews. Every spring training, we do player previews. Um, every off season immediately following the Tigers elimination, we start player reviews. So, we’ll talk uh kind of indepth, go analytically um, and just kind of talk about what each player brought to the table in 2025. um what their future with the Tigers organization could or should look like um you know where they need to improve next year, if they’ll even be back next year, etc. And we’ll kind of do somewhere between one and three an episode. I know that’s kind of a lot, but we’ll depending like some players there just isn’t too much to say, right? Like Paul Seawald. I’m not dedicating 30 minutes to Paul Seawald. Riley Green might get 30 minutes just a whole episode dedicated to his 2025 because it’s such a weird year. So, um yeah, that’s what you can expect out of the show this year. I appreciate you all greatly for tuning in as always. A little bit over time here, but uh yeah, man. We’re in offseason mode. So, it’ll be light as you can see when I record these. I’m just going to record them, you know, in the morning or middle of the day when I get home from the office, whatever. So, okay. We’ll be back tomorrow. I appreciate you all for tuning in. Peace and love. Going to therapy is dope. I’ll catch you all then, baby. Go Tigers.

Today we discuss the Detroit Tigers entering the offseason. We talk Tarik Skubal, Kyle Finnegan, Gleyber Torres, AJ Hinch, and more!

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