Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Detroit Tigers got strong starts from Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez this season but Justin Verlander's IL stint complicates everything.
- Without an offense to pick up the slack, Detroit should consider a trade to add an experienced pitcher known for durability and innings-eating capabilities.
- This move could protect Skubal's final season by providing depth and stability to the Tigers' rotation.
The Detroit Tigers are playing .500 baseball early in the campaign. The pitching staff has mostly delivered on expectations — Tarik Skubal (0.69 ERA and 13.0 IP) and Framber Valdez (0.75 ERA and 12.0 IP) are dealin' — but Detroit's offense is ice cold. On April 1, Detroit lost 1-0 to Arizona after seven one-run innings from Skubal. It's hard to imagine a more deflating way to lose.
Now, Detroit's depth around Skubal is getting an early stress test. Veteran righty Justin Verlander has been assigned to the 15-day IL with hip inflammation. While we can expect the Tigers lineup to wake up eventually, two aces does not guarantee much in this league. The Tigers need depth arms, and the clock is ticking. You cannot waste Skubal's last season. A trade may be in order.
This Tigers-Rockies trade could give Detroit more security
Kyle Freeland has spent 10 years with the Colorado Rockies now. He is deeply entrenched in that organization. That said, he's in the final guaranteed year of his contract (with a conditional $17 million option for 2027) and the Rockies are in no position to be sentimental. Any opportunity to recoup value and strengthen an embarrassingly weak farm system should be seized.
Detroit adds an experienced innings-eater in Freeland, who can help the Tigers ride the inevitable wave of in-season injuries that every staff faces over a 162-game season. Colorado, meanwhile, adds a top-30 Tigers prospect in utilityman Trei Cruz, a 27-year-old with an MLB-ready hit tool.
Why the Tigers do this trade
Freeland was Colorado's Opening Day starter by default for the inifite year in a row, but he's not an ace. He is, however, a durable lefty, good for 150-plus innings in three of the last four seasons. Detroit could use the stability, the availability, even if Freeland is nothing more than a fifth or sixth starter at this point in his career.
Now in his age-33 campaign, Freeland is coming off of a down year in 2025. He posted a 4.98 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 31 starts, with 124 strikeouts in 162.2 innings. It's worth wondering, however, how much better those numbers work if he's pitching half his games at Comerica Park. The Rockies' abode at Coors Field is notoriously unkind to pitchers.
Freeland's ERA dropped to 4.37 in away starts last season. Nothing amazing, but certainly more palatable — especially when he is viewed as a depth piece, rather than a rotation's primary workhorse. He is stuck in the worst possible situation with the Rockies. Frankly, after a decade of hell, he deserves a chance to shine for a winning ball club.
He'd essentially replace (or augment) 25-year-old Keider Montero, who was called up from Triple-A in Verlander's absence. Montero posted a 4.37 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 20 appearances (12 starts) in 2025, K'ing 72 in 90.2 innings. A lot of his worst performances came in a long relief setting, which is never easy. Still, the Tigers clearly do not trust him. Skubal and Valdez are workhorses, but Jack Flaherty has dealt with his share of injuries in the past. Verlander is 42 years old, dealing with a hip issue. The Tigers need bullets in the chamber, so to speak.
Freeland will not miss a ton of bats, but he commands the zone and does not surrender many free bases. Moreover, a lot of the catastrophic home runs he gives up at Coors will turn into long pop-outs at Comerica. The added margin for error and competitive thrust in Detroit could work wonders.
Why the Rockies do this trade
Colorado just needs to turn veterans into prospects whenever possible at this point. The Rockies are going to be the worst team in baseball (again) and Freeland, for all he means to that organization, does not really align with any semblace of a competitive timeline.
Trei Cruz isn't a spring chicken by prospect standards, and there is valid skepticism around a 27-year-old who has yet to crack the Majors. That said, he was solid enough in spring training and he's coming off of a productive 2025 campaign in Triple-A:
Category | 2025 stats |
|---|---|
AB | 452 |
BA | .279 |
OBP | .411 |
SLG | .456 |
HR | 16 |
BB | 102 |
SO | 121 |
The grandson of José Cruz and son of José Cruz Jr., the younger Cruz has been around the game forever. Nepotism doesn't get you too far in MLB, but the Tigers' No. 25 prospect is a switch-hitter with solid bat-to-ball skills (especially from the right-hand side) and the ability to line up all over the field. That kind of versatility is something a talent-starved Rockies team can certainly make use of.