Promoted shortly after the All-Star Break, he logged 45 2/3 innings. He started four of his 16 appearances and pitched to a 2.76 earned run average. Melton fanned 20% of batters faced against a league average 8.3% walk rate. He performed well enough to earn a spot on Detroit's playoff roster, though he surrendered five runs across 8 1/3 frames.
The Tigers hired Scott Harris as president of baseball operations in September of 2022. The team was in a rut at that point, having not made the playoffs since 2014. They finally pulled out of rebuilding mode by making the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
It's a relatively thin group after MLB's best pitcher. Olson missed most of the second half with a shoulder injury. Mize had an All-Star first half but was up-and-down later in the season. While Flaherty's strikeout and walk profile remained strong, he's coming off his second upper-4.00s ERA in three seasons. Anderson has started two MLB games and hasn't pitched in the majors in five years. Melton has mid-rotation upside but worked mostly out of the bullpen as a rookie.
Julks, 30 next month, has seen big league time in three consecutive seasons - albeit just 13 plate appearances with the White Sox this past season. He's played roughly the equivalent of one full major league season, appearing in 165 games and tallying 565 plate appearances as a big leaguer. In that time, he's slashed .234/.288/.337 with nine homers, 23 doubles, 20 steals (in 25 tries), a 7% walk rate and a 24.4% strikeout rate.
Less than two years later, the 20-year-old made his major league debut, giving up two runs and striking out seven in six innings as he fired 97 mph fastballs and a big curveball, impressing then-Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "He's the real deal," the Hall of Fame skipper said. Kershaw was still a work in progress, working on his command and relying almost exclusively on only those two pitches until he started throwing his slider the following season.
The Tigers signed reliever Burch Smith to a minor league contract, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press. The righty receives an invitation to MLB camp and will be guaranteed a $1.5MM base salary if he makes the big league roster. Smith, 36 in April, has played for seven big league clubs over a 15-year career that has taken him around the globe.
The Tigers agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Dugan Darnell, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press reports that Darnell will receive a non-roster invite to MLB camp. He'd make a little more than the $780K league minimum if he cracks the big league roster. Although Darnell will be with the club in camp, he's not going to see any game action.
The Tigers and Rays announced a trade that sends outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy to Tampa Bay for cash considerations. Detroit had designated him for assignment before the holiday DFA freeze when they officially re-signed reliever Kyle Finnegan.
The 32-year-old sidearmer is looking to rebound from three straight injury-marred seasons. A Tommy John surgery entirely wiped out Effross' 2023 campaign, and a back surgery during that TJ rehab period kept Effross out of any game action until June 2024, and he ended up tossing 35 1/3 minor league innings that season as well as 3 1/3 MLB frames with the Yankees. During Spring Training 2025, Effross then suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain that led to three more months on the shelf, and he amassed only 10 2/3 innings for New York while being frequently shuffled up and down from the minors.
To clear a 40-man roster spot for reliever Kyle Finnegan, the Tigers have designated outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy for assignment. It's the first DFA in Malloy's young career. He appeared in 52 games with Detroit last season. Detroit acquired Malloy and lefty Jake Higginbotham from Atlanta in a December 2022 trade that sent right-hander Joe Jimenez to the Braves. Jimenez has dealt with injury issues, but has provided strong work in the Atlanta bullpen when healthy.
For much of the past two weeks, fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers have dreamed about acquiring reigning Cy Young winning starting pitcher Tarik Skubal in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. With one year remaining on his contract with the Tigers, the team could decide to deal the two-time Cy Young winner rather than letting him walk next season. However, given Skubal's pedigree, it would take a vast amount of resources for any team to convince the Tigers to part ways with their ace.
The Tigers and right-hander Drew Anderson have agreed to a deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It's a one-year pact with a club option for 2027. The salary figures haven't yet been publicly reported. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports that the Tigers expect the righty to be a starter, as he has been doing in Korea for the past couple of years. The Tigers have a 40-man vacancy and won't need to make a corresponding move.
Excited and blessed to have been offered and accepted a position as a pitching coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. In 2026 I will be serving as the Bullpen Coach at the Triple A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. Collegiately, Robbins pitched for both Troy University and Rollins College before the Blue Jays selected the left-handed pitcher in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Robbins made his professional debut shortly after, authoring a 2.84 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 19 innings pitched.
Cruz gets a 40-man spot for the first time going into his age-27 season. The Tigers had left the former third-round pick unprotected in the past two offseasons. The switch-hitting infielder, the son of former big league outfielder José Cruz, earned his way onto the roster with a breakout year in the upper minors. Cruz hit .279/.411/.456 while leading all minor league hitters with 102 walks between the top two levels.
Urquidy was recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career when Detroit signed him to a $1MM deal last March. They knew he'd miss almost all of the 2025 campaign. They guaranteed him a little more than the league minimum for his rehab year while tacking on the club option to provide a potential source of cheap innings in 2026. The move also reunited Urquidy with A.J. Hinch, his former manager in Houston.
The now-30-year-old Dobnak was a remarkable story back in 2017-19, going from an undrafted free agent playing in a tiny independent league (and driving Uber on the side to make ends meet) to pitching for the Twins in the postseason in less than two years' time. After pitching for Division-II Alderson Broaddus University in his college days, Dobnak signed with the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore League. He started only six games before the Twins caught a look at him and signed him.
even as that career took him out of Detroit. He would leave in free agency for the Nationals. A 2014 playoff blowout at the hands of the Orioles and an ensuing three-game sweep would be the final playoff series for the Tigers for a decade. The last time I saw him, and the last time my hometown team was good, were tied together in my brain.
Hitting coach Keith Beauregard won't be returning to the Tigers next year, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. His contract ran through 2025 and he has now decided to leave to pursue new opportunities in baseball. For the past three seasons, the Tigers have had both Beauregard and Michael Brdar serving as hitting coaches. James Rowson worked alongside those two as an assistant in 2023, but he moved on and was replaced by Lance Zawadzki heading into 2024.
