Tigers don't actually have to extend Dillon Dingler, but here's why they should

Dillon Dingler has quickly emerged as the Tigers' best power bat this season. He was already leading Tigers hitters in home runs coming out of May with 11, but he's on pace to double that amount in the month of June alone.

He began the month with a 4-for-5 day at the plate against the Rays. A double, two homers, four RBI, good for 11 total bases. He did the exact same thing on Tuesday against the Twins, bringing his season totals to 16 homers, 48 RBI, and a .528 slugging.

Dingler was one of the only Tigers hitters who still managed to pull his weight during Detroit's awful May. It was easy to overlook then, when everything else was so bad, but it's impossible to miss now that the Tigers are actually looking more like the team fans were promised.

This kind of success should make a front office start thinking about contract extension figures, but there's a catch with Dingler. He'll be 28 by the time the season is over and 32 by the time he hits free agency after the 2030 season. The Tigers could get away with severely underpaying him for the prime years of his career because of the arbitration system and then let him walk in free agency.

That would certainly be the smartest money move, and therefore the route the Tigers are likeliest to go. If they don't need to extend Dingler, they won't.

But maybe they still should.

All-Star conversations might just be the start for Dillon Dingler after massive Tigers season

Dingler's arrival in the major leagues was delayed by a few injuries and a rocky road during development. Although he was promoted to Double-A on the same day as Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene in 2022, Dingler didn't get his MLB debut until 2024, two seasons after them.

His first 27 major league games that year left a lot to be desired, but he showed real promise in 126 games in 2025 — and now, he's looking like an All-Star in 2026. Come the end of the year, he might even be creeping up on the MVP conversation with Aaron Judge out of the race.

The Tigers would presumably love to get away with paying Dingler below his eventual market value in arbitration and just dealing with the arb panels if they get to that point. But it would also be a much better look for the organization if they were to extend him right now, or right after this season. It would tell the player that the team values him enough to pay him more than they strictly need to, and it would tell fans that they're serious about building and maintaining a core

Let's play armchair GM for a second. A five-year contract with a club option for 2032 could be tempting for all parties involved. That would buy out the rest of Dingler's team control, his first year of free agency, and give the Tigers an option for the next season. In terms of money, $80-90 million ($16-18 million AAV) with escalators feels right.

Dingler is still pre-arb through 2027, and even with some nice bonus pool money thrown in, it wouldn't feel right to be paying this guy league minimum.

Again, the Tigers don't need to do this, so we wouldn't be surprised if they don't. But it would be a significant gesture they should at least consider anyway.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow