Detroit Tigers Deal Two Veteran Minor Leaguers in Separate Trades
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The MLB trade deadline is right around the corner, and the Detroit Tigers have been one of the most discussed teams across Major League Baseball when it comes to trading players away. The likelihood of a Tarik Skubal trade is still well above 50%, but as of right now, that's yet to happen.
What has happened, however, that might have flown under the radar, is that Detroit has traded two veteran minor league pitchers to opposing franchises for cash considerations.
Woo-Suk Go Traded to Twins
The first move the franchise made was dealing veteran right-handed pitcher Woo-Suk Go to their AL Central division rival, the Minnesota Twins, in exchange for cash considerations.
Go exercised his Upward Mobility Clause, which allows a player to force the hand of their current team in an effort to get a spot on the roster that they otherwise don’t already have by a certain date. Detroit chose to move him instead of finding a spot on the MLB roster, making him a new member of the Twins roster.
In 2026, Go held a 1.96 ERA across both Double and Triple-A in 27 games, finishing 11 of them in 41.1 innings of work. The Tigers felt comfortable with the current pitchers on the roster to make room for Go, so this move allows him to try to carry his minor league success to the major league.
At 27-years-old, Go still has time to develop into a reliable piece for Minnesota, but his minor league career ERA sits at 4.50 over three seasons.
Matt Seelinger Traded to Mets
On Monday's off day ahead of the Tigers' final home stand of the first half of 2026, the front office dealt Long Island native Matt Seelinger to the New York Mets, also for cash considerations. Similar to Go, Seelinger exercised the UMC clause in his contract with the Tigers.
Seelinger, 31, is a former 28th-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2017, but made his way to the Tigers organization back in 2024. Spending a majority of the 2026 season at the Triple-A level with the Toledo Mud Hens, Seelinger posted a 3.89 ERA in 39.1 innings of work.
Some may think that these moves are confusing, given the state of the Detroit bullpen, but the front office just added more cash flow to their arsenal for potential contracts in the future. The front office must have known that regardless of how well they pitched, they wouldn't be called up.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.