DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are well positioned to make a series of moves in the next few days ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
With the deadline approaching on Tuesday, teams will be calling the Tigers about a pair of starting pitchers, some relievers, and maybe even a couple of rental bats.
Here are four hypothetical trades involving some of those players.
Jack Flaherty, Gio Urshela to Los Angeles Dodgers
- Details: Tigers trade Jack Flaherty and Gio Urshela to Dodgers for Dalton Rushing and Joendry Vargas.
Jack Flaherty is the most likely player on the roster to be traded. He’s on a cheap one-year deal and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.
Following his dominant six-inning start against Cleveland this week, Flaherty owns a 2.95 ERA and 0.96 WHIP across 106.2 innings. He’s striking out 11.2 batters per nine while averaging just 1.6 walks.
All the underlying numbers back up Flaherty’s success. He’s 93rd percentile or higher in whiff rate, strikeout rate, and walk rate while limiting hard contact and getting a slightly above-average number of ground balls.
Nothing about Flaherty’s season has been fluky, and it helps that he has a history of dominance to fall back on.
The Tigers should be able to land a nice prospect for Flaherty, especially since there aren’t many starting pitchers on the market, and only a handful of teams are definite sellers.
The Dodgers are in desperate need of starting pitching help due to injuries to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, and Emmet Sheehan, as well as the struggles of Bobby Miller.
The Dodgers could also use an upgrade at third base, where they’ve gotten the seventh-worst production in baseball in terms of OPS (.623). Max Muncy is on the 60-day injured list and both Enrique Hernandez and Cavan Biggio have struggled to be even league-average hitters.
Dalton Rushing would be the prized piece of this return for the Tigers. He’s the Dodgers’ top prospect -- No. 47 on MLB Pipeline and No. 36 for Baseball America.
Rushing is a catcher and first baseman who’s slashing .262/.375/.463 at Double-A, with 11 homers and 14 doubles. He’ll be 24 years old by Opening Day next season.
Joendry Vargas is the type of prospect Scott Harris has often targeted with the Tigers: A young infielder who draws walks and gets on base.
He has a .406 on-base percentage in Rookie Ball this season and drew 30 walks compared to 31 strikeouts last year.
Tarik Skubal, Carson Kelly, Jason Foley to Baltimore Orioles
- Details: Tigers trade Tarik Skubal, Carson Kelly, and Jason Foley to the Orioles for Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, and Leandro Arias.
As much as a Skubal deal between the Tigers and Orioles makes sense, it still feels unlikely. The Tigers would rightfully ask for a ton of prospect capital, and the Orioles probably aren’t going to pull the trigger.
Skubal is the best starting pitcher in the league and under team control for the next three playoff runs (including this year). The Tigers would be perfectly happy to keep him as the centerpiece of their rotation for the next couple years.
But Baltimore has a World Series-caliber roster on offense, and Skubal’s two-and-a-half years of control aligns almost perfectly with their window of contention.
Corbin Burnes is a free agent at the end of the year, and Grayson Rodriguez is the only other proven starter in the Orioles’ organization. So starting pitching isn’t just a priority for the next few months -- it’s something that has to be addressed long-term.
Skubal could help fill both of those needs.
Meanwhile, Carson Kelly would be a major upgrade for the Orioles at the backup catcher spot. Superstar Adley Rutschman plays about one-third of his games at designated hitter, leaving a significant role for his backup.
James McCann is sporting a .575 OPS, and his defensive metrics aren’t great, either. Overall, he grades out as below replacement level in both bWAR and fWAR.
Kelly is having a strong offensive season, with a .710 OPS and seven home runs in just 58 games. Since May 15, he’s slashing .272/.344/.474.
Baltimore could also benefit from a ground ball specialist like Jason Foley in high-leverage situations. Foley is under team control for three more seasons, so the Orioles would have another piece for their long-term window of contention.
In return, the Tigers would receive a package of prospects that completely transforms the offensive direction of the organization.
Jackson Holliday is a consensus top-two prospect and could take over a shortstop position that’s been a severe weakness since the day Javier Baez arrived. Yes, he struggled for 10 games at the MLB level earlier this year, but all signs point to him being an All-Star caliber player for years to come.
Coby Mayo and Connor Norby would both fill needs as power bats in the middle of the order. Mayo is a top-20 prospect and Norby is a fringe top-100-type player.
Leandro Arias is only in Single-A, but he’s a 19-year-old with strong plate discipline and defensive versatility on the infield. Those are traits the Tigers value.
Andrew Chafin, Mark Canha to St. Louis Cardinals
- Details: Tigers trade Andrew Chafin and Mark Canha to the Cardinals for Travis Honeyman and Cesar Prieto.
The Tigers aren’t going to get much in return for Andrew Chafin and Mark Canha, if they’re traded at all.
Both players are pending free agents, and they’re more role-fillers than major upgrades.
The Cardinals are infamous for making these types of minor moves at the deadline. And they’ve already been linked to Chafin and Canha in some reports.
Travis Honeyman is a top-15 prospect in the Cardinals organization, while Prieto is closer to 20.
Honeyman was a third-round pick last year and is mashing in his first 20 games of pro ball -- a .415 OBP and .908 OPS. The Tigers might be drawn to his proficiency for getting on base.
Prieto is a 25-year-old who’s spent the full 2024 season at Triple-A, batting .300 with an .828 OPS. He’s more of a high-average, low-power prospect.
