URGENT: Major Detroit Tigers MOVES Coming—or Just Hot Air? Winter Meetings SPECULATION

URGENT: Major Detroit Tigers MOVES Coming—or Just Hot Air? Winter Meetings SPECULATION

The biggest week of the Major League Baseball off season begins Sunday and the Detroit Tigers should have plenty of opportunities to improve. You are Locked on Tigers, your daily Detroit Tigers podcast, part of the Locked On 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 Friday, December 5th, 2025. Thank you so much for making Locked On 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, of course, brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code lockdown MLB for $20 off of your first purchase. Welcome in everybody. Welcome all. I I feel like a new man today. I I still don’t sound like one. Okay, I I sound These sunglasses are broken. They They snapped. Uh but they kind of have like a Tigers thing going on. I I still sound like garbage. Okay. I’m hoping that by the end of the weekend that’ll be behind us. This is the first day since last weekend that I actually feel like I’m an alive like human being. So, we’re going to take that as a win and talk about winter meetings today. We’ll end the show. Obviously, we have to talk about Terk Scooel as we head in to winter meetings. I want to talk about some potential trade candidates from around the league, who the Tigers could be on, who they could not be on. Um, I want to talk about other teams decisions and how they impact the Detroit Tigers buying and selling type of stuff. And then I also want to talk obviously Catel Marte again. I want to talk about the free agent market. Let’s start off by talking about the biggest names in free agency as we head in to the most exciting week of MLB off season. Okay, the big names everybody kind of knows by now, but I just want to make sure we have a clear understanding of who is available and who the Tigers may or may not be in on. I I’m going to shoot it straight here, okay? I’m going to be I’m going to be real with you, but let’s list off the names first. Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonzo, Alex Bregman, uh Bo Bashette, Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, obviously Marcelo Zuna even in that conversation. Uh JT Realm Muto um Yenno Suarez for people that are still hung up on him. Um, like there there’s there’s plenty of of uh names that are kind of uh not all of those guys are necessarily premier uh like in the same tier or or category of free agent, but there are, you know, those are all players that had legitimate impacts for their team in 2025. On the pitching side of things, you have a billion names. Obviously, the most noteworthy ones that are still left probably Ranger Suarez, Framber Valdez, um, and then on the bullpen side of things, obviously Edwin Diaz, um, but also Robert Suarez still on the board even with Devin Williams getting signed. So, which one of any of those names are the Tigers in on or could the Tigers make a play for? I’m going to be totally real with you. I don’t think any of them. The only one that I they will like contact and and kick the tires for is Bregman. I I mean, we can go down the the list if you want to get super like nitpicky and nitty-gritty with it. You want to gritty on them like Schwarber. I I just don’t think I would love it. I don’t think that’s happening. Uh, I I don’t think they’re going to spend as much money as is going to require for a guy that is going to be a pure DH for the team. Pete Alonzo, they’re not going to spend big money on a first baseman when they have like eight different guys who in theory could play first base next year. Bob Bashette, we’ve talked about him already. I I think that he would be a great ad obviously as any of these names I just listed would be. um but is a guy that has played a really poor defensive shortstop for a couple of years now and I don’t think the Tigers are going to give him a long-term deal and let him age out at shortstop. Um especially if he’s going to move to, you know, second or third base in the next year or two. Um and then like the Tigers already have a billion second baseman, so I don’t think they’re going to be in on him. Um Cody Bellinger, I don’t think they’re going to be in on him. I I think that’s uh another lefty center fielder uh which they have plenty of and I I think that they would rather see what they have in Meadows and Clark than going out and spending big money on a center fielder. Kyle Tucker. I I don’t even have a rebuttal to like I don’t even know that I just don’t like he’s going to cost a billion dollars. Not literally, but you know he’s going to cost a lot of money. The Tigers won’t be in on him. be great if he was. He’s one of the best players in all baseball, but not going to happen. Uh Marceluna, kind of similar to the Schwarber thing, just watered down. Uh they’re not going to spend that much money on a pure DH. JT Realm Mutoo, they’re not going to spend big money on a catcher. Um Yeno Suarez, I I I don’t I don’t even really want Yueno Suarez for like multiple years. If they got him on a one-year deal, I guess I could live with it. Um but I I don’t think Yeno Suarez is a profile that ages very well. um for Amber Valde