3 plausible Jordan Montgomery suitors who haven’t been mentioned yet

1. Jordan Montgomery can join young Tigers rotation

The Detroit Tigers have not been an above-.500 baseball team since 2016. That is dangerously close to a full decade of losing. At some point, the organization has to look in the mirror and find some way to affect change. There's no point in toiling in the MLB basement year in and year out.

It has been a somewhat productive offseason for the Tigers, but not nearly productive enough to whet the appetite of a rabid fanbase. Eduardo Rodriguez's departure hurts — especially since he went to a west coast team, effectively giving Detroit the finger on his way out the door (there is a difference between relocating midseason and in the offseason, of course). The Tigers signed Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda. The former fell apart down the stretch last season in spectacular fashion. The latter is 35 and less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

Both carry some level of upside. Flaherty's numbers looked much better before a trade deadline move to Baltimore. Maeda finished second in AL Cy Young voting back in 2020. He has never really approached that level of success at any other point, but the veteran has solid stuff and he rebounded well from injury. He finished last season with a 4.23 ERA and 1.169 WHIP, registering 117 strikeouts in 104.1 innings. That's not shabby.

Still, the Tigers are an otherwise inexperienced team on the mound. Tarik Skubal is on the fast track to excellence, but he's not ready to lead a contending rotation. The Tigers aren't contenders yet, of course, but it's time for the front office to put their foot down and manifest. Jordan Montgomery would bring stoic poise and postseason experience to a young group. He can lead the Tigers' bullpen in the interim while paving the way for Skubal and Detroit's youth to gradually take the reins.

It's unlike Detroit to actually spend competitively for a top free agent, but at some point Montgomery will need to either lower his asking price or accept a short-term deal. In either event, the Tigers could decide to finally make a move.