This episode of "Days of Roar" features two special guests: Detroit Tigers third baseman/outfielder Matt Vierling and Baseball America prospect insider Ben Badler. To start the show, Evan and Mark discuss Tigers legend Justin Verlander signing a one-year, $15 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Interestingly, this is the same deal — in terms of years and money — that Alex Cobb secured from the Tigers. Should the Tigers have signed Verlander instead of Cobb? The answer depends on balancing business and baseball considerations. Ben Badler provides insight into 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Cris Rodriguez, who is signing with the Tigers as part of the international signing period. Rodriguez is the highest-ranked international prospect the Tigers have ever signed, at No. 4 on Baseball America's list. Meanwhile, Matt Vierling dives into a variety of topics, including team culture, personal leadership, developing pull-side power as a hitter, game planning for pitchers, and even his 2012 Ford Escape. To finish the show, Evan and Mark revisit the chances of Tarik Skubal signing a long-term extension after agreeing to a $10.15 million salary in his second of three arbitration-eligible years before free agency.

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The New Year is underway, and with it, Evan and Mark have New Year's resolutions for the Detroit Tigers in the 2025 calendar year. The resolutions include Tarik Skubal, Kevin McGonigle, the American League Central and making a big splash via trade or free agency. What does all that mean? Listen to find out. After the break, Robert Ford, the radio voice of the Houston Astros, joins "Days of Roar" to share insider insight about Tigers target Alex Bregman. Topics include Bregman's relationship with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, his leadership behind the scenes, his on-field performance and more. Evan and Mark also tackle the big question surrounding the 2024-25 offseason: Is it Bregman or bust for the Tigers? To wrap up, we take a look at the Tigers' bullpen. Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, Beau Brieske and Will Vest are the only relievers guaranteed to make the Opening Day roster. Do the Tigers need to add externally to their bullpen? The guys talk which free agents the team could consider.

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Happy New Year, from the "Days of Roar" podcast! In the first episode of 2025, Evan and Mark break down the Detroit Tigers signing Gleyber Torres to a one-year, $15 million contract, including his on-field performance, his $500,000 assignment bonus, and his goal of getting more than $100 million in free agency next offseason. After signing Torres, the Tigers still need another right-handed hitter to balance the lineup. Where do things stand with Alex Bregman? The Tigers have strong interest in signing Bregman to play third base, and Bregman has interest in the Tigers, but there remains a gap in value with 41 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. After the break, Pete Caldera, the Yankees beat writer for The Bergen Record, joins the show to share everything there is to know about Torres, who spent his entire seven-year MLB career with the Yankees. After that, Evan and Mark discuss Colt Keith's move from second base to first base, as well as what that means for first baseman Spencer Torkelson.

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In a Christmas edition, Evan and Mark discuss what Santa needs to bring the Detroit Tigers. The wish list includes the health of star players, some luck, a lot of player development and a right-handed hitter — namely Alex Bregman. Numerous first basemen have been traded or signed in free agency, but the Tigers haven't been involved in those moves. What does that mean for Spencer Torkelson? FanGraphs senior writer Dan Szymborski, who developed the ZiPS projection system, joins Days of Roar for the first time to share 2025 projections for the Tigers, covering the entire team as well as individual players. After discussing the Tigers' roster, Szymborski explains how his projection model produced player comparisons for top prospects Kevin McGonigle (compared to Alex Bregman) and Max Clark (compared to Johnny Damon). To wrap up, Evan and Mark explore the likelihood of Alex Bregman signing with the Tigers, especially since it's now confirmed that Bregman won't be returning to the Houston Astros.

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The Detroit Tigers signed right-hander Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15 million contract, adding the 37-year-old veteran to their starting rotation alongside Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe. But is Cobb the right move? Evan and Mark explore the pros and cons of the Cobb signing, along with the Tigers' need to upgrade at third base or first base to contend for the American League Central in 2025. Could free agents like Alex Bregman and Paul Goldschmidt or trade candidates like Yandy Díaz fill the gaps? Things are trending in the right direction with Bregman. The guys break down the potential competition for Spencer Torkelson as Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy take ground balls at first base this offseason. Evan also shares his 2025 Opening Day roster prediction 1.0, highlighting concerns at third base, first base, shortstop, the bench and the bullpen. Additionally, how do the Max Fried and Blake Snell contracts impact Tarik Skubal's value, both now and in the future?

