The Detroit Tigers enter a critical offseason as front-office strategy, free-agent planning, and rotation stability come into sharper focus. The Tigers have been linked to veteran starters Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt as the organization evaluates whether it can strengthen its pitching staff amid a record-setting arbitration case.
The Tigers’ interest reflects a broader effort to stabilize a rotation that showed promise but lacked depth at key moments last season. With payroll uncertainty looming, Detroit is weighing upside versus reliability as it surveys a thinning veteran pitching market.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, the Tigers continue to explore the starting pitching market while closely monitoring their financial flexibility. Detroit remains locked in arbitration with ace Tarik Skubal, a process that could significantly shape how aggressively the club approaches free agency.
“The Detroit Tigers continue to explore the starting-pitching market, talking to free-agent right-handers Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt, among others, according to a person briefed on their conversations. The potential for an addition might be less likely if they lose their arbitration case with left-hander Tarik Skubal and end up paying him $32 million instead of $19 million.”
Giolito, who missed the 2024 season following UCL internal brace surgery, returned in 2025 with a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings for the Boston Red Sox. The 31-year-old is viewed as a potential upside addition if his health remains intact entering Spring Training.
Bassitt offers a contrasting profile. The 36-year-old spent the past three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and remains one of baseball’s most durable starters, logging more than 700 innings over the last four years while relying on command, pitch mix, and consistency rather than velocity.
Detroit’s projected rotation already features Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and Reese Olson, though durability and workload concerns persist. Until the arbitration process concludes, the Tigers appear positioned to balance patience with opportunity in a deliberate, slow-moving free-agent market.