Tigers' offseason spending has 95 percent of fans optimistic about 2026 season

The Detroit Tigers made a lot of noise this offseason, with their biggest topic of conversation revolving around Tarik Skubal's future with the team. Despite trade rumors, Skubal is still a Tiger, giving fans plenty to root for in 2026.

But Skubal not being traded was far from the only move to give fans some excitement in 2026. They signed multiple other players, most notably in the pitching staff, and also made a big call-up to the Majors as well.

All of those factors combined to form what The Athletic's Stephen J. Nesbitt found to be the fourth-most optimistic team in MLB, with 95 percent of the fans having optimism about the team this season.

95% of Tigers fans are optimistic about 2026 season

"4. Detroit Tigers: 95 percent optimism," Nesbitt shared on Tigers fans from The Athletic's survey of thousands of fans across every team.

There are only three teams' fan bases that have more optimism than the Tigers do. It's the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and obviously the Los Angeles Dodgers, who placed first with 99.8% of their fans having optimism for their team.

There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Detroit this season. Kevin McGonigle has been called up, and so far, through three games, he's looked very good.

More: Jacob DeGrom is only 149 strikeouts from 2,000 for his career

In the rotation, other than Skubal and returning starters Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize, the Tigers went out and signed free-agent starters Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander.

That new five-man rotation is one of the best in Major League Baseball and should give Tigers fans plenty of reason to be optimistic about their team.

Another key area of the roster to be excited about is the bullpen. Kyle Finnegan returned in free agency, and Kenley Jansen signed on for one year. It's a new three-headed trio at the closer spot with Will Vest.

Add in that the lineup is still in a great spot with Riley Greene, Spencer Torkleson, Gleyber Torres, and plenty of others, and it makes sense why Tigers fans are, despite their brutal AL Central collapse last year, the fourth-most optimistic fan base in MLB.

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