Will Kevin McGonigle make Detroit Tigers' Opening Day roster? Previewing 2026 season

About this episode

The episode discusses the finalization of the Detroit Tigers' Opening Day roster and key player performances leading into the 2026 season.

The Detroit Tigers are finalizing their Opening Day roster with three days until the first game of the 2026 season against the San Diego Padres. On "Days of Roar," Evan Petzold and Chris Brown break down Tarik Skubal's "lethargic" final spring training start and reveal their final roster predictions, focusing on the biggest decision: Will top prospect Kevin McGonigle make the Opening Day roster? We also dive into the other roster battles, including Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez, Brenan Hanifee, Enmanuel De Jesus, Burch Smith and Sean Guenther. As the season begins, Petzold and Brown identify the Tigers' biggest strength (starting rotation) and biggest weakness (bullpen), plus they dive into 10 predictions about the season, featuring Skubal, McGonigle and Justin Verlander. Kevin Acee, the Padres beat writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, joins the show to preview the opening series between the Tigers and Padres. To wrap up, Petzold and Brown discuss whether it's too early to worry about these key players based on spring training results: Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty. Follow Evan on X/Twitter here.   Read Evan's most…

People in this episode

Hosts: Evan Petzold, Chris Brown

Guest: Kevin Acee

Topics covered

• Detroit Tigers
• Opening Day roster
• spring training
• roster predictions
• season preview
• player performance
• baseball analysis

Keywords

• Kevin McGonigle
• Tarik Skubal
• Detroit Tigers
• Opening Day
• spring training
• roster battles
• baseball predictions
• San Diego Padres

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Detroit Free Press, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Places: Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres

More episodes of Days of Roar: A Free Press Sports Detroit Tigers Podcast

• Bonus: Kevin McGonigle era begins with Detroit Tigers' Opening Day win · March 27, 2026 · 38 min
• Who is most important Detroit Tigers player in 2026? Revisiting Parker Meadows vs. Wenceel Pérez · March 17, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Tarik Skubal contract update; Detroit Tigers roster battles heat up in camp · March 10, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Kevin McGonigle watch, Max Clark controversy; Andy Dirks on Detroit Tigers in spring training · March 3, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Running it back: Can Detroit Tigers win with same offense in 2026? · February 25, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Justin Verlander returns to Detroit Tigers; Alex Avila breaks down reunion from all angles · February 17, 2026 · 1h 8m