Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal has been the subject of MLB trade rumors throughout the offseason and ahead of an arbitration hearing to determine his salary for the 2026 season. Before Detroit learns what it’ll be paying him this year, it reportedly is looking to spend money on one of his peers.
According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers are keeping an eye on the starting pitchers still available in MLB free agency. Specifically, Detroit has interest in the likes of Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt, Jose Quintana and Lucas Giolito.
Of the four, there appears to be the most interest from the club in Martinez. He posted a 4.45 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP across 165.2 innings pitched this past season with the Cincinnati Reds. The club used him both as a reliever and starter (26 starts), with the righty functioning better out of the bullpen.
As a reliever, Martinez held opponents to a .183/.241/.310 triple-slash line with a .550 OPS allowed across 81 plate appearances in 14 games. When deployed as a starting pitcher, however, opponents posted a .264/.312/.451 line off him with a .763 OPS. In Detroit, he could be an ideal swingman..
Bassitt, who turns 37 years old in February, compiled a 3.96 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and 166 strikeouts across 170.1 innings pitched this past season. The 6-foot-5 righty was particularly effective late in the year, recording a 3.45 ERA in 70.1 innings pitched across 14 games.
Quintana, a 37-year-old southpaw, registered a 3.96 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP in 131.2 innings pitched this past year for the Milwaukee Brewers. He could function as a back-end starter for Detroit, serving as a reliable innings-eater after working five-plus innings in 21 of 24 starts last season.
Giolito, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, posted a 3.41 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP and 121 strikeouts across 145 innings with the Boston Red Sox in 2025. The 6-foot-5 righty declined a $19 million mutual option in November that could have kept him in Boston.
