Tigers News: Another Kevin McGonigle award, Akil Baddoo to Pirates, Andre Lipcius

Kevin McGonigle has been racking up awards left and right this offseason, and it's not going to stop anytime soon. He's a Silver Slugger finalist, he's up for 2026's All-MLB team, he's The Sporting News and Baseball America's Rookie of the Year, and he's an MLB American League Rookie of the Year finalist (soon-to-be winner, if the voters do the right thing).

The latest award to be added to his mantle is 2026 Tiger of the Year, as voted on by the Detroit chapter of the BBWAA. He's the first rookie to win since Riley Greene in 2022, with 21 of 23 first-place votes.

One can only imagine the missing first-place votes went to either Greene or Dillon Dingler, but even then, it's not totally acceptable.

Everyone's running out of things to say about McGonigle other than that we can't wait to see what he does next. Fangraphs' Steamer projections already have him coming out of the 2027 season with a 5.5 fWAR, behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr., and Junior Caminero. That's the kind of guy who could finish top-3 in MVP voting.

Former Tigers Quad-A player Akil Baddoo finds new home with Pirates

Akil Baddoo was a source of frustration for Tigers fans toward the end of his tenure, but since leaving to go to the Brewers last offseason, he's become a bit more of a fond memory. After all, his debut and the few weeks following it were the stuff of legend.

He left for the Brewers in free agency, but was on the 60-day IL by Opening Day and was optioned to Triple-A when he recovered. He hit decently in Nashville but was never promoted to the major league roster.

He was squeezed off Milwaukee's 40-man roster on Monday and claimed off of waivers by the Pirates. Tigers fans can certainly be happy he's found a new home (while not missing him much in Detroit).

Former top prospect Andre Lipcius takes job with Rockies

Infielder Andre Lipcius, a third-round pick for the Tigers in 2019, hung around the bottom third of the their top-30 prospects list from 2020-2023 and got his major league debut on Sept. 1, 2023 as a pinch-hitter. He hit his first — and only — major league homer the next day. Although it was a respectable cup of coffee, he was DFA'ed in February 2024.

He bounced around to the Dodgers and then the White Sox before leaving MLB after the 2025 season to spend some time in the Mexican League.

However, he's reportedly headed back to the States. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported Lipcius is joining the Rockies as a game planning coach at just 28 years old, though the Rockies have yet to confirm the hire.

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