On Friday evening, the Detroit Tigers' 2025 season came to an end with a brutal 3-2 loss vs the Seattle Mariners in Game 5 of their ALDS series, in a contest that extended for 15 innings. It was a bitter conclusion to a roller coaster of a Tigers season, that started with a ton of promise, then fell down a cliff, and now is over before the ALCS.
The Tigers now face an offseason full of big decisions, including what to do about star pitcher Tarik Skubal, who put on a great performance during his start in Game 5.
Recently, MLB insider Buster Olney kept it 100% honest about the reality of the situation regarding Skubal.
“The Tigers face an impossible choice with Tarik Skubal, as the Brewers did when they traded Corbin Burnes to Baltimore in 2024. Skubal is a free agent next fall. Should the Tigers: a) trade Skubal this winter? or b) Retain him through '26?” wondered Olney on X, formerly Twitter.
Fans in the comment section weren't ready to hear about that just yet.
“I like how ‘pay him' isn't even an option being considered. Why are these owners so cheap? Detroit is a major city and Skubal is a stud. Give him a real contract!!” wrote one fan.
“This is the worst thing about baseball. Stop wishing stars away from their home markets just so the rich teams can have ANOTHER superstar. The fans in small markets matter, too,” added another.
Still, the Tigers are likely to have to choose between those two options at some point down the line.
A brutal ending for the Tigers
While they may have lost on a walk-off in the 15th inning, pitching was not the problem for the Tigers on Friday night. Instead, the team was unable to get the bats going at all, squandering multiple opportunities with men on base in the extra innings en route to the loss.
The Tigers will now face an offseason with more questions than answers as they look to figure out what was going right the first half of the 2025 season and why things suddenly went so sideways after that.
