Tigers Should Have Traded for Former Diamondbacks Star Pitcher at Trade Deadline
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers have seen the trade deadline come and go, and the overwhelming opinion is that they didn’t do enough to improve.
For most of the first half of the season, the Tigers were considered to be the best team in the American League by quite a sizeable margin. However, a poor start to the second half of the year has resulted in Detroit falling back to the rest of the pack.
More News: Tigers Major MLB Trade Deadline Acquisition Has Incredible Debut With Team
While the Tigers are still likely to be a playoff team with a large lead in the AL Central, the team has some question marks surrounding their upside now.
At the trade deadline, Detroit was an active team, bringing in some new faces. However, they didn’t add the star power that would have moved the needle for the team.
One of the top needs for the team was to improve their starting rotation. This was a team that saw both Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson get injured, which will result in each being out for the rest of the year.
With arms being needed, the Tigers traded for both Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton. Both of these pitchers will fill a need for Detroit, but neither will move the needle and will be guaranteed to start in a potential game.
More News: Tigers Surprisingly Send Down Red-Hot Relief Pitcher To Make Room for Charlie Morton
Currently, the three projected playoff starters for Detroit would be Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Jack Flaherty. While the Tigers should have all the confidence in the world in Skubal, Mize, and Flaherty might not instill that same confidence.
Even though not a ton of impact starters were traded, one that did get dealt was Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The veteran right-hander went to the Texas Rangers, improving their already great rotation.
Kelly would have been an excellent pitcher for Detroit to have traded for. The 36-year-old has totaled a 9-6 record and 3.22 ERA.
The right-hander could have slid in and been the clear-cut number two starter for the team behind Skubal.
More News: Analyzing Why Tigers Received Shockingly Poor Grade in Chris Paddack Trade
One of the reasons why the Tigers were eliminated from the playoffs in 2024 was that their starting rotation simply wasn’t good enough after Skubal. Even though the unit is far better this season, adding another front-end starter would have improved their outlook quite a bit.
Since Kelly was traded, Detroit could have been the landing spot. However, this was a team that took a conservative approach to the deadline and prioritized not parting ways with top prospects.
For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.
Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.