Coming into the 2025 MLB regular season, expectations were on the rise for the Detroit Tigers.
They built a ton of positive momentum with their performance down the stretch in 2024 and were a team on the rise. However, a calculated approach to the offseason led to some analysts wondering how much of an improvement the team would make.
Starting pitcher Alex Cobb has yet to throw a pitch for the Tigers after signing a one-year, $15 million deal. Jack Flaherty, who signed with Detroit for a second straight offseason, hasn’t quite found his groove yet.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres was the only Major League addition made to the lineup in free agency. Tommy Kahnle was signed to help bolster the bullpen.
Despite what many would consider an underwhelming offseason, the Tigers have blown away all expectations.
Even the most optimistic of analysts and fans likely wouldn’t have predicted the team would have the best record in baseball entering play on May 19 at 31-16, already putting them in near-postseason lock territory.
Especially not when taking into account they were swept in their first series of the campaign by the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Given their torrid production on the field, it should come as no surprise that Detroit was the first team that Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report named as a buyer ahead of the MLB trade deadline at this point in the season, and rightfully so.
“In a wide-open American League, A.J. Hinch’s Tigers look like the early favorites to represent the Junior Circuit in the World Series,” he wrote.
The Tigers are clicking on all cylinders, dominating opponents despite having some holes on their roster that need to be addressed.
A punchless offense kept their ceiling low in 2024, but that is no longer the case in 2025, with the Tigers averaging 5.38 runs per game, which is fourth in the MLB.
Spencer Torkelson’s breakout, along with the shocking re-emergence of Javier Baez transitioning into becoming a center fielder, have helped buoy the offense with production coming from up and down the roster.
Combine that with a truly dominant pitching staff and Detroit has the ingredients to contend. Long-term dominance is possible as well with a clean payroll and several high-upside prospects working their way through the system.
