Detroit Tigers Simple Trade Deadline Defended by Rival Executive
The Detroit Tigers didn't make any rash decisions during the MLB trade deadline and that looks to have been the right decision.
As MLB's Mark Feinsand recapped the trade deadline's action around the league, he spoke to executives to get a feel for what they thought about what went down.
One AL executive spoke in favor of the Tigers avoiding any major decisions, saying he understood their stance.
“I get the teams that made moves and why they made them, but I was more interested in the teams that didn’t do much,” an AL exec said. “If you’re [Detroit] or [the San Francisco] Giants, you can squint and see a path to contention over the next couple years because they have good resources and some good young players."
It wasn't that the Tigers were inactive at the deadline, rather that they didn't make any future altering deals.
Jack Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Canha was moved to the San Francisco Giants and Andrew Chafin was sent to the Texas Rangers.
All three players were set to become free agents at the end and Detroit is not going to be competing for any titles this season. Instead, they add some prospects and settle for a few extra losses during this campaign.
The biggest addition was Thayron Liranzo forrom the Dodgers, who figures to be the catcher of the future. He's now the No. 7 player in the farm system.
Keeping Tarik Skubal around was the biggest decision made. It was clear that they weren't going to pry Jackson Holliday from the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, so it made no sense to move their ace.
Skubal is playing as well as anyone has in a Tigers uniform in a while, and has been doing so for the past two seasons.
He's under contract through the end of 2026, giving Detroit two more years to be competitive with him before he likely bolts. That's probably the window that the executive was talking about when he reference the Tigers' trade deadline.
Colt Keith, Riley Greene, Reese Olsen and Wenceel Perez are some other young talents already at the MLB level that are worth building around with some free agency additions.
Jackson Jobe and Jace Jung are both also expected to make the big leagues before Skubal's time runs out.
It may have not been the most entertaining deadline in the world, but the blueprint is set to compete.
DYLAN SANDERS