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In this special "Days of Roar" bonus episode, Evan Petzold welcomes USA TODAY Sports MLB columnist and insider Bob Nightengale to recap MLB's Winter Meetings in Dallas. Evan and Bob break down the biggest news from the past week, including outfielder Juan Soto signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. Do the Detroit Tigers have a chance to sign third baseman Alex Bregman? If not, should the Tigers consider trading for third baseman Nolan Arenado? Why did the Boston Red Sox trade for left-hander Garrett Crochet? How is Buster Posey different from Farhan Zaidi as the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants? Why did the Cleveland Guardians trade Gold Glove-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez? What is the free-agent market like for shortstop Ha-Seong Kim? Is Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki already a lock to the Los Angeles Dodgers? For more on the Tigers, Evan and Bob discuss 2024 American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and the chances of a contract extension before he becomes a free agent after the 2026 season.

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The Winter Meetings will take place from Dec. 9-11 in Dallas. So far, the Tigers haven't made any offseason trades or signings, but that doesn't mean they're inactive. The Tigers have taken a patient approach to the free-agent and trade markets, as we reported coming out of the general manager meetings in early November. However, the Tigers are still targeting at least one starting pitcher and at least one right-handed hitter. Starting pitcher Walker Buehler is one free agent the Tigers have shown interest in. To explore further, Nick Pollack of Pitcher List breaks down Buehler's career, the importance of his fastball and how the Tigers' pitching department could help him improve. Later on, JJ Cooper of Baseball America joins to discuss the top 10 prospects in the Tigers' organization, led by Jackson Jobe. Pollack also discusses Tarik Skubal winning the Cy Young Award, while Cooper shares insights into how the Tigers have evolved as an organization in recent years.

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The Detroit Tigers are one week away from the winter meetings in Dallas. Evan and Mark evaluate right-handed hitters for the Tigers to acquire in free agency and trade this offseason, including new information about free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim. The guys also try to make sense of what Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said about Wenceel Pérez and Justyn-Henry Malloy. Can Pérez add infield positions to his profile on defense? Will the Tigers try to move Malloy to first base? Later, Right-handed reliever Tyler Mattison, whom the Tigers recently added to the 40-man roster, joins the "Days of Roar" podcast to chat about being protected from the Rule 5 draft, transitioning from starter to reliever and his ongoing rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery.

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Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers joins the "Days of Roar" podcast to chat with Evan and Mark about Tarik Skubal winning the 2024 American League Cy Young Award. Rogers also talks about calling pitches and making in-game adjustments, his relationship with manager A.J. Hinch, being named a Gold Glove finalist, why "pitching chaos" worked in 2024 and his excitement for the 2025 season. Aside from Rogers, Evan and Mark tip their cap to Hinch for finishing third in AL Manager of the Year Award voting and break down the roster moves made by the Tigers, which included pitching prospect Tyler Mattison.

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Evan and Mark are still waiting for the Detroit Tigers to make their first moves of the 2024-25 offseason. We break down Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki with help from Marquee Sports Network player development analyst Lance Brozdowski, who explains Sasaki's pitch mix and reveals if the Tigers have a chance to sign him. After that, Evan and Mark share how the Tigers can benefit in the short term and long term from signing another pitcher to a one-year contract, such as Walker Buehler or Frankie Montas. Ben Verlander, an analyst for FOX Sports and the brother of Justin Verlander, joins the podcast to talk about the Jack Flaherty trade, watching the Tigers advance to the postseason, hitting a home run off his brother in 2016 spring training and much more. To wrap up, Evan and Mark discuss a potential Javier Báez-Trey Sweeney platoon at shortstop and the prospects the Tigers could protect from the Rule 5 draft.

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