Why Tigers are MLB's biggest disappointment according to Jeff Passan
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Why Tigers are MLB's biggest disappointment according to Jeff Passan originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Detroit Tigers are not having a good 2026 season by any stretch of the imagination. While they weren't in great shape a few weeks ago, it's quickly devolved into one of the worst seasons of any team in baseball.
At 21-33, the Tigers are 10.5 games back in the AL Central, with a Wild Card spot, fortunately, just 5.5 games back. But, it's still a ways away for this Tigers squad.
And according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Tigers are the biggest disappointment in Major League Baseball this season. More than the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Houston Astros, the Tigers are the biggest disappointments, and for good reason.
Why Tigers are MLB's biggest disappointment
"They were strong favorites to win the AL Central after holding onto Tarik Skubal, who is heading into free agency, and signing Framber Valdez to go alongside him this past winter," Passan writes. "They put Kevin McGonigle on the Opening Day roster and signed him to a massive extension. Everything was coming up Tigers. Then the losing started."
Detroit was 18-17 on May 3, which isn't an incredibly impressive record by any means, but it was still within the AL Central race. But with Skubal headed for surgery, things quickly unraveled.
They've since gone just 3-16, and now are well behind the eight-ball to return to the postseason in what was meant to be a contending season.
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There are plenty of other teams that have had disappointing seasons so far, but the Tigers, according to Passan, have been the biggest disappointment of all.
The Skubal situation is a huge reason why, as the moment he went down, things spiraled out of control. It might get bad enough that the Tigers actually have to trade Skubal at the deadline to recoup something from this potentially disastrous 2026 season.
Still, the Tigers have time to rebound from this awful start. But, if things don't get better soon, there might not be any doubt that the Tigers are the biggest disappointments in MLB this season, if there is any at the moment.
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