The roller coaster that was the 2025 Detroit Tigers regular season
The Detroit Tigers were fighting with themselves in the back half of the season
to edge out teams for a wildcard spot
By Jacob Teets
The first half of the Detroit Tigers 2025 season was just as magical as they had left it when they went on their improbable run from Aug. 11 2024 to an eventual divisional round appearance where they lost to the Cleveland Guardians in five games.
The Tigers started 2025 with a record of 53-32 going into the month of July. The entire team was clicking, and they dominated opposing teams along the way. The Tigers couldn’t lose more than two games in a row and were already on the verge of winning the AL Central Title.
Then July hit; it was a different story completely. The Tigers went 1-12 from July 9 to July 26, proving the Tigers aren’t as invincible as they were looking prior. They had to make some changes to gain momentum again and that’s where the trade deadline came into play.
The Tigers went out and traded for six pitchers in hopes to bolster their bullpen and rotation with the absence of starting pitcher Reese Olson, who suffered a right shoulder strain on July 28 and missed the remainder of the season. The Tigers would acquire starting pitcher Charlie Morton, starting pitcher Chris Paddack and relief pitchers Codi Heuer, Rafael Montero, Paul Sewald and Kyle Finnegan.
In nine starts with the Tigers Morton had a 7.09 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP before being released by the Tigers on Sept. 21. Heuer was on the team for five days and pitched in two games before being sent down to Triple A Toledo on Aug. 13 and then being released Sept. 18. Montero has been solid in the bullpen since the trade to the Tigers, ending the regular season with a 2.86 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched.
Kyle Finnegan has been the Tigers’ best pick-up from the trade deadline by far. After playing for the Washington Nationals for six seasons he was traded to Detroit, pitching 18 innings and posting a 1.50 ERA with 23 strikeouts. Finnegan has been a bright spot in a bullpen that has had its share of bad performances this season.
Outfielder Riley Greene had another good season, proving his worth to the Tigers with career highs in home runs with 36 and 111 RBIs. The one issue Greene had this season was striking out. He led the MLB with 201 strikeouts, which would be good if he were a pitcher, but he’s not. It’s nothing new for Greene, who has had 100 plus strikeouts in each of his first four MLB seasons. It’s something the Tigers would surely like to see improved going into his fifth season.
Unfortunately, after all the success the Tigers had they almost lost it just as fast. Going into the month of September the Tigers were 80-58. Baseball fans know that having that good of a record in September means that the Tigers should win the division and play in the postseason.
This time it was not a certainty as the Tigers would go 7-17 in September while the Cleveland Guardians, who were 15.5 games back in the division on July 6, went on an improbable run like the Tigers last year. Meanwhile, Cleveland went 20-7 in September and beat the Tigers five times out of six, stealing the division from right under their nose.
The Tigers skid cost them the division, losing out to the Guardians by one game. Cleveland finished the season 88-74 while the Tigers finished the season 87-75, barely making the final wildcard spot.
The Tigers regular season may not have ended the way any fans thought it would, but the Tigers still made the postseason. If they can make a deep run in the playoffs and bring in some free agents to help fill out the roster, the Tigers could see themselves back in the postseason next year.