The Detroit Tigers have been linked with several veterans this winter as the team looks to build on its shock playoff appearance last season.
One area that the Tigers are certainly in need of fortification is the starting rotation, which is filled with question marks after staff ace and American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Ryan Finklestein of Just Baseball proposes that Detroit help fill that need by bringing back former ace Justin Verlander on a one-year, $16 million deal.
Verlander, now 42, is no longer the pitcher he was when the Tigers traded him to the Houston Astros in 2017. His 2024 with the Astros was nothing to brag about as he struggled with age and injury to post a 5-6 record with a 5.48 ERA.
However, he is just three seasons removed from his last Cy Young campaign in 2022, when he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA.
Those types of numbers can no longer be in the thought train of any team looking to sign Verlander, but the 19-year big-league veteran is a battle-tested two-time World Series champion.
The wealth of experience he could bring to his original Major League Baseball team could be worth the $16 million alone if he were able to bring a steadying influence to a Tigers rotation still in limbo.
It wouldn’t be the headline signing it would’ve been a few years ago, but it would be a feel-good story that could still produce tangible results for Motown.
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