Bleacher Report has unexpected Tigers free agency prediction that fans will support

The Detroit Tigers may be long shots to make the playoffs this year, but their late-season surge suggests that their future is bright and that they have a solid chance of being in the mix for an AL Central title as early as 2025.

The Tigers still have some room for improvement in a number of areas, though, especially on offense. There will be plenty of free-agent sluggers available this offseason if Detroit decides to take that route, and one MLB writer has already linked the Tigers to Baltimore Orioles slugger Anthony Santander.

In his latest free agency projections, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report named the Tigers, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants as potential fits for Santander, who is having a monster contract season with the Orioles. The 29-year-old switch-hitter is batting just .236 but has hit 38 home runs, driven in 86 runs, and posted an .819 OPS through 496 at-bats in what is likely to be his final season in Baltimore.

Orioles slugger Anthony Santander would give major boost to Tigers' lineup

Several young guns have stepped up for the Tigers on offense during the second half of the 2024 campaign, including Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. If they can continue to produce and stay healthy, the Tigers have a solid foundation for 2025 and beyond. Mix in Santander, who is on pace for his first career 40-homer season with the Orioles this year after averaging 31 home runs and 92 RBI between 2022 and 2023, and it would add some serious pop to Detroit's lineup.

Kelly projects that the 29-year-old outfielder could earn a new contract somewhere in the neighborhood of the five-year, $100 million deal that Nick Castellanos got with the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 2022 season. Tigers fans may bristle at the thought of handing out a contract that size after how horribly the Javy Báez deal has aged, but Santander is somewhat of a unicorn as a switch-hitter with elite-level power.

As the Tigers look to emerge from their rebuild and take the next step toward being a contender, Santander could be the ideal addition to their offense in 2025 and beyond.

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