like on the pitching side of things I would love them to just go get any pitching would be great. Um I I would welcome obviously uh Ranger Suarez and and Frammer Valdez, you know, with open arms. They want to get Edwin Diaz, I’d cry. Uh Robert Suarez, I’d be thrilled as well. Like the pitching side of things, there’s no bad fit for pitching. Like you either just have a good pitcher in this situation or you don’t. and uh they certainly need to add a lot of pitchers that are good in a lot of other situations than what they currently have. So that’s kind of where I stand. Again, sorry to like start this off as being a a Debbie Downer, if you will, but um I I’m like I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you guys. Uh I I hope that’s clear. the only one. Bregman, again, the only emission from that list. I I think they had interest in him last year, and I think he honestly will be cheaper overall than he was a year ago. I don’t think he had a season that’s going to significantly raise his price tag. So, I I really expect them to be back in on him and and maybe even offer him less money and see if they can bring him in. But, I I don’t have faith that that’s going to work in the Tigers favor either. Also not sure Bregman just like wants to be a Tiger, but that’s I guess a conversation for a different story. I don’t know. The dude, maybe he secretly is, you know, dying to to move to to Michigan. I have no idea. Okay, so those are kind of the bigname free agents. Now, that’s obviously like those were always going to be some of the biggest storylines to watch going into winter meetings and throughout the week. I want to talk about some of the little bit more specific storylines. It’s not just like, oh, free agents. Yeah, great, dude. Like, anybody could have just told you kind of what I just told you, but I I think the the the specific storylines are where this gets a little bit more fascinating. I want to start off with the reliever free agent market, specifically top to bottom. Okay, we’ll talk about that right after this. First though, got to talk to you’all about our friends over at Game Time. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994 with 48 teams for the first time ever. It’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hard part. 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Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Game time. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Segment two, Locked On Tigers. Appreciate you all for tuning in as always, making this your first listen every single day. Shout out to that every day that do tune in every day and we will of course be back on Monday as we kick off winter meetings. It’s going to be a really fun week next week. Um, winter meetings, you know, again, there there are certainly some years where winter meetings are like a complete dud and just like nothing happens and it’s like, wow. But even those years, there’s at least still rumors and like stories every single day. It’s so fun. And we will talk about all of that every single day next week as I think it’s in Orlando this year. Uh, one of the most fun weeks of every winter comes back. So, thanks for making us your first listen and making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Today talking about the biggest storylines heading into winter meetings. The reliever free agent market is interesting because it seems to be moving much quicker than every other positional group and Williams obviously Deon Williams obviously aided that. Um he he kind of set the market a little bit because he is in a position where uh Edwin Diaz is obviously going to be making much more than him. But at the same time, almost everybody else out there is is presumably gonna be making less than him. Maybe like Robert Suarez AAV wise could pass him. Maybe like if Pete Fairbanks really wanted to for AAV wise again, but like I don’t think for total contract anybody in the reliever market is going to be getting more than him except for again obviously Edwin Diaz. Um, you also have already seen Devin Williams, Ryan Hellley, um, Riceelli Glacius, uh, Phil Maton, brother of Nick, like you’ve already seen a handful of pretty darn good, you know, relievers. Obviously, Helley had a bad year this year, but, um, you know, like relievers with really good track records and histories already getting scooped up. So, part of that is just there’s more of them than any other position, and I totally understand that, and maybe that’s all it is. Um, and and this is kind of how uh the reliever market moves most winters. This isn’t like unique to this one, but I I think because there is a premier talent out there like Edwin Diaz, it makes it really interesting going into this week. Um, yeah, you know, it could be a quick moving market, especially if Diaz sides early in the week. I mean, really, like you’re talking about, people could start flying off the board uh after Diaz signs. So, it could be a quick moving market, and it’s a positional group that the Tigers desperately need. They need to address their bullpen and their relievers in a in a really big way. and for uh yeah, for for a positional group that has people getting signed this