The Detroit Tigers took a rollercoaster ride on Tuesday on the news that Justin Verlander will be returning to his original franchise for a Hall of Fame-bound swan song in 2026. While that marked the apex of the day, the following news that Reese Olson is out for the year with surgery brought things back to earth.
Maybe missed among the big moves was the finalization of Framber Valdez’s contract, which along with JV’s return to the D, gives the Motor City Kitties a formidable starting five heading
into spring training. The Tigers also added outfielder Austin Slater on a minor league deal.
That is a lot to take in on one day, with Detroit’s pitchers and catchers set to report to Lakeland on Sunday. What felt like a mostly meh offseason finally has some spark — and just in time.
So Tigers fans, how are you feeling out there? It feels like forever since Chris Ilitch greenlit some big offseason moves, and despite PECOTA’s bearish outlook, this could actually turn out to be a season to remember for the Olde English D.
On a scale of 1 to 10 — with 1 being the 2003 Tigers and 10 being the 1984 edition of the D — how excited are you now with less than two weeks until the first spring training game? Let us know in the comments below!
In full disclosure, I am somewhere around a seven… but there is a lot of upward momentum right now.
