Tigers reliever drops truth bomb about competing without big names like Aaron Judge & Juan Soto

The Detroit Tigers have been one of the biggest stories of the 2025 season so far. After reaching the postseason last year for the first time since 2014, the team needed to come into the new campaign and prove that it wasn't a fluke. It's safe to say that after the first month of the season, Detroit's success last year was no fluke as they lead the American League with a 22-13 record.

The Tigers have achieved this success in a number of ways, however their potent pitching staff has been one of the driving forces. Detroit's 2.96 ERA is the second-best in baseball and has only been getting stronger as the season progresses. According to Spotrac, the Tigers are in the bottom half of Major League Baseball in terms of team payroll, which only adds to how impressive their start has been.

This is something that veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle spoke about on the latest epsiode of Foul Territory. Kahnle, who has spent time with a number of different clubs, including the New York Yankees, spoke about how impressive the Detroit culture is without spending up on major free agents such as Aaron Judge or Juan Soto.

"They don't have to go out and afford Judge, Soto, those giant names so they kind of work to what they they know.... The culture here is different in terms of what you what you can do with what you have," Kahnle explained on the episode.

Kahnle spoke about the team's emphasis on fundamental baseball and the ability to get the most out of the talent they have on the roster. Detroit has been getting considerable production from some of their own, home-grown stars such as Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson, and Riley Greene.

The Detroit Tigers have had plenty of production despite being rather quiet in the free agent market this offseason

This past offseason, the Tigers made only a few notable moves with their biggest signings being that of Gleyber Torres, Tommy Kahnle, and Jack Flaherty. Even though the team was linked to Alex Bregman throughout most of the winter, they have been able to get plenty of production from their lineup with the sizable contract that Bregman was commanding.

Alex Bregman has been tremendous for the Boston Red Sox, however, Detroit's payroll remains relatively low, which could open the door for further moves this summer and this upcoming offseason. This will also allow the club to allocate more money to re-signing some of their superstars such as Tarik Skubal, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026 season.