Detroit Tigers: Trade Deadline Reflections

By Joe Underhill

The 2024 trade deadline has come and gone, and the Detroit Tigers were once again sellers for what they hope is the last time. In four trades during deadline week, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris flipped catcher Carson Kelly, outfielder Mark Canha, and pitchers Andrew Chafin and Jack Flaherty for seven prospects.

Jack Flaherty, a prospective free agent, pitched well for Detroit before the Tigers peddled him to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.Photo byDetroit Tigers

The internet reviews from the deals have been mixed, with most seeming to be underwhelmed by the return — especially for Flaherty, who is having a resurgent year.

What we know from the deals, the Tigers restocked some of the lower levels of their minor leagues while taking a shot on some prospects with some serious upside. They also opened more playing time for young players to prove they should be a part of the Tigers’ future.

Also, by not trading Tarik Skubal, the Tigers are making a statement that they feel they are finally close to the end of their eight-year-plus rebuild. Established players for prospect deals are always a crap-shoot with the team acquiring the prospects gambling on the future of players who often have significant development time in front of them.

Like the draft, trading for prospects is a gamble, and the beauty often lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Here’s how I see the Tiger trades:

Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Thayron Liranzo (catcher/first baseman) and Trey Sweeny (shortstop). Thayron is the player with the highest upside, and will immediately slide into most publications’ lists of top Tigers prospects.

Liranzo gives the Tigers a lower-level catching prospect with both a hit-and-power profile but will need to continue working on his defense — even if he must shift to first base (the Tigers really don’t have a prominent prospect there either).

Sweeny, on the other hand, is one of the closest-to-the-majors of the prospects the Tigers received. Long-term, Sweeny is probably more of a left-handed utility player who the Tigers are hoping can better tap into his pre-draft profile as an above-average hitter.

For those who thought the Tigers didn’t get enough, remember if the Tigers’ held unto Flaherty until he left for free agency, all they would have gotten is a pick at the end of the Competitive Balance round.

Liranzo is as good or better right now then the type of prospect the team would hope to land there, and adding Sweeny, who could be a low cost platoon option (think Zach McKinstry type), the Tigers did fine.

Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Joseph Montalvo and Chase Lee. Interestingly both pitchers are relievers. Montalvo is pitching in the lower levels of the minors with good success this year. Lee is a strikeout pitcher with a strikeout rate over eleven per nine innings. There is a very real chance Lee could pitch in Detroit before the end of the season.

Mark Canha to the San Fransico Giants for Eric Silva. Silva is another relief pitcher with a high strikeout rate and is currently pitching in AA. The Tigers have been able to develop their pitching far better than hitting, so the team probably feels it is going to be able to help Silva improve his command.

Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers for Liam Hicks (catcher) and Tyler Owens (pitcher). Owens is another AA reliever who has shown flashes of being an above- -average arm but has some command/control issues. Hicks is an on-base-over-power catcher who has performed well at the plate and behind it in AA this year. More importantly, moving Kelly, who was going to be a free agent in the fall, created the opportunity for the Tigers to see what prospect Dillon Dingler can do as the time-share catcher with Jake Rogers.

Overall, the Tigers had a solid trade deadline. The Tigers think they landed players who will help them compete in the future. Only time will tell if they are correct.

Here’s hoping this is their last deadline sell-off for a long time.

Joe Underhill is a high school administrator and diehard baseball fan and fan of the city of Detroit. Joe currently writes for the HTP Newsletter. You can follow Joe on Twitter @TransplantedDet and @transplanteddet.bsky.social