On deadline day, bullpen help is a must for the Tigers

New York Times

2 days ago

DETROIT — Near 5 p.m. Wednesday, Eugenio Suárez walked toward the Comerica Park exit with a small group of Arizona Diamondbacks teammates and staff members.
If the Detroit Tigers ever had any serious interest in the most powerful bat on the trade deadline market, they were unable to complete a deal before Suárez left their ballpark.
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The fact Suárez walked out of Comerica Park still a member of the Diamondbacks is likely a signal the Tigers' most obvious trade deadline need — the bullpen — has remained their greatest priority.
Now, deadline day is here, and president of baseball operations Scott Harris is faced with upgrading a relief corps that has been beleaguered since the start of June.
Detroit's 5.02 ERA since June 1 ranks 27th in baseball. The team's 22.7 percent whiff rate from relief pitchers this season is the worst in the American League. For the year, Detroit's 4.16 bullpen ERA is almost identical to its 4.12 FIP. Its .286 batting average on balls in play hovers around league average.
That means the Tigers have not necessarily been blooped to death. There's little evidence of poor luck. They have not only allowed too many balls in play but also surrendered 50 home runs and plenty of loud contact.
The Tigers have tried patchwork options such as Carlos Hernandez, Geoff Hartlieb and now Luke Jackson. They have been unable to replicate last season's pitching magic. Even Tommy Kahnle, a force for the Tigers during most of the first half, has been brutal as of late, surrendering 18 earned runs over his past 12 innings.
The only solution so far in trade season? Wednesday night, the Tigers traded minor-league infielder Jim Jarvis to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Rafael Montero, who has a 5.40 ERA in 38 1/3 innings this year.
There are a few boxes Montero checks for the Tigers. He adopted a splitter this offseason, and he ranks in the 89th percentile in chase rate and the 76th percentile in whiff rate. His 3.62 xERA is vastly better than his surface numbers. Montero, though, also has one of the worst walk rates in the league, issuing 5.4 BB/9 so far this season.
With the Tigers seemingly passing on substantial improvements to their lineup and rotation, they have so far opted only for another project in their bullpen.
Will they let a better upgrade slip out of their reach before Thursday's 6 p.m. ET deadline?
The Tigers have acquired RHP Rafael Montero from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Minor League INF Jim Jarvis. pic.twitter.com/JRw5PJDY1m
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 31, 2025
As it stands, the Tigers have still been linked to top-shelf relief options but have yet to come up with a deal. Griffin Jax of the Minnesota Twins and David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates are perhaps the best relief arms left on the market. The Tampa Bay Rays' Pete Fairbanks is another name contending teams are monitoring.
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Those pitchers and others near that tier might come at a high cost, if Wednesday's trades around the league are any indication.
Bednar comes with an additional year of team control; Jax comes with two more years; Fairbanks has a $7 million team option for next season. There is a low supply of quality rentals on the market, which is perhaps why we saw big-market forces moving for top-end arms Wednesday evening.
The New York Mets traded for St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley — a player the Tigers were reportedly interested in — sending over a three-prospect package. The deal was not a bargain in terms of quantity, but in theory, the Tigers should have had both the depth and quality of prospects to compete with such an offer, if they would have chosen.
To obtain Twins closer Jhoan Duran, who is under team control for two more seasons, the Philadelphia Phillies had to part with Eduardo Tait, their No. 4 prospect, and powerful pitching prospect Mick Abel, a steep price for a high-end pitcher whom opponents fear at the end of games.
The San Francisco Giants, too, got a sizable return from the Mets for Tyler Rogers.
All indications suggest the Tigers might be unlikely to part with anywhere close to that level of prospect capital. Perhaps part of the rationale: Relievers can be volatile by nature. Maybe that helps explain why they seem to be banking on a resurgence from a pitcher such as Montero, who had a 2.37 ERA and was stellar for the Houston Astros in the 2022 playoffs.
But Harris was also part of a Chicago Cubs front office that made a move for Aroldis Chapman in 2016. Chapman had a 1.01 ERA down the stretch for the Cubs and had a 3.45 ERA in 13 postseason games. To get Chapman, those Cubs had to trade a package of players that included current Tiger Gleyber Torres, who went on to accumulate 15.8 bWAR with the New York Yankees.
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The deal was a massive loss in terms of WAR. But the Cubs raised a banner.
Do the Tigers have any motivation to take a similar risk?
For now, there's more evidence supporting their pragmatic approach and a goal of long-term sustainability. Fine things to say. Harder ideals to execute in the world of professional sports.
As we near the deadline, do not be surprised if the Tigers are still in search of another reliever. There is a long list of players such as the Miami Marlins' Valente Bellozo, who limits walks but has struggled to induce strikeouts. There are high-whiff arms such as the Colorado Rockies' Jake Bird and Miami's Ronny Henriquez, who can also be prone to issuing free passes. There are others such as San Francisco's Randy Rodríguez (12.4 K/9, 1.8 BB/9), who have terrific profiles but might or might not actually be available.
This is Harris' first trade deadline leading a contending team. This is the first time the Tigers franchise has bought at the deadline in nearly a decade.
Whether they buy a known commodity or again go outside the box, the overall makeup of the bullpen has to improve for the Tigers to achieve their biggest dreams.
Can they do better than Rafael Montero?
The Tigers have already made one trade acquisition that did not draw rave reviews. But through all of one start, Chris Paddack's time in Detroit is going well.
Tuesday, Paddack was on his way to Target Field when his agent at Boras Corp. called and said trade rumors were picking up. A deal was likely by the end of the day.
Paddack was about to go play catch when he learned a trade with the Tigers was official. He got on the phone with the Tigers and asked whether he could still complete his day's throwing routine. He got the green light. Then he packed up his stuff, packed up his house, and arranged for his truck and bass boat to meet him in Detroit.
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Two days later, he started in Detroit. The pitcher with a 4.49 career ERA pitched close to the best version of himself, pounding first-pitch strikes, forcing the Diamondbacks to be aggressive and completing six innings, allowing only one run, no walks and striking out five batters.
His stuff does not wow, but the Tigers liked Paddack largely for his consistent strike-throwing. Arizona hitters had an average exit velocity of 96.4 mph Wednesday, which might not bode well. But the game is played on the field, and the results on the scoreboard were the only ones that mattered.
'I really wanted his first outing to lead with a good note,' Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. 'It's been a whirlwind 48 hours for him, but we couldn't have asked for more out of him.'
Beyond the pitching profile? They call Paddack the sheriff. In Detroit, he will replace a nickname once held by left-hander Andrew Chafin. He dresses in Western attire and even arrived in town already with a mustache, as is becoming popular in the Tigers clubhouse.
Paddack was quickly raving about the Tigers, praising their play down the stretch last season and talking about how fun they seemed in October. He said he feels like he's been part of the team for 'a couple weeks' despite only being around for 24 hours. He even praised the Tigers' whole operation in comparison with the division rival Twins, a team Paddack was sad to leave.
'Everybody has been awesome so far,' he said. 'The facilities here, all the coaching staff, nutritionists, the kitchen, it's just amazing what they have compared to what we had over at the Twins.'
We will see what the rest of the season holds. But the early vibes around Paddack are strong, as was his performance Wednesday.
'I know it matters to him,' Hinch said. 'That's one of the things he said to me in my office, is how much he cares.'
(Photo of Scott Harris and A.J. Hinch: Junfu Han / USA Today Network)