DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers made four trades at the deadline this year, sending four players to contenders to acquire seven prospects.
Here’s a breakdown of the four trades:
- Traded Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers for Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney.
- Traded Andrew Chafin to the Rangers for Joseph Montalvo and Chase Lee.
- Traded Mark Canha to the Giants for Eric Silva.
- Traded Carson Kelly to the Rangers for Liam Hicks and Tyler Owens.
It’s been about two weeks since those trades, and all seven players have made their debuts in the Tigers’ organization.
Here’s an early look at how they’re performing:
C Thayron Liranzo
- No. 7 prospect in Tigers organization, per Baseball America.
- Playing for High-A West Michigan.
The highest-ranked player to come back to the Tigers at the deadline has been mashing at West Michigan, batting .359 with an OPS around 1.200.
Liranzo hit his fourth home run and fourth double over just 11 games on Wednesday, and he’s drawn eight walks to 11 strikeouts.
Liranzo’s season-long numbers still don’t look great because of an underwhelming 74 games at High-A before the trade, but he’s on a tear right now. Maybe the Tigers saw something, or maybe this is just a hot streak.
SS Trey Sweeney
- Sweeney is being called up to the Detroit Tigers roster, where he will make his MLB debut on Friday against the New York Yankees.
- No. 20 prospect in Tigers organization, per Baseball America.
- Playing for Triple-A Toledo.
Sweeney is also off to a great start, giving the Tigers something to think about while Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry struggle to stay afloat at shortstop.
Through 10 games with the Mud Hens, Sweeney is hitting .381 with six doubles, two homers, and four steals.
His strikeout rate is a concern, but Sweeney is fitting in just fine so far.
P Joseph Montalvo
- No. 25 prospect in Tigers organization, per Baseball America.
- Playing for High-A West Michigan.
The Tigers are taking it slow with the 22-year-old righty, limiting him to just three innings in his first start after the trade. He struck out two batters and allowed two hits over three scoreless frames.
He took the mound again Wednesday and immediately got 10 runs of support from his offense in the first two innings. He pitched four solid innings, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out three batters.
Don’t be fooled by the low strikeout totals so far. Montalvo had 73 strikeouts in 59 innings in High-A before the trade, so it’s clear he can miss bats.
P Chase Lee
- Ranked outside team’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America.
- Playing for Triple-A Toledo.
Lee just turned 26 years old on Tuesday, so he could realistically receive a call whenever the Tigers need bullpen help (if a 40-man roster spot opens up).
He’s appeared in four games for the Mud Hens, allowing one run on four hits in six innings, striking out five batters.
P Eric Silva
- Ranked outside team’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America.
- Playing for Double-A Erie.
The first three appearances did not go well for Silva.
He allowed four runs in one inning during his SeaWolves debut, and then bounced back with a scoreless inning two days later. But over the weekend, he allowed two more runs, including a homer, in a single inning.
On Wednesday night, he tossed two scoreless innings in a 4-3 win, allowing just one hit.
C Liam Hicks
- Ranked outside team’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America.
- Playing for Double-A Erie.
The surface numbers aren’t great for Hicks so far in Erie -- a .194 average with only one extra-base hit in eight games.
But he’s drawn four walks compared to only three strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. So he’s not overmatched.
P Tyler Owens
- Ranked outside team’s top 30 prospects on Baseball America.
- Playing for Double-A Erie.
Owens wasn’t off to a good start in Erie. He gave up four hits and four walks in his first three innings, allowing two runs.
But he got back on track Wednesday night, striking out two batters across two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
The 23-year-old was having a strong season before the trade, with a 1.189 WHIP, 2.80 ERA, and about a strikeout per inning.
