Tigers Have Tough Decision to Make on Their New Star This Offseason

It's well-documented that the Detroit Tigers were a bit more reserved this past offseason than many expected them to be considering what transpired during the stretch run of the 2024 campaign and in the playoffs.

With young talent all over their roster and in the pipeline, adding just a couple of established stars at key positions could have pushed them into true contender status.

That didn't exactly happen, though.

The Tigers whiffed on Alex Bregman despite giving him a competitive offer, and they went into the year with just the additions of Alex Cobb, Jack Flaherty and Gleyber Torres as their headliners.

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It turns out that was really all Detroit needed in the first half of this season.

They have been the best American League team all year long and have held the best record in Major League Baseball for virtually the entire season.

A lot of that has to do with Torres.

Signed to a one-year, $15 million type of "prove it" deal over the winter, the slugging second baseman has given the Tigers everything they could have imagined and more during his resurgent season, entering Sunday Night Baseball with a .284/.388/.440 slash line and OPS+ of 135 to go along with nine homers and 43 RBI.

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Torres is expected to make his first All-Star team since 2019, and his role with Detroit has extended beyond just being an impact player on the field.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the 28-year-old has become a clubhouse leader for the Tigers, which makes his impending free agency difficult for the front office to manage.

Based on the season that Torres has had thus far, he should have plenty of suitors lined up to hand him a lucrative deal on the open market.

Detroit will have to decide if they want to be one of those teams.

They have been burned in the past by handing a player a monster contract coming off a solid stretch of play (Javier Baez). And with Colt Keith already locked up to a long-term extension and Tarik Skubal in line for a potentially historic deal himself, there's a chance Torres might not be in their future plans.

But that also comes with a risk.

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Letting an impactful player on the field and in the clubhouse leave could cause some issues going forward, which is the last thing the Tigers need at this stage of their rebuild where it looks like they are finally coming out on the other side.

It's a hard decision that president of baseball operations Scott Harris will have to make when that time comes.

Until then, though, Detroit can enjoy the fact that one of their offseason signings has become an impact player for them and seems like he's going to be a key part of their return to the playoffs and a potential division title.

For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.