Surprise Reese Olson injury dagger made Tigers' Justin Verlander signing a necessity

Last week, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press said that Tigers starter Reese Olson, who has spent the vast majority of his two seasons on the IL, might not be ready by Opening Day.

But on a day that would've ideally just gone down as "Justin Verlander re-signs with the Tigers" day, the Tigers tried to bury some very bad news in and amongst the positive news cycle. Olson won't just not be ready by Opening Day; he'll be out for all of 2026 after a labrum surgery on his throwing shoulder, performed on Feb. 2.

What was once a feel-good, no-brainer return for Verlander now has some ugly context.

The Tigers also officially moved Jackson Jobe to the 60-day IL — but there are no surprises there. He underwent Tommy John in June, but the Tigers are optimistic that they'll get him back down the stretch in 2026.

Adding Verlander on top of Framber Valdez, who was added on top of Drew Anderson gives the Tigers newfound pitching depth that should alleviate some worries, but this is a brutal blow for Olson, who might forever be stuck with the "brilliant when he's healthy, but is never healthy" curse.

Tigers' Reese Olson will miss all of 2026 after labrum surgery

The Tigers' rotation is still easy enough to figure out despite this news: Tarik Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Verlander (though perhaps not in that exact order). Anderson, Troy Melton, Sawyer Gipson-Long, and Keider Montero will all provide ample starting depth, and it's more likely than not that Anderson and Melton both take up long relief roles in the bullpen while maybe featuring in an odd start.

But given Olson's injury history, the Tigers could very well come under some scrutiny for waiting this long to resort to surgery. It was right shoulder strain that kept him to just 68 1/3 innings last season, and even though the Tigers were optimistic that he would be able to come back by the ALCS or World Series if they made it that far, he ended up getting October off too.

Getting Verlander back is still a victory, but Olson has shown such flashes of real potential that it's impossible not to be disappointed that he's going to have an entire season erased. If we had to find a silver lining — he'll be back after the Tigers lose Skubal, Flaherty, Mize, and Verlander at the end of 2026, but that's sort of a cold comfort.