The Detroit Tigers are having one of their best seasons in franchise history, as they are 65-46 and eight games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central.
With Tarik Skubal as the head of the rotation and another All-Star in Casey Mize as the second option, the Tigers have a solid top of the rotation. However, past that, things have been inconsistent. Detroit signed familiar face Jack Flaherty this offseason, but he has been inconsistent, and it has led to questions regarding the team’s rotation depth.
On Monday, the Tigers made a trade with an AL Central foe.
Tigers are Trading for Twins’ Chris Paddack
In a move that could symbolize that the Minnesota Twins are willing to sell off some of their players on expiring contracts, the Twins are sending starter Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first on the news, but many other MLB Insiders were quick to report it.
Paddack has been fairly inconsistent this season, but he should help stabilize the Tigers’ rotation and not allow Detroit to keep running out unproven arms.
Darragh McDonald of MLBtraderumors.com was also quick on the news:
“This year, Paddack has at least avoided the IL. Though as mentioned, his results have been wobbly. Overall, he has a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings over 21 starts, with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. He got out to an atrocious start, allowing nine earned runs to the White Sox in his first outing, lasting just three and a third innings. His second start wasn’t much better, allowing three earned runs in four innings against the Astros. He had a 14.73 ERA after those two starts.”
After the rocky start for Paddack, he now has a 4.95 ERA over 111 innings this season. Giving up home runs has been a bit of a sore spot for Paddack, with 17 surrendered in those 111 innings. The Twins are receiving Detroit’s #14 prospect, Enrique Jimenez, who is a catcher hitting .250 with six home runs and 10 doubles in rookie ball. Detroit also gets RHP Randy Dobnak in the deal.
This is a clear move for Detroit to get a pitcher who will just eat innings through the last two months of the season. He likely won’t even pitch for Detroit in October.
Will Detroit Make More Moves?
While the trade signifies the Minnesota Twins are likely to be one of the more active teams this deadline, another question arises whether the Detroit Tigers will buy more as the trade deadline is just three days away. It was known that the Tigers needed to acquire more rotation depth, which they accomplished, but the team could also use another power bat for the infield.
Detroit has also been rumored to be in the reliever market, as every contender is during this time of year. The Tigers have lost 12 of their last 15 games, but every team is bound to have ups and downs during the season. Expect this not to be the first and last move that the Tigers make.
Tigers Pull Off In-Division Trade for Twins’ Starting Pitcher