Detroit Tigers fans had a tough time fully buying into the organization's status as a true contender in 2025, in large part because of their reluctance to spend major money over the offseason. Even after making the postseason for the first time in a decade last year, the Tigers did not make a single big-money signing (even if they did try for Alex Bregman).
But designating veteran righty Kenta Maeda for assignment — as they did on Thursday, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network — shows that they might finally be serious about winning, and that this prolonged rebuild might be officially over.
When discussing bad Tigers contracts, all of the attention goes to Javier Baez, and deservingly so. Baez's contract is a disaster, even with his solid start to the 2025 season. With that being said, his deal wasn't the only albatross that Detroit had on its books. As bad as Baez has been, Maeda has been just as bad, if not worse, since signing his two-year, $24 million deal with Detroit ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Yet the Tigers still had reason to keep him around, given the fact that he's making $10 million this season. Detroit eating the money to part with an unproductive player shows that they're all about winning now.
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Tigers prove they're all-in on winning by DFA'ing Kenta Maeda
While parting with bad players might sound like an easy decision to make, it's anything but easy for organizations that have committed a lot of money to certain players. For example, Kris Bryant has been an utter bust for the Colorado Rockies, but he's still in that organization because of his contract. Even a player like Baez, who was below replacement-level prior to this year, wasn't going to get cut by the Tigers because of the money he makes.
DFA'ing a player like Maeda would be a no-brainer if he were making the league minimum, but he's making $10 million. It isn't easy for a team to pay that money only to watch him potentially face them in another jersey.
As hard as it might've been, this was a move teams trying to win make. Maeda was brought to Detroit to round out their starting rotation, but after a terrible 2024 season, he has not made a single start this year. Pitching exclusively in relief, Maeda has a 7.88 ERA in seven appearances and eight innings of work. Once a solid mid-rotation arm, Maeda was completely unusable in a Tigers uniform.
Who replaces Maeda on the big-league roster remains to be seen, but as long as it's a player who can be league-average, the Tigers will upgrade by making this move. The team that already holds the American League's best record just got better, and they did so without worrying about money. Tigers fans have been dreaming of this day for quite some time.