ORLANDO, Fla. — Monday night in a dim room at the Waldorf Astoria, with the Epcot theme park glimmering out the window, Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris issued his most forthright comments on the Tarik Skubal situation yet.
Harris had this to say, in the context of why he’d previously been mum on the decision about whether to trade Skubal in his final year before free agency:
“I’ve been pretty clear since I’ve been here,” Harris said. “I don’t believe in untouchables at any level. So anyone in our organization, at any level. It’s not a commentary on Tarik specifically. Sort of a blanket team-building approach. I think I can’t do my job without listening. I can’t do my job without exploring anything that may or may not have legs. Some are maybe very likely moves, and some are going to be extremely unlikely. But you can’t actually fully vet those opportunities unless you are willing to listen. So that’s how we’re doing it.”
There you have it. The Tigers haven’t shut down Skubal rumors because they are willing to listen, even if the likelihood of their dealing a back-to-back Cy Young winner seems low. Of course, the conversation could always change if another contending team gets desperate and offers the Tigers a prospect haul they could not refuse.
But right now? Despite all the chatter, Skubal seems no closer to going anywhere than he was at the end of the 2025 season.
Which leads us to another question.
If the Tigers are going to hold on to Skubal, why don’t they seem more motivated to make aggressive moves and push for a World Series while they have the most dominant left-hander in the game?
That one is more complicated and more fraught.
Truth is, the Tigers appear unlikely to make any sort of splash at this year’s Winter Meetings. Pitching remains their priority. Their contract with right-hander Drew Anderson — plucked back after a strong two years in the KBO — is worth $7 million with a $10 million club option for 2027.
But could the Tigers still chase a top-end starter such as Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or even Michael King?
“We kind of always are going to be (seeking starters),” Harris said. “It’s harder now given the makeup of our rotation. That starting pitching may have to be optionable. We may have to find non-roster options, things like that.”
The bullpen is a more pressing need for the Tigers. They remain linked to Pete Fairbanks and Kyle Finnegan, and there are a host of other relievers who could fit their needs. But don’t expect a spending spree to correct a bullpen that ranked last in K/9 last season.
“There are a lot of conversations happening with free-agent relievers and trade targets,” Harris said. “We want to add to our pen. We think we have some pretty strong anchors in our pen right now with guys like Will Vest and Tyler Holton and some young guys who are coming up and establishing themselves. I also will remind everyone major-league bullpens are built in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s free-agent signings, sometimes it’s trades, sometimes it’s development, sometimes it’s minor-league free-agent signings or waiver claims. I think we’ve done a pretty good job here of finding that performance from those other channels that aren’t used as highly.”
As for the offense? The Tigers ranked 11th in run scoring last season. They had the fourth most plate appearances from hitters age 25 or younger. They also faltered down the stretch and struck out more often than all but three other teams in baseball.
So with the likes of Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette on the market, and with players such as Ketel Marte getting shopped on the trade front, is it time to go big on an external addition who could take the Tigers to the next level?
You might be able to guess what Harris had to say.
“Can we find those opportunities? I’m not sure,” Harris said. “I think when I look at our team right now, we have a young, deep collection of position players who are in slightly different stages of their young careers.”
Harris went on to lay out the plan. The Tigers have hitters such as Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter who are just now entering their theoretical primes. There are other players such as Parker Meadows, Colt Keith and Dillon Dingler who are still rounding into the players they could become. And there is the ballyhooed next wave of prospects, headlined by Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark, who could be major-league ready within the coming year.
“I think the majority of our growth as an offense is going to come from within, is going to come from that first group continuing to get better as they step into their prime,” Harris said. “It’s going to come from that second group making leaps that that first group just made. It’s going to come from this next wave of some of the best prospects in all of baseball really starting to make that leap into the big leagues.
“We’re going to try to find a way to improve our offense without blocking those guys, because they’re too important to both our present and our future. We used to talk about them solely as our future. Now they’re about to be our present and our future.”
Harris, for the record, did not rule out adding a bat from outside the organization. But it will seemingly have to be the right player at the right price, which does not bode well for the chances of someone like Bregman ending up in Detroit.
If any of that seems discouraging — if the lack of urgency to make bold moves this winter seems puzzling — then take it as a referendum on what the Tigers truly believe.
They have made great strides in less than four years under Harris’ leadership. What kind of organization will they be as they enter their next phase? Their words and actions suggest they are still hyperfocused on drafting and development. They want to avoid bad contracts that could come back to bite them. They have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, and an AL Central that lacks a superpower perhaps only adds to the Tigers’ incentive to trust their methodical process, even with Skubal entering his likely final season in Detroit.
The real window — if you were to believe in such things — might be two or three more years down the line, when players Harris has drafted and developed are in the major leagues.
In a way, that’s a bold choice in itself.
Harris will either be right and reap the rewards, or he will be wrong and have to live with the wreckage.
Just don’t expect the Tigers to change their ways.
Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson will report to spring training as a starter. (Junfu Han / USA Today Network)
More from Winter Meetings
• Anderson will indeed report to spring training as a starter. The Tigers were impressed with the kick change he added last season in Korea and the fact he struck out 12.8 batters per nine innings last year overseas. “We think just the performance but also the shapes of the pitches and the ability to hold the power and command them will translate to Major League Baseball again,” Harris said.
• Kevin McGonigle, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, could still have a shot to make the Opening Day roster despite the fact he has yet to play in Triple A. Is he coming to camp with a real chance to win a roster spot? “We don’t know yet,” Harris said. “We haven’t figured it out. Part of it depends on the makeup of the team. Part of it depends on Kevin’s preparedness to be on the Opening Day roster. There are a lot of factors that go into it. Could we figure it out now? Yeah, probably. But we’re just focused on other stuff right now, and we’ll probably get to that once the roster is fully baked.”
• Keep an eye on the shortstop position. The door remains open for McGonigle or even an external addition. It seems the Tigers would prefer to use Javier Báez in more of the utility role he succeeded in at times last year. “Javy Báez, incredible shortstop,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Moving around might bring out a better version of him. And I don’t know if that moving around means once a week, twice a week, every now and then, randomly in-game, but we’re going to keep him engaged for a lot of reasons, not because he shouldn’t play shortstop.”
• Jackson Jobe, who had Tommy John surgery in June, is expected to pitch at some point in 2026, provided his rehab goes well. “It’s hard to forecast the actual date, but we expect him to be a boost to our roster in the second half,” Harris said. “It’s nice to have a boost in the rotation, typically at the time when you need to fill out rotations.”