Will Tigers Get Involved in Trade Market After Jackson Jobe Injury?
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The Detroit Tigers could have a significant problem on their hands as they try to navigate how they are going to get innings for the rest of the year.
On Wednesday evening, the team delivered the devastating news that their young rookie star Jackson Jobe is undergoing Tommy John surgery after missing the last several weeks.
Now, not only is he out for the remainder of the 2025 season, but likely all of 2026 as well.
For the meantime, though, the Tigers need to figure out what the plan is in terms of replacing Jobe's spot. He was not pitching at an All-Star level, but seemed to be developing with each passing game.
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From an in-house standpoint, the next names up are Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long. They could also use a pitching chaos spot.
In all likelihood, all three of those options will be utilized since Jobe is not the only one on th shelf.
It's worth asking though whether Detroit should shift their trade deadline focus to address starting pitching.
Based on where the Tigers were a month into the season, them being in the market for a starter seemed very unlikely.
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This was a team putting up historic numbers as a rotation, but now injuries have been seen to virtually everyone besides *knock on wood* Tarik Skubal.
Bullpen was seen as the biggest need as recently just a few weeks ago, but now it might be starter.
Alex Cobb being able to return from his rehab assignment at any point should offer a boost, however, Detroit cannot rely on him given his injury history and the way things have looked with him all year as he tries to recover from various hip problems.
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Going out and trading for another ace feels unlikely, but at this point, it would feel negligent to not at least explore more starting pitching options.
Guys like Andrew Heaney and Freddy Peralta -- reliable arms who can be middle of the rotation stabilizers without giving up a huge haul -- should be where the Tigers look.
As the deadline approaches in the next six weeks, look for Detroit's name to appear more and more in the starting pitching rumor mill.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.