SleeperTigers (@SleeperTigers) on X An @JeffPassan article names Bo Bichette as the Tigers “perfect transaction”👀 Do you agree?🤔

The free agency period has begun, and despite a heavy amount of uncertainty looming over the Tigers regarding what the future holds for their ace Tarik Skubal, Detroit is still expected to be active in the free agent market. I’m going to continue to have my doubts. I feel like every year we get excited for the Tigers to make a push in free agency, only for us to be monumentally disappointed. However, this is a team that’s coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and definitely has plenty of money to spend.

I wouldn’t consider it likely, but there is a universe in which this team brings Tarik Skubal back for another run and decides to build around him and free agency. If that were to happen, one of the most likely pieces to be acquired would be Bo Bichette, who Jeff Passan reported today would be a perfect move for Detroit.

Every Tiger fan who watched this team down the stretch last year felt the exact same thing, which is that this team needs to be better at advancing runners. There’s plenty of pop in this lineup, but in high-leverage situations, there’s very rarely anyone in this lineup whom you fully trust. Bichette could very much be the missing piece. I know that we live in an age where batting average isn’t exactly considered cool, but having a career .294 hitter in the heart of a lineup with Greene, Carpenter, and Torkelson, who combined for 93 home runs last year, looks pretty appealing. Even though he fell off in the second half last year, the addition of Gleyber Torres to the Tigers' lineup was a big reason behind their first-half surge. He allowed them to take that next step, and someone like Bichette would enable them to go one step beyond that.

There would be some concerns about a potential Bichette signing. He played second base in the World Series last year, which is remarkable because it was the first time that he played the position in his career. I still think he probably has a year or two left as a serviceable shortstop in the major leagues, but at some point, he’s going to be moved. At some point in 2026, potentially as early as opening day, Kevin McGonigle is going to be a key factor in this offense. However, it is still to be determined whether or not he will stick at the shortstop position; in fact, I’ve heard many people are skeptical that he will. The addition of Bichette means that you could have as many as two shortstops, but also as few as zero reliable shortstops.

Bichette would fill a much-needed hole as a right-handed bat in this lineup, and while he still has plenty of pop in his back, I do have some concerns about the power numbers falling off if you were to sign with the Tigers. That’s one of the big reasons why I ultimately think he’ll end up signing elsewhere. These guys want to hit home runs, and they want to go where they feel their game is going to be most accessible. Detroit isn’t really a hitter's park. But he would still succeed here because his bat-to-ball skills and contact rate are so good. Still, if the Tigers ultimately want to bring him on board, they’re probably going to have to overpay, and there’s very little history in this organization that shows that they would be willing to do that.