Please, let’s stop tiptoeing around the biggest issue regarding the 2025 Tigers.
You can debate whether they had a successful season or not. There are pros and cons either way. What shouldn’t be in question is the lack of effectiveness on the part of president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
They don’t have WAR for baseball executives. If they did, Harris was considerably below replacement level in ’25. Harris swung and missed more than Riley Greene with his offseason, and badly botched the trade deadline.
What the Tigers accomplished during the postseason, getting back to Game 5 of an American League Division Series before being ousted in 15 innings, was despite Harris, not because of him.
The Tigers spent more than $65 million last winter on free agent contracts for Jack Flaherty ($25 million), Gleyber Torres ($15 million), Alex Cobb ($15 million), Tommy Kahnle ($7.75 million) and John Brebbia ($2.7 million).
Torres was a solid signing, although he faded at the end, albeit while playing through a significant injury.
But there is no universe in which the Cobb signing made sense. That’s even if he were healthy, which he wasn’t remotely. Brebbia was cannon fodder.
Flaherty was the ninth highest-paid starting pitcher in MLB this year. The Tigers' record in his starts was 9-22, compared to 78-53 otherwise. His WAR was a paltry 0.9.
The combined WAR for the $75 million the Tigers spent during the offseason, and on the released Kenta Maeda ($10 million on the second year of his contract), was just 2.9.
And that was before Harris added another $10 million to the payroll for Kyle Finnegan and The Four Gas Cans at the trade deadline. It added up to 54 percent of Detroit's $157 million payroll, which ranked 14th in MLB, according to Spotrac, by the end of the season.
That is stunningly poor money allocation for contracts.
Without Finnegan, who rescued the Tigers with several clutch performances after they lost 12 of 13 in July, they likely would have missed the postseason. But if they had augmented the bullpen more, the Tigers likely would have not only won their division, but earned a first-round bye. It would have greatly elevated their chances of reaching the World Series.
And obviously, they needed more offense, too. Instead, Harris steadfastly refused to trade from the Tigers' glut of prospects at second base and catcher to help an obviously-contending club.
His answer was an endless stream of bargain-basement pitchers the Tigers signed like Dietrich Enns, Luke Jackson, Codi Heuer, Carlos Hernandez, Jose Urguidy, Geoff Hartleib, Tanner Rainey and Bailey Horn.
Or long-shots from the minor leagues such as Drew Sommers, Dylan Smith, Tyler Owens and Alex Lange, the latter before he was clearly ready in regard to being sharp after returning from injury.
Obviously, they could have used more hitting help or pulled prospect Kevin McGonigle from the minors to add to their offense.
The truth is, the vast majority of the Tigers’ talent was drafted by former GM Al Avila. Harris, along with manager A.J. Hinch and his staff, largely have been successful in developing and procuring that talent. It's no small thing.
Also, Harris did find two quality MLB players under baseball’s version of rocks in Zach McKinstry and Tyler Holton in previous years.
But let’s face it, given the financial resources spent, and the depth of prospects he refused to trade, Harris failed this season at building his MLB roster.
You can make the argument the Tigers were good in 2025, but they could have been so much better if Harris wasn’t so far off target in his evaluations. Hopefully, he learns from such glaring misjudgments.
Otherwise the Tigers’ future will not be as bright as it seemed.