Dream Tigers roster for 2026 if Scott Harris fulfills wishes at the Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings, the centerpiece of the offseason, kick off in Orlando on Sunday. Although a few in years past have been almost deathly silent, there's reason to believe that a lot will get done this time around.

The Tigers will no doubt be contenders in 2026, but they have a lot of work to do. It's time for Scott Harris to starting wheeling and dealing.

Dream Tigers roster for 2026 if Scott Harris fulfills wishes at the Winter Meetings

Starting Rotation (5)

• Keeping: Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Jack Flaherty, Troy Melton
• Adding: Michael King
• Cutting: Casey Mize

Cutting Mize over Flaherty is less about performance and more about money (it's a dream roster, but we'll be a little practical). Mize did have the better regular season, but no matter what number he and Tigers agree on to avoid arbitration, it won't be as much as the $20 million Flaherty is owed in 2026.

King is likely to go off the market as one of the cheaper, higher-tier starters. He's coming off of an injury-shortened year and has only really turned in one full season of work in a rotation since converting, but he earned Cy Young votes in 2024 and wouldn't break the bank.

Bullpen (8)

• Keeping: Will Vest (SU/CL), Brant Hurter, Tyler Holton, Brenan Hanifee, Dylan Smith
• Adding: Kyle Finnegan (SU/CL), Pete Fairbanks, Luke Weaver
• Cutting: Keider Montero, everyone else

Pitching chaos was thrilling at first. It came from a place of necessity in 2024; no one thought the Tigers would end up where they did that year, and they had to get by with almost every starter except Skubal injured. That was a team winning by the skin of their teeth.

It got all out of whack in 2025, and as the Tigers' division lead shrunk down to nothing and then disappeared, they made some of the most bizarre roster moves you've ever seen just to keep fresh arms in the 'pen.

Here's hoping we see less of that in 2026. The Tigers and Finnegan have mutual interest in him coming back to Detroit, and they're said to be in on Fairbanks, who could sign before Winter Meetings begin. Weaver was less effective this year than he was in 2024, but he still has some great swing-and-miss stuff that the Tigers need in late innings.

Infield (5)

• Keeping: Dillon Dingler (C), Spencer Torkelson (1B), Gleyber Torres (2B)
• Adding: Kevin McGonigle (SS), Alex Bregman (3B)
• Cutting: Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney

Color us shocked: the Tigers are reportedly in on the Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte. The problems are clear, though — Torres took back his spot at second base when he accepted the qualifying offer, and trading for Marte would take a tremendous haul of prospects that the Tigers just shouldn't give up.

Tigers' brass have already made it clear that we shouldn't expect to see McGonigle on the Opening Day roster, but this is a dream roster, so we'll dream big. Another downside of trading for Marte and potentially installing him at shortstop (a position he hasn't played since 2020) is that it would block McGonigle through 2026, when Torres becomes a free agent again.

If the Tigers are going to sign or trade for a big infield free agent, it has to be Bregman, who won't require giving up prospects and would fill Detroit's longstanding gap at third.

Outfield/DH (3)

• Keeping: Riley Greene (LF), Kerry Carpenter (RF/DH)
• Adding: Cody Bellinger (CF)
• Cutting: Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez

The Tigers signing not one but two $100+ million free agents is a pipe dream, but Bellinger would be the perfect outfield upgrade. Only Greene has the chops on both sides of the ball to be a true everyday player, while Carpenter will have to both improve his defense and prove that he can be more than a platoon player against lefties. Meadows just doesn't have it

AJ Hinch will probably continue to use the DH spot fluidly to give supposed Tigers centerpiece Colt Keith (we'll get to him later) some at-bats along with Carpenter, and they could fill in right field with Jahmai Jones, Zach McKinstry, or Matt Vierling on Carpenter's off-days.

Bench (5)

• Keeping: Javy Báez (UTIL), Jake Rogers (C), Colt Keith (INF), Zach McKinstry (UTIL), Jahmai Jones (OF)
• Cutting: Justyn-Henry Malloy, Matt Vierling

Tigers fans were thrilled to see Báez regain some of his old form in 2025, but gone are the days when anyone expects to see him be the centerpiece of the offense. His move to the outfield went pretty well (he was a 2025 All-Star outfielder), and the Tigers can use that to their advantage in 2026, throwing him in to fill any inopportune gaps around the field and batting at the bottom of the lineup.

The Tigers have always loved Vierling, but he spent most of 2025 on the IL, struggled when he was healthy, and if there's no place for Keith to play every day, someone else has to go.