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With their first prominent offseason move now in the books, the Tigers may be looking to follow up the Alex Cobb signing with some offensive help. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (via X) that Detroit has interest in seven-time All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who is a free agent for the first time in his 14-year career.
Acquiring Goldschmidt isn’t the type of blockbuster move it would’ve been just a few years ago, as the veteran is coming off the first true middling season of his long career. Goldschmidt had a perfectly average 100 wRC+ over 154 games and 654 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2024, while batting .245/.302/.414 with 22 home runs. All three points of that slash line were career lows for Goldschmidt, and his strikeout, walk and chase rates were all well below the league average.
Since Goldschmidt turned 37 in September, it could be that he is simply hitting a decline phase after holding off Father Time for so long. That said, there is reason to believe the first baseman might still have something left in the tank for a 15th MLB season (or beyond). Most of Goldschmidt’s struggles were contained to the first half of the season, as he hit a more respectable .271/.319/.480 in 250 PA after the All-Star break. He has continued to blister the ball when he does make contact, as Goldschmidt had strong barrel rates and a hard-hit ball rate that ranked in the 92nd percentile of all batters.
Between the hard-contact numbers and Goldschmidt’s excellent track record, there is certainly reason for teams to think he might have a bounce-back season in a new environment. His age means that a one-year contract is likely, which fits the Tigers’ preference for shorter-term contracts. Recent reports have indicated that Detroit is known to be looking for one- or two-year deals for starting pitchers, and the team is also wary of making a play for any free agent attached to a qualifying offer. This would seemingly hamper the Tigers’ chances of signing another target in Christian Walker, so Goldschmidt could be viewed as alternative.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has been vocal about his desire to add some veteran leadership to a young and talented club that reached the playoffs this season. Goldschmidt would certainly fill that role in the clubhouse, and his right-handed bat fits well in a very left-handed Detroit lineup.
The Tigers can use all the offense they can get considering the team’s lackluster hitting numbers in 2024, though installing Goldschmidt at first base begs the question of what will be done with Spencer Torkelson. The DH spot would allow Torkelson or Goldschmidt some at-bats when Kerry Carpenter is used in right field, though naturally Torkelson would be something of an odd man out in this situation.
It doesn’t appear as though Detroit is giving up on Torkelson’s potential, even though he has yet to show much consistency over parts of three MLB seasons. In an interview on MLB Network (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press), Harris described Torkelson as “immensely talented. Just like these young guys, we got to stick with him. We got to keep finding ways to get a little bit more out of him.”
More must-reads:
- Tigers take chance on injury-plagued pitcher with one-year deal
- Tigers have 'some interest' in reuniting with World Series champ
- The 'AL and NL MLB MVPs since 2000' quiz
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Rafael Devers had telling comment about playing first base
Rafael Devers played first base for the San Francisco Giants for the first time on Tuesday, and his quote about playing the field likely will not sit well with Boston Red Sox fans. Devers said after Tuesday’s game that he prefers playing in the field as opposed to serving as a designated hitter. “It keeps me active. It keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat,” Devers said, via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’d rather be on the field than in the cage hitting all the time and thinking about the next at-bat.” Devers, of course, refused to play first base for the Red Sox after they asked him to. He felt disrespected after they moved him off third base to accommodate Alex Bregman, and thought the team went back on its word by later asking him to play first. To Red Sox fans, if Devers is best playing in the field and playing first would have helped the team, it will be baffling why he did not just do it when that would seemingly have been a preferable outcome for all involved. Devers went 2-for-5 in Tuesday’s 9-0 win over the Atlanta Braves, driving in a run in his first appearance at first base. It remains unclear how frequently the Giants plan to use him at the position, but the team might take note of these comments.
