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Fixing This Glaring Issue Will Improve Tigers' Offense

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 1:07 PM ET

Coming into the 2025 season, there were questions about the Detroit Tigers' offense.

While they were able to get timely hits in the 2024 playoffs to eliminate the Houston Astros and push the Cleveland Guardians to the brink of elimination in the ALDS, the reality was they had a wRC+ during the regular season that was a value of 94; ranked 23rd in the MLB and six points below the league average.

Simply put, the Tigers knew they had to upgrade their lineup. However, they didn't go about it in the fashion that many expected or that many in the fanbase would have liked. Instead of attacking the free agency market -- although they were close to landing Alex Bregman -- the front office was passive, signing second baseman Gleyber Torres as their only outside addition.

Torres helped the cause with a bounce back performance, but Detroit also benefited from others taking the next steps in their career, as the offense finished the 2025 regular season with a wRC+ of 103, which put them tied for 11th in the majors.

Tigers Have to Reduce Strikeout Numbers

But even with improved offensive numbers that allowed them to go from scoring 682 runs last year to 758 this season, there were still clear issues that came back to haunt this team at the worst possible time. Something that could solve a lot of the mess is reducing their strikeouts.

The Tigers struck out 23.9% of the time in 2025, which was fourth across the MLB. Riley Greene had 201 K's, which was the most in franchise history for a single season and was second in the majors. Spencer Torkelson was tied for 21st with 169 strikeouts. Six other players had 100 or more strikeouts on the year, and while all of their ratios were less than one K per game played, those still add up over the course of the long season.

Reducing Detroit's K rate is going to be easier said than done. In 2024, when the team was more offensively challenged, they ranked eighth across Major League Baseball with a strikeout rate of 24.3%, which was a higher figure than what they did this year.

Perhaps that should be a sign for the Tigers to focus on swinging and missing less, though. After their K rate was reduced in 2025, they were able to score more runs and be more effective at the plate overall, which helped them become one of the top teams in baseball before their collapse.

Becoming consistent offensive producers is the next step for this team, and limiting their strikeouts could be the key to unlocking that.