Tigers chase for free agent pitchers just got crushed by Athletics-Luis Severino deal

Another starting pitcher came off the market on Thursday, and it was a weird one. Luis Severino agreed to a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics that includes a $10 million signing bonus, the largest contract in the history of the team formerly known as the Oakland A's.

It's a wonder that the A's, who will play in West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park (home to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate) through 2027, managed to sign anyone at all. But it's even more wild they were willing to shell out that much money, and willing to shell out that much money to Severino, who was widely expected to make around $16-17 million a year.

Severino's deal immediately skews the starting pitching market in the players' favor, and it will almost certainly have positive money implications for all of those who sign after him.

The Tigers were loosely connected to Severino by both The Athletic and MLB Trade Rumors, and he wasn't an unrealistic candidate given the look of his projected market. Two years and $32 million, the numbers The Athletic predicted, weren't far from outside the realm of possibility for Detroit, especially for a guy who just experienced a decent bounce back season with the Mets. However, if they really did have interest at some point, it's too late for the Tigers now.

Potential Tigers free agent target Luis Severino signs record-breaking contract with Athletics

It's nice, in theory, that the A's managed to get someone despite their ungraceful exit from Oakland and homelessness over at least the next three seasons. Walker Buehler quickly shut down even having a conversation with the team because he didn't want to play in Sacramento. Although Severino's contract will expire before the A's even get to Las Vegas, they should still be focused on playing halfway decent baseball if they want to have any hope of building a fanbase in Nevada.

However, this also makes the job of the Tigers' front office harder. They still have yet to sign a single starting pitcher despite needing at least one more to fill out the rotation, and any of those mid-tier guys they're probably eyeing (Buehler, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea) just increased drastically in price.

They also just let another perfectly plausible free agent candidate come off the board with seeming passivity. Hopefully, they have a lot planned for upcoming Winter Meetings this weekend, because something needs to happen here before the market goes completely haywire.