The Athletic's top free agent for Tigers would be game-changing (if they'll pay)

Tigers fans are doomed to spend the entire offseason hearing about Tarik Skubal trade rumors and hate-reading terrible trade proposals — and it's already started. The usual suspects are smelling blood in the water; the Mets will reportedly give up anything but top prospect Nolan McLean if Detroit does indeed make Skubal available.

Anything to distract from that is welcome, and Jim Bowden of The Athletic (one of the loudest Skubal trade truthers out there) actually gave Tigers fans reason to be excited.

He named Detroit as the best fit for a slew of upcoming free agents — 21 of them, to be exact — but the most enticing name in that crop is undeniably Kyle Schwarber. Bowden named him as a fit for the Phillies (who already seem very invested in keeping him), Mets and Tigers.

Bowden didn't stop at best fits; he also included salary predictions and comps, and predicted Schwarber will receive a five-year, $160 million deal in free agency — a $32 million AAV, comparable to Rafael Devers' 10-years and $313.5 million with the Red Sox (now Giants).

The Athletic named Tigers a best fit for top free agent Kyle Schwarber

We should note that Bowden is typically not to be trusted and is frequently wrong, but we can cherry pick here if it means dreaming big about Schwarber coming to Detroit.

Schwarber just wrapped up a career-best year with the Phillies, hitting 56 homers to lead the National League and driving in 132 runs to lead all of baseball. All of that on top of his unforgettable mini-Home Run Derby appearance to break the AL and NL tie in the All-Star Game, which reminded everyone exactly how clutch he can be.

If we assume that five years and $160 million is realistic (Schwarber is 32, so we'd otherwise quibble a little with the predicted length), a $32 million AAV would definitely be out of the Tigers' comfort zone. The highest they were willing to go for Bregman last offseason was seven years and $200 million ($28.57 million AAV). The Tigers have also been loathe to name a full-time DH, and they would never move Riley Greene out of left field to accommodate an expensive free agent.

But Schwarber is a guy who fans could bet on to give the Tigers 40+ homers a year. He strikes out a lot, which is a problem that plagued Detroit in the second half, but he's also a proven postseason threat, and the Tigers don't have any of those yet (though Kerry Carpenter is on his way).

Competition for Schwarber will be fierce, but if the Tigers are actually going to loosen the pursestrings a little more this offseason, they should at least give him a call.