4 free agents Tigers should sign this offseason to propel them into serious AL contenders

There has been a promise that both President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris and Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch have delivered on to Tigers fans, and that there would be at-bats that were earmarked for the young players.

Those young bats have given Detroit the best record since Aug. 11 at 23-10 and tied for the best record since the All-Star break at 28-22 with the Royals and the Astros.

"There is a lot of development happening in real time" said Scott Harris during his discussion with Brian Kenny on MLB Now.

Why is this important to the Tigers' future in free agency? Since Harris arrived, Detroit has wanted to establish a core of players and from the looks of it, it has been coming together this season. One piece that was signed long term was Colt Keith, who has been living up to the promise and hype he came with as one of the best players that has come through the Tigers minor league system.

Another standout is Riley Greene, who leads Tigers position players with a 5.3 bWAR. Then, of course, there's the pitching staff, headed by Tarik Skubal. There is potential to spend and build around this core of players to push the team forward.

While Harris has been cautious about indicating whether the Tigers will increase spending, there are some glaring issues that free agency could solve including third base. While the simple solution is to say Detroit should go after Alex Bregman, the signs have pointed to Detroit not spending big money. They may give Jace Jung a longer leash or make a trade for a third baseman. Either way, the free agent market outside of Bregman is slim.

So with that, let's look at four candidates that would be good fits for the Tigers in 2025.

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Shane Bieber

Yes, Shane Bieber is coming off Tommy John surgery but this is a type of pitcher that the pitching coaching staff of Chris Fetter, Robin Lund and Juan Nieves could work with and maximize his offerings.

The Tigers added velocity to Jack Flaherty and the results were pretty strong prior to him heading to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Another free agent pickup from a few seasons past, Michael Lorenzen, also benefitted behind the Tigers working on making him draw more swings and misses. Even internally, prospects like Ty Madden, Keider Montero and Brant Hurter have benefited from small tweaks in their mechanics.

There could be something that they see in Bieber's pitch mix that could make him effective and watching his arm after Tommy John based on how Detroit has been able to use pitchers as openers, could benefit him as he would come back to Cy Young form again. Another honorable mention would be bringing back Justin Verlander

Wilmer Flores

Flores has been limited in 2024 due to injuries but he is a right-handed bat who can play both corner spots in the infield and second base. Scott Harris was with the Giants when they signed him in 2020 and while he isn't the big, sexy name Tigers fans would like to see, his ability to play multiple positions, would make him an attractive opinion. He does have a team option for $8.5 million should he decline his $3.5 million one.

While he isn't a big name, it would fit what the Tigers like, which is players who can play all over the field and get on-base.

Jurickson Profar

There were rumors that the Tigers were interested in Profar last off-season, and he is the type of hitter that would be perfect for Hinch. He can control the strike zone (11.8 walk rate and 15% k rate) and can hit the ball all over the field that can hit on both sides of the plate.

While he has primarily been an outfielder throughout his career, he can also play in the infield, including first base, though his experience there is limited. If Spencer Torkelson gets off to another slow start, Profar’s ability to hit fastballs — an area where Torkelson has struggled to generate power — could offer Detroit a much-needed veteran bat with positional versatility, should he be open to playing the position.

Anthony Santander

Now this is the big name that could be the centerpiece in addition to plugging holes with the starting staff and around the infield. He turns 30 in October and, like Profar, is a switch hitter but with more pop in his bat. He puts the ball in play, doesn't strike out at a high clip (under the league average) and has a decent arm in the outfield but has seen time at first.

There will be the smaller minor league free agent signings that Harris will more than likely see what they have before making a final decision on the 40-man roster in 2025.