3 Tigers players who won’t be back next season after missing the playoffs

If there is one thing that the Tigers can pride themselves in, it’s that their starting rotation is in good shape. They have young arms like Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, along with Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull under contract after this season (both are out injured as of this writing). Given that there is only so much room in the rotation, that does not spell great news for the impending free agent starters.

After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Miami Marlins, Jose Urena joined Detroit on a one-year, $3.25 million contract. In his final two years with the Marlins, Urena carried ERAs of 5.21 and 5.40. As it turns out, the right-hander’s ERA only grew during his time with the Tigers.

Though he dealt with injuries, Urena finished the season with a 5.81 ERA.

Detroit’s rotation is set when at full health, not to mention that the team could opt to bring in a big-name free agent this winter (i.e. Justin Verlander) to accelerate their rebuild. Given Urena’s statistics, it is a possibility that the Tigers opt to move on.

Another starter who is set to hit the open market is Julio Teheran, whose season with the Tigers has been far from ideal.

Teheran signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Detroit this campaign. The veteran shined in his first start this season, where he struck out three batters and allowed just one earned run on four hits in a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.

That turned out to be the only start he had this season, as he was placed on the injured list due to a right shoulder strain. He was initially projected to return at some point in the second half of the season. However, he was shut down this past weekend due to low velocity.

With his status uncertain for the remainder of the 2021 season, it will remain to be seen if the Tigers will re-sign him this offseason.