Scott Harris has completed his second trade deadline at the helm of the Detroit Tigers, and the results left many fans feeling underwhelmed. Harris and his team moved four players to acquire a number of prospects, but none of the trades were particularly groundbreaking.
The Trades
Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers
The Return:
Tyler Owens - RHP
Liam Hicks - C
The Results:
Owens: Assigned to AA Erie. At 23 years old, he has a 2-0 record, 8 saves, 35 strikeouts, and a 1.19 WHIP over 35.1 innings pitched in 2024. He has the potential to be part of the Tigers bullpen by the end of the season.
Hick: Assigned to AA Erie. At 25 years old, he has a .260/.364/.353 (.717 OPS) slash line with 15 doubles, 4 home runs, 33 RBI, 41 walks, and 44 strikeouts over 292 ABs in 2024. This trade bolsters much-needed organizational depth at the catching position.
This trade opened up a roster spot for the much-anticipated promotion of Dillon Dingler to Detroit; in his debut, he earned his first career hit and RBI. This move came ahead of the Trade Deadline and felt like a solid return for a rental catcher. However, no other move was made on Monday.
Detroit Tigers Catching Prospect Liam Hicks
Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers
The Return:
Joseph Montalvo - RHP
Chase Lee - RHP
The Results:
Montalvo: Assigned to High-A West Michigan. At 22 years old, he has 13 starts, a 4-2 record, 2.44 ERA, 73 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP over 59 innings in 2024. Montalvo currently slots in at the No. 20 spots on the Detroit Tigers Top-30 Prospects list.
Lee: Assigned to AAA Toledo. At 25 years old, he has 11 appearances, a 1-0 record, 1.93 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and a 1.64 WHIP in 14 innings. It is wholly possible that lee sees time in Detroit’s bullpen this season.
Detroit Tigers Pitching Prospect Chase Lee
jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Return:
Thayron Liranzo - C/1B
Trey Sweeney - SS
The Results:
Liranzo: Assigned to High-A West Michigan. At only 21 years old, he has a .220/.344/.356 (.700 OPS) slash line with a 15.6% walk rate in 2024. He is currently the No. 5 ranked prospect on the Tiger Top-30 list, helping fill much needed catching depth.
Sweeney: Assigned to AAA Toledo. At 24 years old, he has a .254/.334/.427 (.761 OPS) slash line with 38 extra-base hits (13 home runs), 62 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. He is now the Tigers No. 24 prospect, adding depth at the shortstop position, the position of most need within the organization. Sweeny also has a possibility of seeing time in Detroit as a late-season call-up.
Detroit Tigers Shortstop Prospect (No. 24) Trey Sweeney
Mark Canha to the San Francisco Giants
The Return:
Eric Silva - RHP
The Results:
Silva: Assigned to AA Erie. At 21 years old, he has made 28 appearances with a 4-2 record, 4.35 ERA, 51 strikeouts, and a 1.16 WHIP over 41.1 innings pitched. He is the fourth player added to the Tigers Top-30 prospect list, slotted at No. 25.
Detroit Tigers Pitching Prospect (No. 25) Eric Silva
At the end of the day, none of these moves by Harris and Greenberg were overwhelming in any manner. However, thy chose to invest in the future and address multiple positions of need within the organization. Many fans wanted the Tigers to make trades at the deadline, and they did, all while managing to keep their top asses in Tarik Skubal.
It does feel that the front office may have overvalued jack Flaherty. Leaking the fact that they planned to extend him a Qualifying Offer at the end of the season as a means to try and drive his price up may have backfired to some extent. When it came to moving Flaherty, the Tigers had an opportunity to make an early move and set the market value by trading him to a team like Baltimore, New York, or Houston, who were all in need of starting pitching. Instead, they shied away from this idea and chose to wait until the 11th hour to strike a deal. It is important to note that Flaherty’s health does seem to have played a role in some teams not being willing to bull the trigger, with multiple reports of the New York Yankees backing out of a deal with Detroit while citing “Medical Concerns” as the reason why.
While there was no blockbuster deal to be made by Detroit, a couple of the guys that were acquired could see time in Detroit this season. The loss of Kelly, Chafin, Flaherty, and Canha has also opened up both at-bats and innings for young players to get an opportunity in Detroit. We could see guys like jace Jung, Andrew Navigato, Trey Sweeney, Parker Meadows, Ty Madden, Brenan Hanifee, and Brant Hurter all get chances in Detroit.
Year 3 will be HUGE for Harris. The upcoming offseason, as well as the 2025 trade deadline, will make or break Harris’s tenure as the President of Baseball Operations of the Detroit Tigers. If solid free agents are not signed by Detroit and they are sellers once again at the trade deadline, it will be time for Chris Ilitch to relieve Harris of his duties.
What are your thoughts on this year’s trades? Do you agree that next season is Harris’s last chance to make an impact and build a competitive ballclub?