Tigers get another potential rotation target after Cubs' mass pitching exodus

Thursday officially marked the beginning of the MLB offseason, and a small wave of players announced option decisions that would either keep them with their current teams or release them back onto the free agent market.

Two of the bigger opt-out decisions came from Cubs starters Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd. Holmes would have made $12 million in 2027 had he accepted; Boyd would've made $15 million.

After pitching 101 1/3 innings for a 3.29 ERA between the Mets and Cubs, Holmes figures to make significantly more with than $12 million on a new deal. Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicted a contract at two years and $44 million.

That's not too far off from what the Tigers gave Jack Flaherty ahead of the 2025 season — two years, $35 million — and Holmes has a better track record.

If the Tigers are indeed looking for an extra starter in free agency, Holmes would be a relatively affordable option who could lend more reassurance to what is a very young rotation, apart from Framber Valdez. He'll have an abundance of suitors as one of the best right-handed pitchers on the market, and the Tigers should consider being one of them.

Tigers could target starter Clay Holmes after he opted out of Cubs deal

Holmes is still relatively new to starting. After signing with the Mets in the 2024-25 offseason, he made 31 starts and pitched a career-high 165 2/3 innings for a 3.53 ERA. The Cubs used him as a starter after they traded for him at the deadline, though he struggled more in Chicago, after coming back from an almost three-month absence with a fibula fracture.

The years are the key here. Holmes is going into his age-34 season, so if he's looking for a contract more than, at most, three years long, he's going to be disappointed. Two years, though, could be more doable for the Tigers, maybe with escalators built into the second year.

It's hard to see a world in which the Tigers kill themselves trying to get another starter when they already have Valdez, Troy Melton, Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero, River Ryan, and Drew Anderson, and might have Reese Olson, if he's healthy enough.

But the Valdez and, for that matter, the Flaherty deals reminded fans that the Tigers are nothing if not opportunistic. If an opportunity comes around to get Holmes or any other starter at an acceptable price, they'll explore their options.

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