quickly, it’s important for them to stay on top of it. So, I I just I beg them to not let big names, you know, pass you by and all the the top half of the relievers all sign and then the Tigers go and pick up the scraps of what’s left for, you know, 800K. And that’s kind of what they’ve done to an extent the last couple of years. I if you want a a true reliable anchor in the back end of your bullpen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. You own a Major League Baseball team. You’re going to have to spend actual money. I I know I I know it’s it’s a wild concept. Um or or like I guess you could trade for one, but like you you are going to have to give up legitimate assets to bring in legitimate assets. I I I’m sorry that it works that way, you know. Poor poor you, I guess. But please, please, please let this be the year that that changes. Another big story line. We’ll get to a handful of other trades later, potential trades. that is um but Catel Marte, you know, just because he the Tigers keep finding themselves in that conversation. I just I don’t believe it. I I guess is like it’s as simple as that. I I don’t believe that the Tigers are are even remotely in on Catel Marte. I would love to be wrong. I I will I will cry tears of joy if Cattel Marte is is a Detroit Tiger at any point. in the near future. I I I I do not think that the Tigers are willing to give up the assets that are required to bring in another guy that is going to play second base. I hope I again I’d love to be wrong. That’d be cool. I I just I don’t see it. Another thing I want to bring up that I think is super fascinating, not only from the Tigers perspective, but from the AL Central kind of in general, is the Minnesota Twins continuing to sell off pieces. Um, you know, they they obviously have kind of not kind of, they did already start that in the regular season at the trade deadline. They already suck a as proven by, you know, the post deadline production from the team in 2025. But like why half do it? Why half a it, you know, like I and I don’t think they will. I think they’re going to kind of try to bottom out here and and that they just have no reason to hang on to Joe Ryan or Pablo Lopez this winter. And I I mean to be honest, like I if Buckston agrees to wave the no trade clause, they have no reason to really hold on to him either. So he should be in that conversation as well. I I just even if the Tigers aren’t directly involved in a deal like that where they are receiving one of those players, just the sheer fact that the Twins are trading away wins obviously impacts the Tigers. Even if the Tigers do literally nothing, you probably bump their win total up a couple just because the Twins are going to get that much worse. So, that’ll be interesting. They they have some pieces despite the train wreck that has been the Twins the last two years. Another team that si fits a similar bill, although obviously in the National League is the St. Louis Cardinals. they will probably at least again maybe I’m wrong but I I I think that they are in a position where if they want to be they can be one of the more aggressive and obvious sellers in the entire off season. They’ve already traded Sunny Gray so they’re clearly open for business and down to to clown if you will but like they still have Areronado, they still have Brennan Donovan. They still have Nolan Gorman. Uh they still have Wilson Contrarus. They still have uh Lars Nar a and they they are just not in a position to compete right now. So you might as well move on from a handful of those guys. I think they would love to get rid of Areronado. I don’t think Nolan Aronado has much of a market. He can’t hit anymore, man. It it’s over. a and like you’re still getting a premier defensive third baseman, but like he he’s still got what a year, two years, even one year left on his contract. Like I I just I don’t know. I I I can’t imagine that a team is going to be with with how much he has yet to be paid. I I don’t know if a team’s going to be willing to give up like big time assets to bring Well, I know nobody’s going to give up big time assets, but even like mid-time assets to bring in Nolan Areronado. So, how many of those guys are moved um is an interesting question for next week. I I think Brennan Donovan kind of feels like a profile that the Tigers front office loves. Uh he walks a lot. um kind of walk numbers dipped a little bit, but he still walks a really solid amount and uh kind of plays all over the diamond. Has played corner outfield, has played second, has played third. Um so that that’ll be interesting. I I still feel like he’s probably not a perfect fit for the Tigers. Um but, you know, profile, whatever. Nolan Gorman is is an interesting conversation. That’s a guy that um had a decent amount of excitement when he’s coming up to the minor league system and uh had a what almost 30 just under 30 home run season like three years ago now, but just hasn’t been able to put it off all together and honestly the last two years has barely hit 200 uh like strikes out like a billion times a year. um not a guy that like the Tigers are going to be in on necessarily, but um just another pretty young player still that um you know had a