Tigers hitting a wall with regular season record prompts sad reflection on 2026

The Tigers came into the 2026 season with the burden and privilege of great expectations.

They might have almost collapsed at the end of 2025, but they didn't, and they went on to put up an admirable fight in the Wild Card and ALDS, finally unseating their rival Guardians in a playoff series and giving the Mariners a serious run for their money. They opted to keep Tarik Skubal instead of trade him over the offseason. They called up the No. 2 prospect in baseball for Opening Day. They signed Framber Valdez and welcomed Justin Verlander back home.

153 games into the 2026 season, they are 72-81 and can't finish any higher than .500. Their late postseason hopes are most likely dashed. Skubal is gone, Valdez has been mediocre, and Verlander has been hurt for most of the season. The bullpen has been worse than anyone expected it to be.

Even if the Tigers have some sort of miracle befall them and manage to make the postseason, they probably won't do it as a .500 team, and the failures of this season are impossible not to reflect on.

Tigers' inability to reach an over-.500 record in 2026 has to prompt change in 2027

While there certainly has been an element of bad luck baked into this season, the Tigers can't pretend that they were purely victims to it with no accountability for poor play. What we saw in May was almost something of an ego death; Detroit simply lost its identity. We were seeing poor baserunning, bad defense, a terrible bullpen, the inability for the offense to string hits together.

Playing sound, fundamental baseball and taking calculated risks is something that this team has prided itself on since their ascent in 2024. There was very little of that in the early months of this year.

The second half has been something of a revitalization, and there's undeniably a lot to look forward to in 2027, when all of the Tigers' very young players have some time to reflect on their rookie seasons and adjust accordingly. They're getting smarter about their baserunning, they're learning how to put a rally together (the defense still needs a lot of work, though). Streakiness will hopefully level off into consistency.

But perhaps at the core of what's made this season feel so frustrating is that it wasn't supposed to feel like a step back. The Tigers aren't quite rebuilding anymore, but they're certainly not competing either. 2026 was supposed to be the year, the year they kept Skubal, extended Kevin McGonigle, added much-needed pitching on top, and made a run at the World Series. Instead, they're letting talented but still very green players adjust before trying to regroup and come back stronger in 2027.

I predicted ahead of Opening Day that the Tigers would win 90 games this season, something they haven't done since 2014. If we put ourselves back in the shoes of our late-March selves, without the benefit of hindsight, was that really such a ridiculous prediction? Didn't we have so much to hope for coming into this season?

This year's Tigers have shown time and time again that they just can't answer the call. Blame the front office, blame AJ Hinch, blame the players — this was a top-to-bottom failure. Everyone should shoulder the blame.

While having a lot to look forward to next year is heartening, that's what we all said about this year, too. The offseason needs to give everyone involved a chance to step back and reflect, because if next year feels like yet another bump in the road despite all of the talent and promise in Detroit, it's not going to be pretty for anyone.

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