Padres-Tigers Casey Mize Trade Suddenly Looks One-Sided

Six starts into his career with the San Diego Padres, the Casey Mize experiment is looking bleak.

The Padres acquired Mize at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, sending their No. 2 prospect Kash Mayfield and left-hander Jackson Wolf to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Mize and utility player Gage Workman.

At the time, the Padres were lauded for getting just what they needed: a dominant starting pitcher who could bolster a struggling rotation. Mize was in the middle of the best season of his career, with a 2.70 ERA over 16 starts.

Since landing in San Diego, however, Mize has struggled over his six starts. With a 1-3 record and a 6.67 ERA, Mize has allowed at least four runs in four of his six starts as a member of the Padres.

Casey Mize’s first 6 starts as a Padre:

27.0 IP | 20 ER | 9 BB | 15 K
6.67 ERA | 6.94 FIP | 1.52 WHIP

His -0.3 fWAR with San Diego is the worst mark on the active staff. pic.twitter.com/PZvVfYH9lu
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 2, 2026

“Just some bad execution,” Mize told reporters after his most recent start, a 7-3 loss against the Cincinnati Reds in which Mize gave up five hits and four earned runs across just four innings. "But better days ahead.”

Mize could easily turn the ship around and make some quality starts for the Padres, but the three losses he's accounted for in his brief time in San Diego have made the team's quest for a wild-card spot more and more difficult.

Additionally, this is the time the Padres need Mize to perform. With an expiring contract, the Padres don't particularly care about Mize's long-term improvement — they need to win with him now.

While Mize has struggled, an unexpected piece of the trade has blossomed in Detroit.

Wolf, a former fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft, has looked sharp in Triple-A, holding a 1.59 ERA since the trade. Before heading to Detroit, Wolf had been struggling in 2026 with a 7.05 ERA.

Mayfield, a 21-year-old lefty, has been injured and held out of play since July 24, but was in the middle of a nice second season in High-A with a 3.54 ERA. He ranks as the Tigers' eighth-best prospect.

Rounding out the trade, Workman has been essentially a non-factor for the Padres, going 1-for-3 across just two appearances.

Mize makes his next start next Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. An improved performance would be a welcomed sight for Padres fans eager to see their team sneak into the wild-card.

The Padres currently sit a half-game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final spot in the National League wild-card race.

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