lot of uh a decent amount of excitement surrounding him coming into his major league career. So we’ll we’ll interested to see what the Cardinals do and uh you know if the Tigers maybe make a play at any of those guys I just listed. And then on the opposite side of things from the sellers is you have the buyers. And I think that there’s a specific category of buyer that the Tigers fall into that is is super interesting to me. Okay, we’ll talk about that right after this. All right, everybody. First, we got to talk about our friends over at FanDuel. The NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s why making live bets with FanDuel is so exciting. You’re not just watching the game. You’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets on act as the action rather unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is the best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up or the momentum flips after a turnover. FanDuel helps you jump into the moment immediately. There’s live spreads, player props, you can bet on next touchdown, scores. It keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, and every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long with FanDuel. The game moves fast, and so can you. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Third and final segment, Locked on Tigers. Appreciate you all for tuning in as always. I know I still sound absolutely absurd. Hopefully that changes the next time we speak to each other on Monday. Uh want to talk about the the the buyers that are kind of young and in the middle and should still be buying. Um the Tigers I think are are in that mix. The Marlins I think have played themselves into that category. The Reds are probably in that category. Uh the Athletics even are in that. Uh the Royals are probably still in that conversation. The Diamondbacks even. I know we’re talking about them trading Catel Marte. I think it’s stupid. I don’t think they should do it, but like it’s a rumor. So, here we are. Um even in this one, don’t laugh at me, okay? Please. I’m sick. Don’t let Don’t be mean. The Pirates maybe even kind of in that conversation now. that that’s not to say they are all in the exact same position. Okay, the Pirates have obviously not come close to the success that pretty much every other team in this category that I just listed has seen over the last two years or at some point in the last two years. Um, but like these are a handful of teams that have been relatively competitive at some point over the last two seasons, but they aren’t big market high payroll teams. Um, do do they all have similar looking off seasons? Are all of these guys going to just go after the same players and wait until the big market teams eat up, you know, the big contracts and then fight over what’s left? Or are there going to be more aggressive teams? Like, are one or two of these organizations going to be more aggressive to kind of separate themselves from the pack, if you will? But like the the Royals had last off season where they were aggressive and you know was that two off seasons ago now the off seasonason heading into last season whatever whatever math my brain is still messed up clearly. I don’t think that’ll ever change though. So you you have the Royals like they’ve shown that they can be aggressive at times. The Pirates really never but like you you you cannot just waste Paul Skins for six years. You you can’t do it, man. You It would be the biggest catastrophe in in recent memory of like onfield decisions. I I I you can’t do that. So like at some point they’re going to have to actually grow up. The Marlins have really never been aggressive in an offseason. At least not in my lifetime. Actually, that’s wrong. the year that they rebranded from Florida to Miami and they went out and signed like Jose Reyes and and Heath Bell and uh like Josh Beckett I think was still there, Gabby Sanchez. Um yeah, that was that was an era. So they’ve done it. I guess there’s still some other like washed up names that were a part of that team for sure. Wow. One in there. They had an HBO documentary. Did they sign Pablo Sandival? Maybe. There was an HBO documentary. On that note, Pablo was the That was the Red Sox. Anyway, the Marlins aren’t aggressive very often and last time they were, it didn’t work very well. Um, the Diamondbacks were just in the World Series a few years ago. So, like the the the Tigers, the reason I I paint this picture is to kind of highlight the fact that the Tigers shouldn’t be in this group. It’s almost like sad to see them in this group. They they aren’t an organization or an ownership group that should or needs to be like penny pinching. Uh they they shouldn’t be in like the will they or won’t they spend conversations, but here we are year after year, always in them. And hopefully this is the year in the winter that they remove themselves from, you know, that uh that group. Other trade candidates, Luis Robert Jr., I I think they should have done it years ago. Um now his value is kind of lower, but like still such a team friendly deal, why not? Steven Quan, we talked about yesterday. Alec Bow, guy that would probably have his name thrown around to some extent. Mackenzie