The Detroit Tigers have a major looming decision to make regarding their upcoming contract situation with Tarik Skubal. With Skubal set to become a free agent next offseason, the Tigers need to go all-in this season to win a championship while they can with Skubal still on the roster.
For Detroit to accomplish this, they will need to advance their pitching to have another reliable pitcher alongside Tarik Skubal. Jack Flaherty isn’t the quality second starter the Tigers thought he could be, Casey Mize is fine, but isn’t capable of being a second ace behind Skubal, and Reese Olson has frequently been injured.
For Detroit, they can turn to free agency instead for another pitcher to further help the rotation, and the pitcher they can turn to sign is Dylan Cease.
Dylan Cease Signs With the Detroit Tigers in MLB Free Agency
Dylan Cease is currently one of the top MLB pitchers in free agency, even despite coming off a rough 2025 season where he had a 4.55 ERA, he still had 215 strikeouts and led all of baseball in strikeouts per nine innings.
The San Diego Padres need pitching help and could look to bring him back, but for Dylan Cease, it makes more sense for him to sign elsewhere and test his luck on a team better prepared to contend this year.
One thing is for sure, Dylan Cease has provided elite pitching all throughout his career, which has resulted in a high swing-and-miss rate from opposing batters. That is the exact type of pitching the Tigers need. With signing Cease as well coming off a down year, he might not command as much on the open market like he would’ve in previous years. This gives Detroit the ability to sign a great pitcher, and have a backup ace on the roster in case Skubal does depart after the 2026 season.
