3 former Tigers players that are about to have a chance at a World Series ring

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Are you ready for more pain? We sure are. Many former Tigers have won a World Series elsewhere over the years. From Rick Porcello, JD Martinez, David Price, and Ian Kinsler winning one with the Red Sox in 2018, to Justin Verlander winning two championsips with the Astros, it's been very painful to be a Tigers fan over the better part of the past decade.

Well, get ready, because we're about to dwell in the pain some more. Even more former Tigers are about to get a chance at a World Series ring.

That's right. The Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks will be battling it out for the World Series title come Friday, and they both feature at least one former Tiger. So no matter which team wins it all in 2023, another former Tiger will be getting a ring with another team.

Sigh. Let's get started.

Joe Mantiply

Mantiply started his MLB career with the Tigers in 2016, and it did not go well. He pitched just 2.2 innings and allowed five earned runs. Ouch. Not exactly a great first impression.

From there, he bounced around in the minors for a while before finding a home in Arizona, where has ahs revived his career. He had a 3.40 ERA in 39.2 IP in 2021, and was an All-Star in 2022 with a 2.85 ERA an a strikout to walk ratio of over 10 in 60 innings pitched.

The ERA was a bit more elevated this season, but he did outpitch his FIP, and the walks have stayed relatively low. He's still been a solid lefty out the bullpen for D'backs manager Torey Lovullo.

Mantiply may not be the most amazing, celebrated, or even remembered former Tiger, but he's still a former Tiger nonethless. And now he get's his shot at a ring.

Robbie Grossman

It was a tale of two years for Robbie Grossman's time in Detroit. In 2021, he was one of the more underrated leadoff hitters in the game. He hit a career-high 23 home runs and was near the top of the league in walks. He also had 20 stolen bases to give him a 20-20 season.

2022 was a much, much different story. He hit .205 with a .595 OPS before getting traded to the Braves for scraps at the trade deadline. His time with Atlanta was not much better.

He signed with Texas on a minor league deal in the offseason, and saw significant playing time this season due to various injuries. He actually had a solid year, slashing .238/.340/.394 with a .734 OPS and 10 homers in 420 plate appearances. That slash line isn't far off from this 2021 slash.

He's even been hitting in the middle of the Rangers' batting order quite frequently this postseason. You could argue that he's saved his career this season.

Grossman isn't very well-liked by some Tigers fans because of his comments about Comerica Park's old dimensions last season, but his 2021 season is still worth remembering. It was the best year of his career and it came with the Tigers, and we haven't been able to say that about a lot of players in recent years. He could be one of two former Tigers to win a ring with the Rangers.

The other? Well, he'll be going for his second since leaving Detroit.

Max Scherzer

Mad Max is still going at it. The 39-year-old is still going strong, now on his fourth team in three years.

Scherzer started this season with the Mets, and wasn't quite his usual self. He had a 4.01 ERA and 4.70 FIP in 107.2 IP in Queens this season. Those aren't horrible numbers or anything, but they weren't what we had become asscustomed to seeing from Max. Perhaps his age was beginning to show.

It was still enough for him to be traded to Texas at the trade deadline, where we performed better despite some injuries. He had a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings. He had a muscle strain that sidelined him for the first two rounds of the postseason.

He finally made his playoff debut in game 3 of the ALCS against the Astros, and he got rocked a little bit. He allowed five earned runs in four innings and took the loss.

He then started game 7 on Monday, and only pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two earned runs, though that was likely the plan with him going in. Now, it sounds like he's dealing with another injury as the New York Post reports that he has a cut on his thumb. The injuries keep piling up at the wrong time.

Whether this latest ailment is enough to keep him off the World Series roster remains to be seen. The Rangers could always use the extra arm, even if he isn't at his best.

This would the second World Series that Max Scherzer has won since leaving the Tigers if the Rangers can pull if off. He won one in 2019 with the Nationals, along with other former Tigers Anibal Sanchez and Fernando Rodney.

Scherzer is already likely a future hall-of-famer, but if he can get another ring, it might put him into the first ballot conversation.

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