Despite playing .500-ish ball since mid-May, the Detroit Tigers are sitting pretty in the AL Central. Their division lead remains comfortable and no divisional rival looks like a serious threat. The Tigers can approach the trade deadline with one thing in mind: How do we build the best team for the postseason? They don’t have to worry about getting there. They’re well-positioned to do that. It’s about being as good as possible once they’re there.
“We’re going to do everything we can to try to win the World Series this year,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said on 97.1 The Ticket last month (via MLB.com). “But there’s a real feeling here that we’re hopefully going to keep doing our jobs, keep playing at a really high level and have multiple opportunities to try to win the World Series, because anyone who’s followed an organization for a long time knows that the best way to win the World Series is to position yourself to be in the mix in October every single year.”
At 60-44, the Tigers have essentially no competition in the division, eight games up on the second-place Guardians. Caesars gives currently gives them the best odds to win the American League pennant (+330). They’re worried about October, not August.
The bullpen is an obvious concern right now. Veteran changeup specialist Tommy Kahnle has collapsed in July and lefty Tyler Holton has had an up-and-down season. Harris needs to import late-inning help for closer Will Vest. More pitching in general is needed, and the Tigers could use one more bat, preferably someone with a little versatility and punch against lefties. Â
With a trade deadline less than one week away, here are three moves the Tigers should make to strengthen the roster for October.
Harris does not strike me as the type who will go out and pay top-of-the-market prices for a big name reliever like, say, Emmanuel Clase or Jhoan Duran. I think an under-the-radar bullpen pickup or two is in the cards, which leads me to Detmers, who’s having a marvelous season out of the Angels bullpen. For the first time in his career, he’s having consistent success in the big leagues.
Detmers, who is still only 26, does the three things you want any pitcher to do: he misses bats at an above-average rate, he gets ground balls at an above-average rate, and he limits hard contact in the air at an above-average rate. Do two of those things and you’ll stick around in the league for a few years. Do all three, and you’ll find yourself getting high-leverage work as a reliever.
Furthermore, Detmers has another three years of control beyond 2025, so he’s not a rental, plus there are more than a few folks in the game who believe he can transition back into the rotation. There’s a real “get him away from the Angels and with the smart team, and he’ll pitch well as a starter” vibe with Detmers. The Tigers certainly qualify as a smart team, especially with pitchers.
The question is will the Angels trade Detmers? They’re hanging around the wild-card race and haven’t always done the sensible thing at the deadline (see: 2023). The Tigers have a deep farm system. They have more than enough to entice the Halos without dipping into the Max Clark/Kevin McGonigle tier of prospect (i.e. elite). Detmers fits the Tigers well in 2025 and beyond.
2. Make an in-division trade for Willi Castro
Some teams are squirrelly about trading with division rivals. Some are cool with it (the Red Sox and Yankees have made four trades since 2021, for example) and others won’t do it because they’re worried about getting burned well into the future. That is a pretty old-school way of looking at it though. If you think a trade with a division rival makes you better, shouldn’t you be open to it?
I suspect Harris and Tigers are willing to trade within the AL Central, and that the Twins would be willing to trade Castro within the division. The utilityman is a rental, not a young prospect who could bite them for the next five years, and Detroit does have more young talent to offer than most contenders. Minnesota would be foolish to walk away from trade talks with the Tigers because they’re in the same division. They have to hear them out.
The 28-year-old Castro is one of those players who fits every contender. He’s a switch-hitter who is productive from both sides of the plate and he’s versatile. He’s played every position other than first base and catcher in the big leagues. The Tigers love guys who can move around and hit anywhere in the lineup, and that’s Castro. He could hit leadoff, cleanup or ninth.
Historically, Castro has hit lefties better than righties, and the Tigers could use another righty bat. Journeyman Jahmai Jones has hit leadoff a few too many times against southpaws already. The path through the AL in October goes through lefty starters Garrett Crochet, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Framber Valdez. Another hitter who can punish lefties feels like a necessity, not a luxury.Â
The Rays have bought and sold simultaneously at the last few trade deadlines and the expectation is they will do the same this year (Taj Bradley’s name is out there already). Littell will be a free agent after the season and cashing him in as a trade chip in a pitching starved market feels very Rays-ian. As an added bonus, trading Littell would clear a rotation spot for flamethrowing righty Joe Boyle.
The 29-year-old pitcher is appealing because he never misses a start and because he has experience as both a starter and reliever. He’s someone who could help the Tigers cover innings as a starter for the rest of the regular season before shifting into a bullpen role in October, perhaps as a multi-inning guy. I would trust manager A.J. Hinch to use Littell in a way that maximizes his performance.
Unlike Castro and Detmers, who can fill impact roles, Littell is more of a floor-raiser than a ceiling-raiser. That’s OK though. There is value in providing steady if unspectacular innings, even in October. The difference between Littell and someone like, say, Carlos Hernández or Dietrich Enns, is meaningful. Meaningful enough to change how the roster gets used in the postseason.