The fantastic fourth-round picks of the NFC East
To celebrate the opening of Marvel’s "Fantastic Four" (and NFL training camps), we’re highlighting the fourth-round picks of the NFC East as they get ready to do their thing, catch fire and take the league by storm. The Dallas Cowboys did not have a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft because they traded it to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo in 2024. New York Giants | RB Cam Skattebo Skattebo once declared himself the best running back in the country. Following a 170-yard, three-touchdown performance against Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game, Skattebo ran for 2,494 yards in two years with Arizona State and averaged 5.8 yards per carry for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. The former Sun Devil started his college career at Sacramento State, the only D-1 school to give him an offer out of high school. He played two seasons with the Hornets and was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 before joining Arizona State in 2023. At 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, Skattebo is much bigger than backup running back Devin Singletary and has more upside as a receiver with 112 catches for 1,386 yards and eight touchdowns in four college seasons. His 571 yards after the catch in 2024 were the most among running backs in this year’s draft, and his 13.0 yards after the catch per reception tied for fifth, per Pro Football Focus. Philadelphia Eagles | DT Ty Robinson With the loss of Milton Williams to New England, it could be clobberin’ time for Robinson in Philadelphia. Williams had a career-high five sacks while playing in 48% of the team’s defensive snaps last year, but signed a four-year, $104M contract with the Patriots in the offseason. Meanwhile, Robinson led the Cornhuskers with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Altogether, the 6-foot-5, 288-pound defender had 134 tackles, 12 sacks and 12 pass break-ups while appearing in a school-record 60 games in five seasons. Per PFF, Robinson led all defensive tackles with 11 quarterback hits in 2024 and ran an official 4.83 at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, the fastest among defensive tackles, with a top speed of 20.64 mph. He also played eight snaps as a goal-line fullback, with seven plays resulting in a touchdown last season. Washington Commanders | WR Jaylin Lane Lane led all receivers with a 4.34 40-yard dash at the combine and could be on the fast track for starters reps if Washington can’t work out a deal with its No. 1 receiver. Terry McLaurin skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp and did not report for the opening of training camp on Tuesday. The 5-foot-10, 196-pound pass-catcher spent three years at Middle Tennessee State before leaving for Virginia Tech in 2023. Last year, Lane had 38 catches for 466 yards and two touchdowns along with 116 yards and two scores returning punts. According to the team’s website, Lane received the 14th-highest Relative Athletic Score (RAS) among receivers at the combine and had top-three scores in the vertical jump (40-inches), broad jump (11 feet), three-cone drill (6.75) and 20-yard shuttle (4.12). The longer McLaurin holds out of camp, the more opportunities Lane will get to showcase his athleticism and compete with Luke McCaffrey, a third-round pick in 2024, for a role as the team’s slot receiver in 2025.
Cowboys' George Pickens takes shot at Steelers at start of training camp
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and team owner/president Art Rooney II previously said they wanted to see mercurial wide receiver George Pickens "grow up." Now with the Dallas Cowboys, Pickens seemed to take a shot at his former team while speaking with reporters at training camp on Tuesday. "Yeah, I'm definitely excited to run better plays, for sure," Pickens said, NFL.com's Kevin Patra shared. A 2022 second-round draft pick, Pickens developed a reputation for looking displeased over a lack of targets and for emotional outbursts during games over his first three seasons in the league. Pittsburgh traded the 24-year-old to Dallas in May after the Steelers reportedly grew "fed up with" the talented target who was allegedly guilty of a "litany of violations." Pickens was known for arriving late to practices while with the Steelers. He was also reportedly late for Pittsburgh's Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Dallas' Dak Prescott should be the best quarterback Pickens has had as a pro. Additionally, Pickens has a needed mentor in No. 1 Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. "Oh yeah, for sure," Pickens responded when asked on Tuesday if he believes he and Lamb can be the NFL's top one-two punch at the position. "Just different type of styles of play. A lot of people over the years got different styles of play, but CeeDee's a certain type of guy, then I'm a certain type of guy. So, when you mesh that together, it's like 'Mario Bros.' We definitely can do something special." Pickens is in the final year of his rookie contract, and there's no indication he will receive an extension from the Cowboys before he shows what he'll be as a player and a person this season. Thus, he has millions of reasons to want to be on his best behavior and produce the best campaign of his career while sharing an offense with Prescott and Lamb. It remains to be seen if first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer will succeed where Tomlin failed in getting the most out of Pickens, if even for one season.
Aaron Boone ejection signals struggles are pushing him to breaking point
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone keeps losing his grip. After defending Yankee players for not showing enough emotion during losses in a recent podcast interview, the manager had another outburst in Wednesday's road game against the Toronto Blue Jays. At the top of the seventh inning, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe was called out on a strike, despite the ball looking well above the zone. Home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez subsequently ejected Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake for arguing the call. After that, Boone stepped in. Boone walked out of the dugout and let Gonzalez have a piece of his mind even after being ejected. Frustration had been mounting for Boone. Gonzalez had already missed a strike three call in the top of the third inning but apologized for it. The Yankees were also trailing, 6-4, when he was ejected. They didn't come back from that deficit as Toronto won, 8-4, capturing the second game of the three-game series against New York. Attribute the loss to an atrocious defensive performance from the Yankees. They committed four errors, two of which allowed the Blue Jays to score runs. With the loss, the Yankees' chances of winning the American League East are slipping. Toronto (60-42) is first in the division ahead of New York (56-46). If the playoffs started Wednesday night, the Bronx Bombers would have the first AL wild-card spot. Even more concerning for the Yankees, they haven't looked like a World Series contender over their past 10 games, going 5-5. With 60 regular-season games remaining, the Yankees still have plenty of time to get their act together. Still, they should do it soon for Boone's sake. He seems like he's reaching his breaking point.
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