Happy Monday, everyone. It’s another week closer to the 2026 baseball season, so of course, we have some hot stove updates to warm you. We’ve got plenty of rumors circulating about the Tigers and Tarik Skubal, but a fun non-Skubal discussion suggests that Justin Verlander might be a good fit to return to Detroit as he’s now a free agent and had a solid 2025 campaign. We’ve got more on that below, as well as how Skubal is taking the trade chatter.
Plus, outside Detroit, we’ve got WPBL news, Hall of Fame debate, and the first big trade of the offseason between the Mets and Rangers. Let’s get right into it.
It is a little underappreciated how good Verlander was in 2025. Sure, he only had four wins, leaving him 34 short of that 300 mark he wants, but he threw 152 innings with a 3.85 ERA, making him an above-average starting pitcher at the tender age of 42. He’ll be 43 when the season starts, which would make it even more perfect for him to return to Detroit, where he of course broke in and spent the first 13 years of his career.
The Tigers need pitching. Verlander needs a home. And, frankly, the rest of us need this. How has this not already happened?
“It’s not like I want to be traded, so it’s kind of like, why am I in these conversations? At the end of the day, it doesn’t really impact what I do day-to-day. I try to just stay out of it and not look at it. That’s how I’ve handled it at the trade deadline in years past.”