Tigers Rumors: Veteran free agent pitchers mentioned as potential targets for Detroit

The Tigers' signing of Jack Flaherty back in December kind of came out of nowhere. They'd shown "serious interest" in Kenta Maeda, signed a few weeks prior, but Flaherty came as a surprise that was met with no small amount of skepticism given his struggles since his 2019 Cy Young-caliber campaign with the Cardinals.

But Flaherty turned out to be one of the biggest assets for the Tigers before he left at the trade deadline, pitching 106 2/3 innings for Detroit with a sub-3.00 ERA. The Tigers recovered something in him that'd been lost for three years with the Cardinals and Orioles, and now he's one of the Dodgers' only starters as they chase a World Series ring.

A Flaherty-like signing — one that comes sort of out of nowhere, of a starter who's a little bit of a fixer-upper — could be in the cards again for Detroit this year. They've got more money to work with now, and most of that will be focused on pitching and trying to rebuild a rotation around Tarik Skubal.

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic presented three names who could be of interest to the Tigers in free agency: Walker Buehler, Andrew Heaney, and Luis Severino (subscription required).

The Athletic posited Walker Buehler, Andrew Heaney, Luis Severino as potential free for the Tigers in free agency

Buehler's future with the Dodgers very much depends upon how he pitches during the World Series. Before the NLCS, it seemed almost certain that they would let their former first-round draft pick walk when it came time, but he gave LA four almost-perfect innings against the Mets that may have them rethinking things. Even if they do eventually let him go, his postseason performance could also affect his market value. Still, he's likely to be looking at a one-year deal, or maybe one year with an option for a second, given his performance and injuries during the regular season.

Heaney, a World Series champion with the Rangers last year, had a decent season in 2024. He pitched 160 innings for a 4.28 ERA and avoided the IL entirely this year. Severino, who will be leaving the Mets, just had arguably his best year since 2018, having stayed off the IL after four seasons of issues and pitching a complete game shutout back in August.

All three of these starters come with pros and cons, and none are exactly the long-term answers that the Tigers could sign to stick around for a while to avoid any late-season pitching complications like they did this year. However, they do seem much more realistic for Detroit than the likes of Corbin Burnes, Max Fried or Blake Snell, who will almost certainly be out of the Tigers' price range even with greater spending power.

None of them are looking for exactly the kind of bounce-back season Flaherty was when he became a Tiger, but if the coaching staff does some tweaking and makes any of them look like Flaherty did during the first half, then the team will be far better off than they were in 2024.