Gore, I think that’s stupid as well, but we’ll see. uh the Nationals. I Yeah, I don’t think they should be getting rid of, you know, young talent that they still have control over, but alas, Sandy Alcantara, that one kind of does make sense. Probably needs a fresh start. Couple of guys that have been attached to the Tigers. Jiren Durant I’ve already talked about like three different times, so we don’t have to break that down completely, but is still being rumored to the Tiger. I don’t see it. I I know that he he two years ago he had an unbelievably productive year. I I I I don’t think he makes the team worse. I just don’t think that the fit is actually like that good. I I I He’s another lefty outfielder that like was a fine hitter, I guess, this past season. Will you’re Abrau, another Red Sox corner outfielder that is a lefty that is being rumored to have interest from the Tigers. I I don’t understand this one really at all. Um, I I don’t believe this. Jeff Passen said that he’s a potential trade candidate and that the Tigers could be interested. I completely dis I I don’t see this ever happening. William Abrau is an elite defensive corner outfielder that hits right-handed pitching really well. He is a lefty that can’t hit lefties at and gets platooned against lefties. I just I I do not see the Detroit Tigers being like seriously like they’re going to move legitimate assets to go bring in Warrior. Okay, cool. Now, let’s end the show with like the most obvious conversation that everybody in in the media will be talking about as we head into winter meetings from the Tigers organization that is. and one of the biggest storylines in baseball and that is obviously Terrick Scooel. Will they trade him? Won’t they trade him? The world may never know. No, I don’t think they will. And uh that’s why we’re kind of just talking about this at the end of the show as I send you off onto your weekend. I I just I I really don’t see a a world in which they trade him. The only world in which they do is, as we’ve talked about a million times, if they just get some ridiculously absurd godfather offer and some team is confident that they can extend him right away and they don’t care how many good prospects they give up or like major league ready young players, team control young players, they give up. Um, I I excuse me. I I just I I don’t I do not believe for a second that Terrick Scubble is being traded. In the same breath, I do not believe for a second that he is going to be extended by the Detroit Tigers. I think that this is really written on the wall and and we kind of already know where this is headed. They’re going to play with him this year. They’re going to have him around for uh for one more season, try to make a run with him, and then he’s going to walk and and go somewhere else in uh in 12 months. I would love to be wrong. I would love to be wrong. And uh we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But I think that that’s going to continue. You’re probably going to hear more rumors. We’ll probably talk about more of the Ter Scubble rumors throughout the week. I’m just not putting very much weight into any of them until I see much more legitimate like tangible evidence that the Tigers would even actually consider doing this. Thanks for making Lockdown Tigers, your first listen every single day. Shout out to the everydayers that do tune in every day. We will of course be back on Monday kicking off winter meetings and everything that comes along with it. Rule five draft. Uh lot of again obviously rumors will be swirling. big signings, big trades. It’s always a lot of fun. And even if it’s not fun, we’ll get to talk about how it could be fun. Okay, peace and love. Going to therapy is dope. I’ll catch you on Monday, baby. Go Tigers.

Detroit Tigers enter MLB Winter Meetings with roster upgrades on the line—will Alex Bregman or an elite bullpen arm join the hunt for the AL Central? With premier talent like Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Bo Bichette, and Cody Bellinger grabbing headlines, Scott Bentley weighs whether the Tigers are serious contenders for top-tier free agents or facing another conservative off-season. Can the front office break old patterns and finally invest in the winning pieces Detroit fans crave?

Scott Bentley explores pivotal trade candidates including Cattell Marte, Luis Robert Jr., and standout relievers as Tigers weigh buying versus selling. The Minnesota Twins’ potential fire sale and the St. Louis Cardinals’ readiness to move stars like Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan could reshape divisional power. With Tarek Skubal at the center of swirling rumors and the Tigers seeking bullpen anchors, the episode breaks down which moves might define Detroit’s summer and the ever-shifting MLB market.

00:00 “Tigers’ Free Agency Prospects”
04:35 Tigers’ Roster and Future Moves
10:28 “Reliever Market Heats Up”
12:37 “Spend to Secure Top Talent”
16:24 Cardinals Positioned as Offseason Sellers
18:42 Struggling Player with Potential
21:56 Small Market Teams’ Offseason Strategies
28:24 “Tigers Rumors and Winter Meetings”
29:00 “Rule 5 Draft Musings”

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