MLB

Strong Pitching Roster Gives Tigers a Short Window to Win Big in 2026

With aces Skubal and Valdez, plus a returning Justin Verlander, Detroit has assembled a potent rotation. But keeping the pieces together won’t be easy.
Strong Pitching Roster Gives Tigers a Short Window to Win Big in 2026
Pitcher Framber Valdez of the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., on Feb. 17, 2026. Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images
Donald Laible
|Updated:
0:00

For the 2026 Detroit Tigers, anything less than a World Series championship is unacceptable.

There’s a sense of urgency swirling around the Tigers team going through spring training in Lakeland, Florida. General manager Jeff Greenberg and president of baseball operations Scott Harris assembled the roster for manager A.J. Hinch and his coaching staff to get the job done this season, because keeping the key pitching pieces together after 2026 is unlikely.

Donald Laible
Donald Laible
Author
Don has covered pro baseball for several decades, beginning in the minor leagues as a radio broadcaster in the NY Mets organization. His Ice Chips & Diamond Dust blog ran from 2012-2020 at uticaod.com. His baseball passion surrounds anything concerning the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and writing features on the players and staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Don currently resides in southwest Florida.