Casey Mize's All-Star Game nod further complicates Tigers rejecting contract option

On Thursday night, Emily Waldron of Baseball America reported that Casey Mize was being added to the American League's All-Star Game roster, bringing the Tigers' total to six and officially making them the most represented team in baseball. He'll join starters Riley Greene, Javy Báez, Gleyber Torres, starter-apparent Tarik Skubal, and replacement Zach McKinstry.

Mize, among others, was a notable snub from the first round of pitcher announcements. Everyone in the Tigers' pitching staff is living in Skubal's shadow, and Mize was hurt for a couple of weeks in May, but his 2.63 ERA over 85 2/3 innings has made him the easy No. 2 in the Tigers' rotation; not Jack Flaherty.

Mize, McKinstry, Báez, and Spencer Torkelson have been the biggest surprises of the season, the Tigers have a slightly more complicated history with Mize than the others. In November, the Tigers declined their $3.1 million club option, and the two parties instead settled on $2.34 million to avoid arbitration.

This was a year after they failed to come to an agreement by the soft arb deadline in 2023 and squabbled over just $25,000. They avoided a hearing and compromised with the $3.1 million club option. Their reasons for declining it were obvious — Mize had a 4.49 ERA last year and was even pushed to the bullpen at the end of the season, then he didn't make the ALDS roster — but it couldn't have engendered particularly warm feelings between Mize and the team.

Casey Mize reportedly named All-Star replacement, bringing Tigers' representative count to six

Mize, like Skubal, will become a free agent at the end of 2026. If he keeps pitching to this level through the rest of this season, he'll make a lot more than $3.1 million next year. The Tigers went up to $10.15 million for Tarik Skubal for this season; while Mize probably won't make that much, $7 or $8 million isn't out of the question.

Things could become more complicated if the Tigers try to extend him, give him the qualifying offer after the 2026 season, or try to re-sign him. The team quibbled with him over a measly $25,000, so you can't entirely blame the guy if there are lingering hard feelings.

Mize unquestionably deserves an All-Star nod, and his unlikely improvement has only been helping the Tigers, but they haven't exactly laid solid groundwork between themselves and the player with the arbitration ugliness.