Tigers finalize 2025 starting rotation with somewhat surprising roster move

After a lengthy battle among a stacked group of starters, it appears that the Detroit Tigers have settled on their Opening Day rotation for 2025.

After reporting Friday that Kenta Maeda had been informed that he would open the 2025 season in the Tigers' bullpen, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic also reported that the Tigers had optioned Keider Montero and Ryan Kreidler Saturday morning.

Maeda is now locked into Detroit's season-opening bullpen, joining Jason Foley, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Tommy Kahnle, John Brebbia and Will Vest. While manager A.J. Hinch has yet to make an official announcement, the Tigers' five-man rotation appears to be set with Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Jackson Jobe.

Tigers finalize 2025 starting rotation with somewhat surprising roster move

Even after a hip injury sidelined veteran Alex Cobb and opened up an additional spot in Detroit's Opening Day rotation, the battle for the final remaining spots wasn't any less intense. With Skubal, Flaherty and Olson holding down the top of the rotation, there were four pitchers – Maeda, Montero, Mize and Jobe – battling for two spots.

Maeda, entering the second season of a two-year, $24 million free agent deal with the Tigers, is coming off the worst season of his career that cost him his starting role midseason. He entered spring training trying to pitch his way back into the rotation but fell short of that goal, surrendering 13 hits and eight runs over 12 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League action, despite posting an exceptional 9:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Given his salary and veteran status, Maeda was essentially locked into an Opening Day roster spot, but it's somewhat surprising that he has already been relegated to the bullpen. Less surprising, though, was the option of Montero to Triple-A Toledo. Montero had a decent spring, posting a 3.21 ERA and striking out 17 across 14 innings, but he stumbled in his last start against the New York Yankees – something he couldn't afford to do when the margin for error in a heated rotation battle was razor-thin.

Mize, on the other hand, had an extremely impressive spring. He put up a 1.13 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 18:7 strikeout-to-walk ration in 16 innings, representing a major improvement on his regular-season numbers from a season ago (4.49 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 78:29 K:BB in 102.1 innings). He'll be locked in as the Tigers' No. 4 starter, and he'll have some runway with Cobb expected to be sidelined for at least the first month.

Jobe is the wild card here as the No. 5 starter. Detroit's top pitching prospect has made four Grapefruit League starts this spring, pitching to a 3.65 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 8:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 12 1/3 innings. His top prospect status incentivized the Tigers to give him a spot on the season-opening roster, but his leash may be a little bit shorter.

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