Getty Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers says 2023 will be his final season.
The Detroit Tigers’ postseason drought continued last season, and after a mostly quiet offseason in Scott Harris’ first year as president of baseball operations, more of the same is expected in 2023.
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Most Tigers games this season will be locally televised on Bally Sports Detroit, while others may be nationally televised on MLB Network (those ones will also be on Bally Sports Detroit), ESPN, ESPN2, Fox or FS1. A couple may be untelevised and stream on YouTube, Apple TV+, Peacock TV or ESPN+.
If you don’t have cable and you live in the Tigers market, you can watch a live stream of every televised Tigers game on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both include Bally Sports Detroit and come with a free trial.
Here’s a full rundown of those options, as well as some ways for out-of-market viewers to watch Tigers games live online without cable in 2023:
If You’re in the Tigers Market
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of Bally Sports Detroit, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need to include the “Sports Plus” add-on for MLB Network, but you can include any add-ons you want with your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Tigers games live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN, ESPN2, Fox and FS1 are included in every one, while Bally Sports Detroit and MLB Network are in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-ons you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Tigers games live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
If You’re Out of the Tigers Market
Amazon Prime’s MLB.TV Channel
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB game via Prime Channels.
The MLB.TV channel costs either $24.99 per month to watch every out-of-market game (“All Team Pass”) or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Tigers games (“Single Team Pass”), but either option comes with a free seven-day trial:
MLB.TV Amazon Prime Free Trial
Once you’re signed up for the Prime MLB.TV Channel, out-of-market viewers can watch Tigers games live on the Prime Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Prime Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
MLB.TV
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch games on MLB’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s.
You can watch all out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB games via MLB.TV. It costs $24.99 per month or $149.99 for the year to watch every out-of-market game, or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Tigers games. The monthly and yearly all-team options include a free seven-day trial (the single-team option does not):
Once signed up for MLB.TV, out-of-market viewers can watch Tigers games live on the MLB TV app or MLB.TV website.
Compatible devices for the MLB TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, various Smart TV’s, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
ESPN+
This isn’t going to be an option to watch a lot of Tigers games, but if you’re looking for a cheap way to watch a random MLB game daily, ESPN+ includes at least one out-of-market game every day during the regular season:
In addition to one live MLB game every day, ESPN+ also has dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, out-of-market viewers can watch a daily MLB game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Tigers Season Preview 2023
The Tigers are looking for their first winning season since 2016. After going 77-85 in 2021, Detroit took a step back last season, finishing with a 66-96 mark. Former general manager Alex Avila was replaced this offseason by Scott Harris, and the team made several changes in its lineup, as well.
Notable new additions include shortstop Nick Maton, who hit .250 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 34 games (72 at bats) with the Philadelphia Phillies last year and outfielder Matt Vierling, along with pitchers Michael Lorenzen and Matthew Boyd, both of whom should factor into Detroit’s starting rotation.
One player hitting the ball hard so far through spring training is first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who hit .203 and eight homers in his first season in the bigs last year.
“I don’t think we’re going to be a huge home run team, but I think we can be a better, more selective team and do damage on the pitches that we choose,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told 97.1 The Ticket. “Someone who hasn’t homered a lot but who’s been doing that is Spencer Torkelson. He’s crushing the ball. Even early in counts he’s getting good pitches to hit and hitting the ball over 100 miles per hour very, very often. It doesn’t always translate to homers, but I think those are byproducts of a good approach.”
This season will also mark the final year for longtime Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera, who announced his pending retirement after the end of last season. The 39-year-old, who has been with the Tigers since the 2008 season, says that’s still the plan.
“My body is certainly telling me that this might be the right time to call it a career,” Cabrera told ESPN on March 17. “I am really grateful for all that I have been able to live and accomplish on the baseball field. But it is time to go. … I hope that things go well this year with the Detroit Tigers and that I am able to truly play hard, stay healthy and have a great season. My only goal this year is to stay on the field for as many games as possible and, most importantly, to help Detroit win. That is how I want to finish my career.”