The Detroit Tigers were the surprise team of the 2024 season. And in 2025, they are the surprise team all over again, but for different reasons.
Last year, the Tigers staged a stunning late-season run, coming back from two games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of a playoff spot on August 22 to storm into the playoffs, winning 15 of their final 19 games.
This year, the Tigers are off to an unexpectedly torrid start. In fact, for the first time since 2006, Detroit has the best record in the Major Leagues through the first 50 games of the season. At 33-17, a .660 winning percentage, the Tigers lead the American League Central by five games over the Minnesota Twins.
As of Wednesday afternoon, that’s the largest margin of any of MLB’s six division leaders.
And what happened in 2006? That edition of the Tigers got all the way to the World Series . They lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals and have not been back to the Fall Classic since.
Tigers Still Could Use More Home Runs
But the Tigers could still use help. They rank seventh in MLB in home runs. While that ranking is certainly respectable, the Tigers have only three genuine power threats in their lineup: Spencer Torkelson with 12 homers, Riley Green with 12 and Kerry Carpenter with 10.
Those three account for more than half of the Tigers’ 62 round-trippers so far.
Recognizing the need for one more deep threat, on Wednesday former MLB general manager and now writer for The Athletic Jim Bowden named Detroit as destination for the lefty-swinging, Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, the man who together with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers owns the Major League lead in home runs with 17.
In 11 seasons, including the current one, Schwarber has belted 301 home runs and counting. That’s the fourth highest total for any player over that same time span.
“Schwarber is arguably the best teammate in the game, reaches base at a 39 percent clip and is always in the hunt for the home run crown. Heâs a player most teams will covet if they have an opening or flexibility at the DH spot,” Bowden wrote. “Several other teams would love to have him, including the Braves (if they lose Marcell Ozuna in free agency), Reds (who could use his power and leadership), Padres (heâd be a great fit in their clubhouse) and AL Central teams like the Tigers, Royals and Guardians who all need more power.”
Of course, Bowden was talking about the possibility of signing Schwarber as a free agent. His four-year, $79 million contract expires after the current season. But despite leading the National League East, if the Phillies believe that they cannot sign Schwarber to a contract extension, they may want to trade him for a prospect package rather than let him walk for essentially nothing in the offseason.
Would Prospect Package Be Enough to Persuade Phillies?
Prior to this season, the Tigers were linked to a possible dealer Schwarber, sending pitching prospect Brant Hurter in return.
Hurter has appeared in 13 games for the Tigers this season, all in relief, with a 2.35 ERA. But even though Schwarber would be a “rental” for Detroit, it would probably take more than Hurter to extract him from a contending club like Philadelphia.
If they were somehow able to persuade the Phillies to let the 32-year-old DH go during the season, they would probably need to send a package of prospects who would become part of Philadelphia’s future rather than providing help right away.
Organizational No. 1 prospect Max Clark, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2023, is currently in High-A ball, and os expected to be big league ready in 2027. If the Tigers are looking for the power infusion that a partial season of Schwarber would bring â knowing that it would increase their chances of making themes of their so-far stunning season â Clark and one other top 10 prospect such as Single A righty Owen Hall may be enough to do the trick.
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