3 Tigers bounce-back candidates that could save the team money in free agency

The Detroit Tigers have a laundry list of things they need to accomplish this offseason. One way or another, they need to solve third base, shortstop, and center field. The lineup needs a true middle-of-the-order bat. The rotation could use another starter, preferably one who can give them stability beyond 2026. The bullpen needs an overhaul.

Scott Harris won't dip into free agency to solve all of those woes. He's already gone on record saying that the team's top prospects will have every opportunity to earn major roles in 2026. That puts Kevin McGonigle and Max Anderson in play to solve the infield issues, while Max Clark could be a center field solution. But how much youth can they truly count on?

The other issue is how much money will Detroit truly be willing to throw around in free agency? Throughout the rebuild, the Tigers have been run like a small-market club, and as they've ascended Harris has stuck to those tendencies, but history shows that under previous regimes they've had the resources to spend like the big boys.

The club has a handful of players who did not meet expectations in 2025, and if those players were to bounce back, it could really help the team save some money while also allocating resources to what matters most.

3 bounce-back candidates could help Tigers save money while also freeing up their offseason options

Starting pitcher Jack Flaherty

The most obvious candidate on the list, Jack Flaherty, opted in for 2026 saddled the Tigers with an additional $20 million on the books for 2026. That's No. 2 starter money and looks dicey after a subpar 2025 campaign.

There's reason to believe that he can be the Robin to Tarik Skubal's Batman again in 2026, however. First, he's done it before, as his stellar first tour of duty in Detroit showed. Additionally, as difficult as his performance was at times this year, some of the underlying metrics show that some bad luck could've been at play.

Flaherty posted an excellent 27.6% strikeout rate, and his 66th percentile whiff rate and 59th percentile chase rate were both encouraging. Flaherty's xERA of 4.05 wasn't great, but it was markedly better than his 4.64 actual mark. His stuff is still there; he just needs to execute better in 2026.

Reliever Tyler Holton

While Tyler Holton's 3.66 ERA in 2025 wasn't bad, it was a big step back from the 2.11 mark he put up and 2023 and the 2.19 ERA he posted in 2024. In those years, the lefty was a reliable bulk-inning option out of Detroit's 'pen.

The regression this year had everything to do with the long ball. Holton's HR/9 jumped from 0.67 in 2024 to 1.72 in 2025. Despite that, not much actually changed under the hood. Holton's 87.7 miles per hour average exit velocity and 37.7% hard hit rate were both well above average marks, just as they were in years prior.

His is the easiest case of bad luck on this list, and he should experience positive regression to the mean next season. That should cross off at least one bullpen need from Harris's list.

Center fielder Parker Meadows

One of the biggest disappointments of 2025 was Parker Meadows. A .215/.291/.330 line left a lot to be desired, for sure, but of course the injuries that limited him to just 57 games made it hard for him to find a rhythm.

It might be hard to remember, but in 82 games in 2024 he slashed .244/.310/.433 while playing superb defense, totaling 2.2 fWAR in the process. That's about a 4 WAR year over a full 162 games, which is nothing to sneeze at.

When Meadows returned from his second IL stint in September, he slashed .242/.329/.394, which was pretty reminiscent of his 2024 performance. He'll need to stay healthy, and he might not ever be much more than just an average-ish bat, but with his speed and defensive prowess, that's a valuable package. And it could save the Tigers from a big expenditure on a player like Cody Bellinger to man center.