The Major League Baseball season is getting close. Now that it’s February, Spring Training is set to begin in just a couple of weeks, and there are still several players who are without a job for the upcoming season who can still provide a boost to many rosters. One team that has been inactive in terms of notable signings is the Detroit Tigers.
Detroit has signed two relievers so far in Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen this winter, but that was earlier in the offseason, and they’ve quiet ever since. Those who cover the Tigers would probably agree that the team needs another starting pitcher. A recent prediction by Bleacher Report features the Tigers making a splash move to finish the offseason by adding starter Chris Bassitt. Bassitt is one of the more durable starters across MLB, and while he is aging a bit, that doesn’t seem to be a factor in his production.
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Should the Tigers Target Chris Bassitt?
The Detroit Tigers’ rotation is led by starters Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty, but Flaherty had an up-and-down 2025 season, and Detroit could afford to bring in another veteran arm to help other starters on the roster like Casey Mize and Reese Olson.
Bleacher Report recently came out with its third edition of every team’s Opening Day starting rotation, and Chris Bassitt is featured alongside Tarik Skubal, Flaherty, Mize, and Olson, which would give the Tigers a strong five-man cast of starters:
GettyBlue Jays free agent Chris Bassitt is being linked to the Tigers
According to Spotrac, Chris Bassitt’s market value projection is two-years, $31 million. This feels like a price the Tigers could afford for Bassitt, and the addition would be great in terms of helping Detroit eat up innings within the rotation next season.
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Chris Bassitt’s Production As A Starter
Chris Bassitt has spent the last three seasons with the Blue Jays, and he posted a 3.89 ERA with the team in 95 total starts. Â Now, he hits free agency with a chance to earn a multi-year contract.
That’s an average of 30+ starts per season, and Bassitt actually has five straight seasons of making 25+ starts.
In 2025, he made 31 starts and pitched to a 3.96 ERA over 170 innings with 166 strikeouts. He isn’t a huge strikeout pitcher, but he’s steadily been around one strikeout/inning in his career.
A $15 million AAV salary feels like a fair assessment for Bassitt, who comes with the ability to take the ball every fifth day. BaseballReference.com projects Bassitt to pitch 162 innings in 2026 and post a 4.06 ERA.
He was an All-Star with the Athletics back in 2021, and that’s when Bassitt really started to flourish as a starter.
As mentioned, his age might be an issue for some teams, but the 36-year-old starter has actually been much better and more productive as a pitcher since turning 30, which is rare, but Bassitt was also somewhat of a late bloomer. The 36-year-old is entering his 12th season in MLB and is now considered one of the more coveted free-agent starters across the league.
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